Il Diavolo Nel Cervello

Beat Records is pleased to reissue on CD the OST by Ennio Morricone for the Giallo film Il diavolo nel cervello, directed in 1972 by Sergio Sollima with a screenplay by Sergio Sollima and Suso Cecchi D'Amico, photography by Aldo Scavarda, editing by Sergio Montanari, music by Ennio Morricone, production by Maurizio Lodi Fe' Per Verona Produzioni and Universal Productions France, distribution by CIC, and a cast featuring Stefania Sandrelli, Keir Dullea, Micheline Presle, Tino Buazzelli, Renato Cestiè, Maurice Ronet, Orchidea de Sanctis, Gaia Germani, Gabriella Lepori, Giorgio Basso, and Elsa Boni. The plot: An introverted boy named Ricky is found with a gun in his hand near the body of his father, Fabrizio. It appears without a doubt that Ricky is his father's killer. Sandra, the boy's mother, is shocked by this news, and to avoid scandal, which would damage the good name of the Osio de Blanc family, Countess de Blanc, Sandra's mother, has Ricky committed to mental institution for juveniles and imprisons her daughter in one of the family villas. Oscar, a former suitor of Sandra's with whom she has remained friends, tries to help her by seeking the assistance of a doctor. After confirming Ricky's good mental health, the doctor begins to suspect the killer's identity, and moonlighting as an amateur but capable investigator, he manages to uncover the truth by making Sandra recount the moment she rushed to the scene following her husband's murder. The music: At the time, General Music issued a vinyl album with ten stereo tracks selected by the composer (ZSLGE 55076), which was reissued for the first time on CD in Japan in 1991 (SLCS-7245), reissued by Dagored in an expanded version in 2001 on CD and vinyl (RED 135-2 / RED 135 -1), in 2006 on CD by Verita Note in Japan (VQCD - 10035), and in 2011 on CD in Italy by GDM on CD (CD CLUB 7105). For this CD reissue (total running time 59:34), we used the stereo master tapes of the original album sessions and the extra tracks taken from the mono master tapes of the original sessions, which were approved by Ennio Morricone for previous editions. Morricone composed one of his most masterful scores for the thriller genre by writing a main theme entitled "La ragione, il cuore, l'amore," which after a mysterious intro develops rhythmically in a pop style with the crystalline voice of Edda Dell'Orso (Tr.1) and is reprised in Tr.6, Tr.10, Tr.12, Tr.14, Tr.16, and Tr.20. The composer alternates this captivating leitmotif with dissonant strings in "Viaggio primo" (Tr.2), a bucolic atmosphere with a pop arrangement in "Viaggio secondo" (Tr.5) and "Viaggio terzo" (Tr.7), and a more lively one in "Viaggio quarto" (Tr.9). Although the film is set in the bright atmosphere of summer, the macabre side of the story is underlined by the dramatic "Prima della rivoluzione," where Morricone includes fragments of Beethoven's "Für Elise" (Tr.3), "Oltre il silenzio" (Tr.4). The return on CD of this important title in Ennio Morricone's filmography is a sincere homage to his immense musical talent.