(New) Goblin (Rebirth) Live 2011

In this ‘post in progress’ you’ll find information about (New) Goblin upcoming gigs in the second leg of the Tour 2011.

August the 27th:  Nettuno (Lungomare Forte Sangallo) - Italian Horror Fest; Italy.

September the 2nd : Veruno (Piazzetta Della Musica) - Veruno Prog Festival; Italy. 

October the 1st: Helsinki (Korjaamo, Vaunusali), Finland.

Also Goblin Rebirth will play a live concert:

September the 8th: Roma (parco Casa del Jazz) - Progressivamente Rock Festival, Italy.

"Goblin sette note in rosso": index to the Titles.

This time I post the index to the main Titles (movies and productions for television) mentioned in the book. The index contains one third of the titles actually present in the book, that’s why I consider inappropriate to tag my book as a mere 'musical biography’ and if forced to choose the department of a bookstore I would opt for 'Cinema' rather than 'Music'.

The writing of 'Goblin sette note in rosso' allowed me to create a continuous crossover between music and cinema. As Goblin have worked mainly on soundtracks, I decided to analyze not only the music but even the movies, because I believe that it’s inappropriate to talk about a film score without knowing in depth the movie, the director and the production’s facts. This is what I have done as preliminary work (viewing and listening to thousands of movies and albums, looking for news and interviews in old newspapers and magazines) and this is what I’ve tried to convey on paper, although 'filtered 'in order to make this book an easy reading even for a neophyte.

'Goblin sette note in rosso': index to the Names.

Recently a reader told me that he was amazed at the unimaginable amount of information in my book and he said that "‘Goblin sette note in rosso’ is not only the Bible of Goblin, it’s the Bible of soundtracks", a statement that pleased me very much. Anyway I realized that being the book only available online it’s impossible to fully understand the true subject of the book. So here is the 'index to the Names' (musicians, directors and actors) of the book, pointing out that these are the main ones (the full index would be at least twice long).

In 'Goblin sette note in rosso' you’ll find filmographies, discographies and information, often never published before, on dozens and dozens of composers for the screen, mainly Italian but also foreign, both famous (Ennio Morricone, Stelvio Cipriani, Armando Trovajoli, Carlo Rustichelli, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, Franco Micalizzi, Giorgio Gaslini, Piero Umiliani, Piero Piccioni, Riz Ortolani, Bixio-Frizzi-Tempera, to name only a few) or little known, as well as first hand information (that you won’t find elsewhere) about all the Italian rock bands who composed scores for movies. If you have ever wondered who the hell they were Budy Maglione of 'Cannibal ferox', Trans Europa Express of 'Il gatto dagli occhi di giada’ (aka The cat’s victims), La Rosa dei Venti of 'La ragazzina' (aka Monika), how many albums released Marc 4, in which movie Detto Mariano had the audacity to 'steal' a Pink Floyd’s tune, if were ever published Carlo Maria Cordio’s soundtrack for 'Rosso sangue' (aka Absurd) or Pulsar Music’s score for 'Taxi Girl', this is definitely your book!

New Goblin releases

AMS the italian independent label which previously reissued on vinyl the Goblin albums: ‘Profondo rosso’, ‘Roller’, ‘Suspiria’, ‘Il fantastico viaggio del ‘bagarozzo’ Mark’ and ‘Zombi’ (but also ‘Cherry Five’ and ‘Perchè si uccidono’), has published for the first time on vinyl and with a new artwork ‘Nonhosonno’, clearly a must buy for any true Goblin fan. The LP contains a 90x60 cm. poster with a giant reprise of the new album cover, a short article and the covers of the Goblin albums, each one with a few lines of text. ‘Nonhosonno’ was printed using vinyls of five colors (white, red, blue, yellow and clear) in a limited edition of 100 copies for each vinyl color. Simply a collector’s item (that is going quickly sold out), since it doesn’t make much sense to release on vinyl a work originally recorded and mastered in digital. Unfortunately there are many faults in the albums notes (for example 'Perchè si uccidono' it’s an italian film and not a French movie originally titled ‘La merde’):

I’ve published my book also because I was tired and annoyed to find amazing mistakes practically in all Goblin’s official releases…

 AMS has also published the picture disc versions of ‘Roller’ and ‘Suspiria’ in a limited edition of 300 copies. The label from Milan continues to plunder the pockets of the Goblin’s collectors happily forced to constantly buy new products... however the image of Mark, the cockroach, would look great in a picture disc...!

Dario Argento's Dracula 3D

Dario Argento is shooting in Italy, in the medieval village of Ricetto,  his new movie: ‘Dracula 3D’. The director announced that Claudio Simonetti will compose the score. Argento named Simonetti and not (New) Goblin so probably he believed to be a better choice for his new film a classic score in the way of those composed by Bernard Herrmann (or for the Hammer movies), maybe with some electronic touches as in ‘Mother of tears’, a soundtrack also composed by Claudio Simonetti.

Dracula 3D is a French-Italian-Spanish coproduction with a budget of 13 million euros. The cast is international: Thomas Kretschmann (the psychopathic murderer in 'The Stendhal Syndrome') as Dracula, Marta Gastini (Mina), Asia Argento (Lucy) and Rutger Hauer (Van Helsing). The great Luciano Tovoli is the cinematographer: Tovoli is the man responsible of the fantastic cromatic palette of Suspiria (and also Tenebre/Unsane) and formerly worked with such directors as Antonioni, Comencini, Ferreri, Risi, Zurlini, Scola, Cavani, Schroeder and Veber.

Dracula 3D is filmed in stereophonic 3D with a new and more manageable Arriflex camera and two Sony steadicams. Argento says that he will use the 3D in a naturalistic way as did Hitchcock for ‘Dial M for Murder’.

The director assured that 'Dracula 3D' will be totally different from the Coppola's Dracula, the count is bisexual and has the power to transform not only in a bat but also in other animals (“giant mantis and giant cockroach").

Claudio Simonetti on FB stated: "I’ve been on the set and in the editing room of ‘Dracula 3D’ and I’ve seen many scenes. I must say that Dario is giving his best. Dracula in 3D is really impressive, very bloody !!!!!".

Here is the link to the official website of Dracula 3D (with backstage, stills and other information):

http://www.dracula3d.it/

Some stills:

and Claudio Simonetti with the ‘Dracula 3D’ clapper:

The Suspiria remake (with Goblin's music)

Has been a long time since began the first rumors about a remake of Suspiria, seen with the utmost suspicion by the fans of Dario Argento's masterpiece. In my book I pointed out that Goblin have sold the rights for the use (or adaption) of their original musical themes. Recently the director David Gordon Green returned to the topic during a round of interviews to promote his latest work: 'Your Highness'. Here is a college of his statements: “I’m hopefully going to get into a horror film, next. That’s the goal. It’s an idea that came to me three years ago, I co-wrote the script with my sound-designer, which of course offered a completely new perspective as well. ‘Suspiria’ doesn’t follow the trend of the traditional horror movies of late, so it’s a leap of faith, financially. It’s actually very faithful. I’m gonna put my spin on it, but in terms of a pitch, it’s going to remain quite faithful to the original. The script is very faithful, it’s less about ballet and more of a story about the occult and a boarding school for girls in Germany. Scene for scene it’s very similar. In terms of the aesthetic, I haven’t really worked out yet. I’ve just started to get my cinematographer and production designer to look at it, and I’m sure we’re all going to bring our ideas to the table. I don’t want to emulate him or rip him off, I don’t want to do a shot for shot remake of it. But I do feel like it’s a springboard to a lot of huge ideas, and a lot of artful, magnificent ideas. Things that aren’t in the movie theaters in the genre right now. I think fans of that movie will see that we’re taking those concepts — and in some cases those scenes, and in some cases those exact shots and dialogue —and expanding on it and making it very artful. And hopefully, horrifying. Composer Steve Jablonsky will integrate the Goblin tunes into a new score. We got the rights to all of the Goblin music. I loved working with Jablonsky on the score to ‘Your Highness’ and I would love to use the evolution of Suspiria, which does get more dreamlike in the movie, and to start it very authentic and true to what Goblin has done and by the end of it turn it into like opera and choruses and orchestral versions of it. I think it would be an amazing way to evolve the scope of the movie; it starts out very small and specific, and it gets totally off its ass."

Interesting news that confirm the importance of the sound in the movie: the director has already decided not only the composer (Steve Jablonsky, author of the music for the remakes of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Friday the 13^th’, ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’, ‘Amityville Horror’, ‘The Hitcher’, but also for ‘The Island’ and ‘Transformers’) and the use of the tunes composed by Goblin, but he even wrote the script with a 'sound designer'. It remains a mystery what will be the look of the remake: due to the outstanding quality of photography and decor in the Argento’s cult movie, the director may opt for choices that are radically different.

Natalie Portman will not be part of the cast. Portman, the star of 'Black Swan', an interpretation that earned her an Academy Award, was originally interested in the remake of Suspiria but now there are too many similarities with 'Black Swan' (for the trailer of this movie the production even optioned the rights for the use of the theme Suspiria, then unused). Green has stated that: “We’ve been talking about it, then she decided to do ‘Black Swan’ I want an unknown cast, and I think she’s a little too old for it. My version isn’t necessarily about ballet, it’s more of an all-girls boarding school, so I think she’s probably too old to pass for a high school-er. I don’t think it will have names, but hopefully it will be at a studio. Because I definitely enjoy having a movie that gets marketed that people go to see. But there’s no greater passport. ‘Suspiria’ is a great reason to move to Germany, hang out there for awhile, discover some new European cast members, find something scary”.

However the project seems still in an embryonic state, stay tuned for more news...

(New) Goblin live at Magazzini Generali 12 Feb. 2011. Concert review.

35 years after the last live performance in Milan, the renewed Goblin were back for an acclaimed show at Magazzini Generali. The audience was divided into two 'areas': the younger metal / dark lovers and the ‘over 40’ raised with progressive rock. Goblin played their repertoire of classics, drawing predominantly from Roller (Aquaman, Roller, Dr. Frankenstein, Goblin), an album of little success in 1976 but now fully re-evaluated. Also in the set list of the show Mad puppet, School at Night / Profondo rosso (from Profondo rosso), Suspiria, .. e suono rock (from Il fantastico viaggio del ‘bagarozzo' Mark, played twice even as an encore), L’alba dei morti viventi, Zombi and Zaratozom (from Zombi), Tenebre, Phenomena, Nonhosonno and Death farm (from Nonhosonno), Magic thriller (from BackToTheGoblin 2005). Veterans Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante, and Maurizio Guarini appeared in good spirits, well supported by Bruno Previtali (guitarist switched to bass, a Rickenbacker 4003!) and Titta Tani, both called in the unlikely role of replacements for Fabio Pignatelli and Agostino Marangolo, one of the best rhythm section of the Italian music scene. Previtali and Tani worked hard even though they have a metal background. Among the best things of the concert ... e suono rock and Zaratozom, not so good Dr. Frankenstein with the musicians disunited. The sound was not so clean as in other shows (at least from my position), despite the presence of the skillful Giuseppe Ranieri, and were frankly embarrassing the video projections went definitely k.o. after a few minutes.

After the show, in the backstage of Magazzini Generali, I gave to Goblin some copies of "Goblin sette note in rosso". The musicians were amazed by the ‘thickness’ of the book and they really loved the cover. Great appreciations even for the two promotional posters that I designed for the book and promptly signed by Simonetti and Morante. A laughing Massimo Morante said that he will need at least six months to read the book!

The 'Suspiria looking' Italian style poster

The ‘british quad’ style poster with a typical ‘70s sensational tag-line!

(New) Goblin (Rebirth)

As in the worst musical nightmares, Goblin (after the sudden dissolution of the ‘BackToTheGoblin’ line-up) splitted into two bands.
Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante (the two founders of Goblin) and Maurizio Guarini, together with Bruno Previtali (bass) and Titta Tani (drums) formed (New) Goblin and recorded an album that will feature six new songs and six new versions of classical Goblin’s songs.(New) Goblins have also recorded their concert played at the Alpheus in Rome the 18^th of February 2011. The shooting was supervised by Luigi Pastore who directed the thriller ‘Come una crisalide’ and the video clips ‘live in studio’ of Profondo rosso and Roller. The concert will be released soon on DVD and maybe even as a vinyl album.

Surprisingly also Fabio Pignatelli and Agostino Marangolo alongside with Aidan Zammit (keyboards, formerly with Goblin in the 2009 mini-tour), Danilo Cherni (keyboards) and guitar virtuoso Giacomo Anselmi, formed Goblin World now renamed Goblin Rebirth. Their concert (the only one until now) at the Crossroads in Rome will be published on DVD this autumn.
The coexistence between the two bands promises to be difficult and without a mutual agreement neither group can use the name Goblin as they would like to do.
Please mutual respect and no Goblin Wars!

“Goblin sette note in rosso” the book!

“Goblin sette note in rosso” traces the career of Goblin, analyzing in detail their opera (both in records and movies) and their works as uncredited performers and arrangers alongside with many music composers. The book tells the full history of Goblin and examines the use of rock music in movie soundtracks before and after the advent of this band, in order to make clear the innovative contribution that this group has given to the national and international film-music scene.

“Goblin sette note in rosso” reconstructs the music scene of the era, gives a new view on Italian 'genre' movies in the 70s and 80s and also features filmographies and detailed discographies of the Italian musicians who composed scores for crimes, thrillers and horrors, as well as many other interesting insights. The notes apparatus (with interviews, excerpts of articles from old newspapers and magazines, anecdotes) is really powerful, practically it’s a second book. The volume gives a new perspective on the use of music in the cinema of fear and on the role of the Italian rock bands in the film industry, marginal but worthy of note. As Goblin have worked extensively with Dario Argento, “Goblin sette note in rosso” offers a lot of unpublished information and sensational behind the scenes regarding some of the most famous films made by the Italian master of horror.

In ‘Goblin sette note in rosso’ (ISBN 9788862593168) you’ll find:

- the full history of the rock band Goblin from 1973 to 2011 as no one has ever told you;

- detailed analysis of all the albums and all the movies with music performed by Goblin, including all the works as session musicians;

- full bios of Fabio Pignatelli, Claudio Simonetti, Agostino Marangolo, Massimo Morante, Maurizio Guarini, Walter Martino;

- exclusive interviews with Claudio Simonetti, Maurizio Guarini and Clive Haynes;

- Goblin’s discographies and filmographies (about 450 records and 100 movies);

- informations about all the Italian rock bands who have participated in movie soundtracks (Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, PFM, Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno, Pooh, Perigeo and dozens more);

- discographies and filmographies of the Italian composers who created soundtracks for police, ‘gialli’ and horror movies (Ennio Morricone, Stelvio Cipriani, Armando Trovajoli, Carlo Rustichelli, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, Franco Micalizzi, Giorgio Gaslini, Piero Umiliani, Piero Piccioni, Bixio-Frizzi-Tempera and many, many others);

- interviews with directors, actors and musicians, excerpts of articles from old newspapers and magazines, anecdotes;

- 19 pages with over two hundred photos, rare or never published before;

- full index;

450 pages, A4 size, paperback with laminated cover.

Welcome!

Welcome to this blog, dear friends.

After a 'pregnancy' of five years and a 'travail' of six (years!), finally saw the light “Goblin sette note in rosso” ("Goblin seven notes in red”), the book dedicated to Goblin, the Italian rock band that changed the world of filmmusic and become a legend due to their collaboration with cult director Dario Argento.“Goblin sette note in rosso” has been published in Italy in February 2011.

In these pages you will find information about the features of the book and all the Goblin’s news, in a rough english translation of the posts published on my italian blog "Goblin sette note in rosso" http://goblinsettenoteinrosso.blogspot.com/ also on line from February 2011.