De eso no se Habla

To be fair, I've not heard of, nor know much about De Eso No Se Habla, or I Don't Want to Talk About it (not a terribly catchy title in any language). Judging by the cover it appears to be about a couple of who have something to do with the circus - a kind of Italian romantic comedy perhaps? Whatever the case, Nicola Piovani wrote a brief and sometimes entertaining score that bears only the occasional resemblance to his Oscar winning Life is Beautiful. The comedic, plinky plonky percussion, woodwind and ragtime piano orchestration is in evidence in the main theme, which is introduced in the first track and appears a couple of times, albeit with generally similar orchestrations.

Aside from the main theme; La Noche de Eleonora introduces some more sombre timbres, with eerie strings added to with a mysterioso piano part, Vals en la playa is a kind of rustic waltz with flutes and accordion playing off each other. Baile de la cerverza is another rustic dance tune, which this time adds acoustic guitar for a more fast paced, slightly Hispanic flavour. I am not entirely sure if Caminito was written by Piovani or not; there is a credit of Filiberto / Penaloza along with the credits for Piovani on piano and the singer, Marcello Mastroianni. It certainly has the sound of a traditional Italian song which is nice enough if you like that kind of thing, however the very close miking of the vocals is somewhat unflattering.

Not knowing anything about the film, the short running time and the general lack of variety make it difficult to say much else about the score. The very brief length of the album does not help greatly, but if you enjoyed Life is Beautiful then this is sure to please. Even if doesn't have the variety or novelty of the more famous effort, there are enough entertaining little vignettes to sustain interest, although this would depend on your taste for rustic Italian dances.