[freshoj]

Deep Cut Record 1 - Il Conte Dracula by Bruno Nicolai

The Jess Franco film was released in 1970 and is a pretty straight ahead Dracula film starting Christopher Lee as the count and Klaus Kinski as Renfield (and Soledad Miranda as Lucy!)

As near as I can tell, the first release of Nicolai’s soundtrack came a little over a decade later in 1982 on the Italian Edipan label - home to a lof of Nicolai's library work. This is still the only vinyl version that I am aware of.

This isn’t Nicolai’s best soundtrack, but I really dig it. The main theme dominates side 1, but side 2 opens up more.

The film on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065569/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The soundtrack on discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Bruno-Nicolai-Il ... ter/611644





A taster clip:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEqg1Wiearw[/video]

The whole shebang:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpItgFlTwo0[/video]

[phantomnoir]

Thank you for posting this soundtrack. I haven't seen the film and I didn't know this Nicolai score. I like it.

[Dollarhyde]

Cool, Will check the clips when I have some wifi.

Maybe some of those tracks are hidden away on some italian library releases.

[philball1974]

Will listen, digest and return! great to see the first post is something I have not heard!

[Whip Wilson]

As Monster Worship mentioned elsewhere, the opening track, Processo, was reissued on a 7" with Roger Roger in the Finders Kreepers series earlier this year/late last year. It sounds quite good there.

[Purplemule74]

The beginning of the score reminded me instantly of the score to the recent Sherlock Holmes (2009) starring Robert Downey Jr.

[deathwaltz]

I'll be doing mine today

[DISCOSUCKS...]

Love this thread!

[Dollarhyde]

Enjoying the score, would that be a 'prepared piano' I can hear?, loving that riff.

Im thinking a nice blend of classic horror suspence, ala hammer or twilight zone meets that distinct italian morricone nicolai sound.

Also makes me wonder if I can hear elements of morricone in this score or elements of nicolai in morricones scores. Is it right they had a disagreement at some point and went thier separate ways?

[Dollarhyde]

I see what you mean by the score opening up in the latter half. Really great and atmospheric.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

In the spirit of discovery of this thread, I hope you don't mind me bringing this to your attention.

CUADECUC (1970) is a controversial experimental feature length black and white art film, shot on the set of IL CONTE DRACULA, and it's absolutely brilliant, scary and hilarious. Utterly mad music throughout! The whole thing is viewable here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3RJgWvS9eM

Possibly one of the best behind-scenes things I've ever seen, due to it being so weird and kindof it's own thing. Amazeables!

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuadecuc,_vampir

[freshoj]

Wow, will have to check that out.

Dollarhyde, glad y're digging it - and yes, I wonder about the royal OST family too - especially when I see a record with Nicolai conducting someone else besides Morricone - how much of Nicolai (abd Morricone) will I be able to hear?

[DISCOSUCKS...]

^ I came to Nicolai as a composer quite late, already being a fully paid up Morricone nut. The shocking thing to me, which I'm still kinda unravelling as I get into more Nicolai stuff, is how obvious it was that BN was bringing a WHOLE lot to the party as EMs arranger and conductor! When I listen to Nicolai's "Case of the Bloody Iris", I hear so much of what I love in a lot of the Mondo Morricone era......of course, it's just as possible that Nicolai just learned a shitload from his time with Il Maestro and those arrangements echo with that influence. I find it a pretty fascinating puzzle either way!
(and I imagine there are a few experts on here that could shed a bit more light on their working relationship....)