Cugini Garnali

The movie CUGINI CARNALI was released in 1974, produced by movie mogul Carlo Ponti and directed by Sergio Martino, the picture which easily falls into the category of being one of the sex-adelic movies that were produced in Italy and became so popular during the 1970s though to the mid 1980s. It combines both erotic and sensual scenario’s with comedic interludes and these are cleverly and expertly fused together to create a movie that is both amusing and dramatic.
The film contains a musical score that is both infectious and haunting which was written by the lesser known but certainly not lacking in talent composer Claudio Mattino. The music is very reminiscent of the styles that were employed by the likes of Morricone, Cipriani, Micalizzi and also Pisano and Marchetti before the 1970s and also throughout that decade.
Mattino fuses with ease strings and harpsichord to achieve a sound that is delightfully mesmerising but at the same time he manages to interweave numerous other musical components, i.e. piano, percussion, backing vocals and guitar into the work giving it at times an upbeat tempo that has an almost poppy sound to it. The sound or style created is most certainly contagious. Mattino employs pleasant and very laid back lounge sounding musical passages that make this score not only an easy listening experience but also a pleasurable one. The use of wordless female vocals dominant the work and these come courtesy of the first lady of Italian film music, Edda Dell Orso who’s elegant and flawless vocalising generates an ambience and atmosphere that is sensual, calming and completely captivating. The soundtrack was originally released back in 1974 on an RCA long playing record; the tracks from this are represented on this release from cue number one through to cue thirteen. Then thanks to GDM and BEAT we are treated to a number of previously unreleased compositions which commence at track number 14 and play through till track number 24. These include a number of alternate takes on cues that have been touched upon before in the running order.
The score as I have previously stated is akin to the style of a number of Italian Maestro that dominated Italian film music during the 1960,s through to the mid to late 1980,s and what I really love about this release and the music it contains is it does not at any time require the listener to utilize the track forward button as every single cue is a gem, this is a priceless and entertaining soundtrack and one that should really be in every discerning film music collectors possession. It is also a release that will be replayed again and again, and on each outing the listener will find something fresh and enjoyable. Highly recommended.