FILE UNDER: RARE ITALIAN SCI-FI SOUNDTRACK BARCODE: CD: 8018344029450 / LP: 8018344029457
LUCIANO MICHELINI E LA SUA ORCHESTRA - LA CONQUISTA DU LUNA label: SCHEMA (SCEB-945)

 

 

Tracklist

01 La conquista di Luna play button
02 Il volto nascosto di Luna play button
03 Tycho play button
04 A Mrs. Armstrong play button
05 Chiaro di Luna 2000 play button
06 La ruota dei pianeti play button
07 Richiamo di Terra
08 Vento solare
09 Meteoriti
10 In viaggio
11 Il centro di Houston
12 Odissea nello spazio

LA CONQUISTA DI LUNA (1969)
There is only a tiny Wikipedia page about Luciano Michelini, and is written in German. A fact that
should make us think on how he is still virtually unknown and unappreciated in Italy. After graduating
from the conservatory, the pianist and composer started working as a teacher, while pursuing
a more creative ca-reer as a composer. From 1964 to 1982 he also worked as a manager for
RCA and left his mark primarily as the author of Italian film soundtracks. Among his best-known
scores are worth mentioning “Il Decamerone nero”, “La polizia accusa: il servizio segreto uccide”,
“La città gioca d’azzardo” and, above all, the beautiful “L’isola degli uomini pesce”, written
for the eponymous sci-fi horror film by Sergio Martino.
His true masterpiece, however, was composed in 1969 and is titled “La Conquista di Luna” (The
Moon’s Conquest), one of the rarest and most sought Italian soundtracks, virtually impossible
to get without spending a fortune. Michelini and his orchestra produced this imaginary sci-fi
soundtrack enriched by the presence of the legendary singer Edda Dell’Orso on some tracks.
Drawing its structure from classical and orchestral soundtracks, the album is tinged with prog
elements ahead of their time, soft psychedelia and moments of sheer genius: more than 40 years
after its first release, it still guarantees a jaw-dropping listening experience. It is almost impossible,
for example, to listen to “Tycho” without thinking of the following decades of orchestral pop
production and how a song like that could and should have exerted its influence. Better late than
never…