DigitMovie's latest foray into music from Bud Spencer's career is this period comedy which had the big guy (looking pretty slim in the campaign art) roaming through a Medieval landscape.

Scored by the composing team of Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, Il Soldato di Ventura / Soldier of Fortune is a mono-thematic score, which means most of the 21 tracks on this CD use the same theme and arrangements, making for a repetitive listen.

The titular theme, vocalized in the hysterical “Oh! Ettore” nicely captures the flavour of a roguish character who lacks a certain finesse and discipline. The composers have the vocal parts alternate from lament to a sly inference of the character's incompetence, and it's definitely the highlight of the score. Of the album's three bonus tracks, two are the A and B sides (slow and easy + up-tempo versions) of a 45 RPM single, released to promote the film

There's several instrumental variations – some slow, some excited – and the De Angelises sometimes extrapolate the opening rhythm into a hasty trot. A kind of secondary theme, “Accampamento,” is one of the CD's few source cues, and the composers make use of the “Oh! Ettore” lyrics while oboe and acoustic guitar flank the right and left stereo image. It's a nice rendition that evokes the period, but it also doesn't offer much more in variation.

A lengthy thematic suite (9:29) repeats “Accampamento” in a more overtly contemporary feel, via electric bass, while “Verso l'avventura” adds a small drum kit and dueling guitars.

“Assedio” provides a needed break from the film's main theme re-treading, and demonstrates some lovely acoustic guitar and flute, and one wonders why the composers chose to rely so heavily on one theme. The composing team's background includes writing songs for several films, but these short cues clearly show they could craft some material for adept musicians. Perhaps the film's producers wanted a hit single (which the film certainly had), but as a listening experience, Il Soldato di Ventura is mostly for ardent fans of Spencer's canon, and the composers.

This CD is part of DigitMovies' recent Bud Spencer tributes, which includes Occhio alla Penna / Buddy Goes West, and Il Soldato di Ventura / Soldier of Fortune.

© 2006 Mark R. Hasan