ALEX PUDDU - In The Eye Of The Cat

Alex Puddu is a Rome-born drummer and multi-instrumentalist nearing fifty (though he's been based in Copenhagen for thirty years), with a past as a DJ specializing in dance-funk and "salsoul". Above all, he's a sincere, almost obsessive devotee of all things Italian genre-cinema soundtracks of the Seventies.

Riding the wave of revival that these sounds enjoyed in the late Nineties (with reissues of obscure "library music" records and of soundtracks from poliziotteschi and Italian giallo films, courtesy of labels like Easy Tempo, Cinevox and Dagored), Puddu decided to put his compositional and instrumental skills to good use, drawing inspiration from exactly those genres and recording a series of albums that are indeed sincere tributes to that era, but which fortunately don't lack a decent dose of personality.

His debut album, "Hell Is Other People", came out in a numbered edition in 2010 on Al Dente. After a couple of records inspired by Danish pornographic films and another one featuring a special guest appearance by Edda Dell'Orso ("Registrazioni al Buio", released by Schema in 2013), Puddu has now arrived at his sixth work, "In The Eye Of The Cat", once again graced by Dell'Orso's gorgeous voice on four of its eleven tracks (though Dell'Orso recorded her vocals in Rome, while Puddu did everything else in Copenhagen with the help of skilled session musicians), and presented with a splendid cover that perfectly captures the musical proposal held within the record's grooves.

Puddu is certainly no Morricone, nor a Piccioni or a Trovajoli, but despite the obvious debt owed to those inimitable masters, the Roman multi-instrumentalist manages to hit the mark, this time with an extra dose of originality.

Listening to "Danze delle Ombre" and "In The Eye Of The Cat", it's impossible not to think of the Morricone of "Il Gatto a Nove Code" and the Osanna of "Milano Calibro 9" — yet, despite the clearly derivative style, these are intriguing tracks with a terrific groove. "Emerald", on the other hand, is a Franco Micalizzi (the one behind the soundtracks of Lenzi's poliziotteschi, so beloved by Tarantino) on acid. "Il Sogno, La Luna" and "Una Donna allo Specchio" are pure lounge music straight out of the Morricone songbook (think "Le Foto Proibite di Una Signora Perbene"). "The City Of Gold" and "Mood Psichedelico" recall, respectively, Piero Piccioni at his most languid and at his most lysergic (the soundtrack to "Scacco alla Regina", for instance).

"The Bull" is yet another tribute to Osanna, while "Magic Mountain" is a fine acoustic example of mystical psychedelia (it's not off the mark to think of Six Organs Of Admittance too). "Terra e Fuoco" closes the album with a vocal performance from Dell'Orso in the purest seventies style. Puddu also proves to be a skilled instrumentalist, not just as a percussionist, but also on bouzouki, organ, moog and various guitars.

A truly tasty, enjoyable record, even if not a revolutionary one.

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07/02/2016