CD REVIEW - Don Camillo e i Giovani D'Oggi


Don Camillo e i Giovani D'Oggi
Music by Carlo Rustichelli
Digitmovies CDDM077 (Italy)
24 Tracks 54:10 mins

This was the first in the popular adventures of the priest Don Camillo not to have starred the great Fernandel and have been scored by Alessandro Cicognini. Gastone Moschin donned the collar, with American Lionel Stander his chief opponent, whilst Carlo Rustichelli took over the scoring duties.
Rustichelli's score is very much of its times, with its '70s rhythmic sensibility, whilst looking back toward the previous decade, with his lush mix of choir and strings for the film's principal romantic theme, and the inclusion of a '60s-styled go-go dance track.
The aforementioned main theme is an easy-going piece of pop which builds to some lush passages for strings and choir (I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni), which are very engaging. There is a pared-down Italian vocal of the theme later in the album, followed by the concluding "Finale" version, where choir and orchestra combine in the best rendition of the theme/song. Earlier on, variations on the theme are entwined throughout a number of tracks, together with that of the secondary theme, a catchy, lounge-style number. Along the way, there are a few moments of drama and suspense, the most atypical track being track 16 (there are no track titles), an increasingly tragic and dramatic cue. There are also some source cues, like the a sing-song "Don Camillo" number and a brass band march. There is also a religious church organ solo.
But overall it is a tuneful experience and very entertaining, whilst the main theme will stick in your brain for some time to come.
Six bonus tracks include two versions of a nice, acoustic-based alternate main theme, plus an alternate version of the finale, and accompanying the disc is the usual colourful booklet, with stills and artwork from the film, together with Claudio Fuiano's introductory notes.
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