PROFONDO ROSSO - THE COMPLETE EDITION

Profondo Rosso - The Complete Edition is a CD re-release of the 1975 Goblin album Profondo Rosso. It´s a bit more than merely a re-release though as the original album only included the seven songs written and performed by Goblin while Profondo Rosso - The Complete Edition includes Giorgio Gaslini´s compositions as well. So this version is actually the original movie soundtrack. The original album served more as a Goblin album. Profondo Rosso - The Complete Edition replaces the original album in the catalog.

Profondo Rosso ( Deep Red) is a Giallo ( Italian thriller/ suspense movie genre which is famed for elaborate and bloody murder scenes) movie by Italian director Dario Argento. Most of the songs in the movie are composed and performed by Goblin and are in instrumental progressive/ fusion rock style but especially one of the compositions written by Giorgio Gaslini has an important role in the movie. The child´s doggerel tune School at Night serves as the murderer's calling card and is played several times throughout the movie. It appears here in several versions which includes music box version, Child version, Echo version, Celesta version and Instrumental version. The Goblin songs also appear in more than one version which means that the album has a total of 28 songs. Most of them very short.

It´s up to discussion if we really need all sorts of versions of different songs when the difference between versions are not more evident than is the case on this album ( with the exception of School at Night). I must admit that I prefer the original album over this release as I find much of the material on Profondo Rosso - The Complete Edition quite superfluous and the flow of the original album is nowhere to be found here. Another thing I would like to point out is the mix on this version which is not as organic and pleasant sounding as on the original album and it´s really a shame as some of the songs sound much harder than they were intended to originally. The soft and pleasant seventies sound on the original is missed by this reviewer. On the plus side it´s great to finally hear Giorgio Gaslini´s contributions in album form but overall I can´t give Profondo Rosso - The Complete Edition more than a 3 star rating even though I gave the original album 4 stars. It´s simply not enjoyable for me to listen to the same song in three or four different versions ( that are not really that different from each other) when I want to enjoy an album. Get your hands on the original album if you can, but as the music is as great as it is get Profondo Rosso - The Complete Edition if it´s not possible to get the original album. Don´t miss out on the fun because the music on Profondo Rosso is very recommendable if you enjoy instrumental progressive/ fusion rock with a strong suspense element.