Colpo rovente
Quartet Records - QR472 Expanded Edition

Quartet Records presents an expanded, fully restored edition of cult Piero Piccioni score for the 1970 psychedelic thriller COLPO ROVENTE.

Production-designer–turned-director Piero Zuffi made this bizarre film set in the seedy underbelly of Off-Broadway productions, hippie communities, S&M bars and bike gangs. The story follows a serial killer on the loose and an investigator looking into an heiress’ kidnapping. With the help of editor Franco Arcalli, the movie was reconfigured into an effective fever dream with a non-linear structure.

Considering the film’s complicated postproduction, it’s surprising how well Piero Piccioni’s score is integrated into the picture. The wonderful kaleidoscope of psychedelic oddness favors the composer’s jazz roots and strong percussion work, but also features delightful bursts of source music as well as the self-contained brilliance of the occasional set pieces—including background scores for the experimental productions of the Off-Broadway world.

This highly addictive score, originally released on LP by RCA in 1970 and reissued twice on CD with extra tracks (on the Easy Tempo label in the nineties, and later on the Beatball label in South Korea) has been expanded to the max for this Quartet release. Chris Malone has restored and mastered the audio from crisp-sounding, first-generation master tapes recently discovered in the Piccioni estate and transferred at 96Kh. Produced by Claudio Fuiano, the release contains liner notes by Gergely Hubai discussing the film and the score in great detail