Bruno Nicolai met Ennio Morricone when they were both studying at Rome's Santa Cecilia music academy. Nicolai was the conductor on many of the maestro's scores from For a Few Dollars More (1965) onwards, but also found himself with plenty of composing work of his own throughout the '60s and '70s. Nicolai became almost as prolific as the maestro himself, particularly within the western and giallo genres. His soundtrack for the 1972 film La dama rossa uccide 7 volte (The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) is a great example of his giallo work. It has a distinctive and memorable main theme, and a second ascending piano-led theme that accompanies some of the suspense sequences. The first instance of the main theme comes right at the beginning, hauntingly sung by a small child on "Preludio & Titoli." In "Minaccia" we find that heavy suspense/chase bassline that Nicolai so often used in his giallo and Jess Franco scores -- lush, atmospheric, and decidedly "euro." This LP, produced in collaboration with Beyond Horror Design, is the first vinyl edition of this score; it features exclusive artwork and a bonus poster (limited to the first pressing). Remastered sound.
