BRUCE LEE: THE BIG BOSS (THE FIST OF FURY)

The 70s blaxploitation soundtrack has emerged as a surprise hit among contemporary soundtrack collectors and many labels have dug deep into the vaults over the past ten years, unearthing numerous and unexpected titles. But nothing will be more unexpected than VAI GORILLA, an amazing effort from the famous Italian compositional trio of Franco Bixio, Fabio Frizzi and Vince Tempera. Gloriously this 1976 crime thriller was graced with an explosive and seductive score faithfully executed in a powerful, funk-fueled blaxploitation style. Many will be pleasantly blown away by just how dead-on three Italians could be in delivering a sultry and sexy R&B score; a work heavy with effective riffs and jams that greats such as Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield would have instantly recognized as the real thing. These three musicians are best known for SEVEN NOTES IN BLACK (tapped by Quentin Tarantino) and the transgressive spaghetti western THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE, and Frizzi is revered as having been an intimate collaborator with horror auteur Lucio Fulci (THE BEYOND). VAI GORILLA shows that the trio had a profound understanding of, and affinity for, such sublime genre highpoints as Marvin Gaye's soulful TROUBLE MAN and Stanley Myers' proto-electric SITTING TARGET. In all likelihood this production will deliver a stunning eye-opener for jaded connoisseurs of the art of film music. One of the top-ten blaxploitation soundtracks comes at us, not from Hollywood, but from out of the Golden Boot of Europe! The CD gives 20 tracks including five bonus cuts and exquisite packaging. Liner notes by John Bender, moderator of The European Film Score Society.

01 Big Boss Theme
02 Mukuri
03 Girl Loves Cheng Li
04 Hard Drugs
05 The Amulet
06 Finding the Drugs
07 China Love
08 Malaparte Sinus
09 Communication in Hyperspace
10 Cheng Li and His Friends
11 EKG
12 Big Boss and His Gang
13 Blood & Dead Friends
14 Moontown
15 Revenge & Corruption
16 The Fist of Fury
17 The Amulet (film version)
18 Big Boss and His Gang (film version)
19 Dream for Two
20 Bruce Lee Forever