La Polizia Accusa: Il Servizio Segreto Uccide

Composer Luciano Michelini, is really not that well represented when it comes to CD releases. I have always found his music very attractive and remember discovering him way back in the dim and distance past when I accidentally stumbled over his score to IL DECAMERONE NERO on the RCA label, ever since that delightful accident I have looked out for anything by this composer. The music for this crime/police thriller is in my humble opinion possible one of the composers best scores, and rates alongside soundtracks such as THE SICILIAN CLAN and 7 GOLDEN MEN. It contains a hard hitting main theme that is driven along by urgent sounding strings which are interspersed and punctuated by a just as aggressive sounding piano solo that is very reminiscent of the style and sound employed by Vladimir Cosma for THE AFFAIR OF THE CRAZY COP. It’s an infectious and powerful theme which re-occurs throughout the score in numerous guises and arrangements, but it is a piece that one never tires of as Michelini manages to keep it fresh vibrant and interesting on each outing. There is also a secondary theme which appears throughout the scores running time, this is a much lighter more easy going sounding affair that again utilises piano to a degree which is enhanced by the subtle support of the string section and a delicate touch of woodwind, the composition is a haunting one that is filled with romanticism which verges on the melancholy. Of course no score to a thriller or crime caper would be complete without the obligatory action or atonal cue and yes there are also a number of these included, the orchestration of these by Michelini is very interesting and even though they are at times not melodic there is something about them that is attractive, making the listener want to listen just to see if there is a smattering of a melody or maybe a reprise of one of the central themes, more often than not Michelini does not disappoint and one finds one self at one point immersed in an action cue or a tense atonal track to end up listening to something that is highly entertaining and melodic.
The score is performed in the main by the string section, although there are plenty of cues that take on a martial sounding with percussion. Snare drums etc taking the lead which are giving support to brass and woodwind sections. Track 10 is for me one of the scores highlights, urgent strings taking the lead with up-tempo percussion driving the track along whilst brass punctuate the piece with short bursts that are accompanied by dark sounding but hard nosed piano playing. Track 10 too is a delight, another variation of the secondary theme but this time more up beat, where Michelini brings the harpsichord into its own as a support for the string section. Things go even more up tempo in track number 24, as bongo lead percussion forms the background for a twangy sounding SHAFT-Like electric guitar which picks out an almost rock/disco theme. Indeed this is a wonderful example of the music of composer Luciano Michelini, and also a great example of Italian film scoring sounds and techniques. As always the CD is packaged and presented to the normal high standards that we have come to expect from Digit movies, it is a CD that you must have in your collection, because if you miss out on it you will certainly regret it.