This series of exactly 50 soundtrack recordings is - at least in my humble opinion - by far the MOST elusive and collectible soundtrack-on-vinyl series one can decide to try to collect. I use these words "try to collect" not by pure accident, but in full awareness, because "trying" is in fact all one can do in view of a soundtrack series, which was released over three decades in various quantities PURELY on a non-commercial promotional-only basis (these LPs were FREE give-aways to people within the movie industry - for a short "definition" of what I mean by this, please check my comments regarding the C.A.M. Cms.-series ...).
The RCA SP 8000-series "was founded" in the very early 60ies, maybe exactly the same year as the C.A.M. Cms.-series, and lasted (with interruptions) until 1986, when it was resurrected by the people behind Intermezzo Media (who are still active today and issue soundtrack CDs) for three final releases, which were of course not promotional anymore, but directed to the collectors market. Soundtrack purists do of course NOT consider these final three releases as part of the "real" RCA SP 8000-series, but for reasons of completeness they have to be included in this site (they are already gaining value, indeed).
The "main body" of the RCA SP 8000-series are the releases starting with 8000 (note: not 8001!) and lasting until 8059 in the later 70ies, covering app. 15 years, in which "only" 47 LPs were issued (since apparently also the people in charge of these projects at RCA Italiana seemed not to be able to count faultlessly; smile), resulting in an app. number of 3,0 releases/year. So actually these LPs are far less in number than the C.A.M. Cms.-series, but they are nevertheless much more difficult to locate, because of their different and even more limited distribution.
Speaking of its distribution, the series in fact started with the then "usual" print-run of 500 copies, but soon changed to 1000 copies per release in the mid-60ies, making RCA Italiana the first main label, which switched from the common 500 units to 1000 (in their other soundtrack-series from that time, the PML-series, the "print run-policy" was more erratic). Still, considering the enormous difficulties to find especially the earlier releases from this elusive series, it is VERY doubtful that the whole print run ever went into distribution. I personally assume that less than 50% of the printed copies were ever distributed into the movie industry, the other copies maybe going to the composer or maybe the overstock has gone lost or was thrown away when no more storage place was available ... (or they are still "sitting" on some shelves like hundreds and hundreds of Umilianis private Omicron- and Sound Work Shop-LP releases, which were found in his garage after his death in 2001 ...).
Having started trying to accumulate every single RCA SP 8000-release from the middle of the 80ies on, I am still not near the end with "only" two of these elusive titles missing in my collection (so please do write, if you have any of these or know anything about titles not on these pages).
What´s there to say about recording and pressing quality? Well, it´s simply FANTASTIC and OUTSTANDING! I am usually not a person keen on superlatives, but this time they are deserved by each and every issue in this series. Actually recording and pessing standards are equal to the best, audiophile Japanese pressings of the same era. There is absolutely NO surface noise or any kind of hiss inherent in these pressings, the vinyl used is top top grade (RCA Italiana knew which quality to use to promote their movies and its music; smile) and the quality ensurement policy must have been on top alert: I have never ever seen any such pressing/recording with pressing mistakes or damages, resulting from the production process (whereas I have seen tiny but audible damages on several CineVox waxings, damages, which definitly do NOT result from the LP ever having been played or handled inappropriately ...).
Like C.A.M. RCA Italiana packaged the precious vinyl within inner plastic sleeves (RCA Italiana used additional paper jackets showing other RCA products, unfortunately of course NOT from the SP 8000-series, because why market products that are not for sale?), giving the vinyl the maximum protection imaginable. The covers were manufactured from very thick and heavy cardboard with usually minimalistic but HUGELY effective black-and-white artwork (they´re really stunning; the people having done this artwork were simply masters of their craft in visual art; just look at the Umiliani and the two Piccioni-covers!!), protected by carefully done lamination to last decades without any damage (if not handled highly inappropriate: from these old releases 90% of the covers are still mint! - you see one of them and you know why!). 180g vinyl? 180g vinyl is very popular today, but in the 60ies the whole recording (cover + vinyl) weighted nearly half a kilogramm (= nearly one pound!), actually around 400g (!!), giving 180g recordings the look of copies of the "real thing"! This holds true for all issues up to but excluding # 8031 ("Colpo rovente", a top funk score by sleaze-master Piero Piccioni!). This one is the first release, which abandoned the heavy cardboard and strong vinyl "in favour for" the then (from 1970 onwards) usual softer covers without lamination and the less heavy vinyl. However, the pressing quality stayed having top-notch and second to none in Italy! Aside from a few spots of colour here and there, the cover artwork kept its minimalistic style, with in fact more than just one release featuring only the movies title as artwork on the front cover and a small reproduction of the movie poster on the back cover for information purposes (please note the only exception to this rule being the fantastic full colour cover-artwork featured on the ultra-, mega-, super-, monster-rare release of Ortolanis IL GIORNI DELL´IRA, which was also available on a cheap-looking and sounding RCA LSO-release from the USA called "Day of anger", starring Lee van Cleeve, one of the "faces" of the Italo-western genre! - the cover of this priceless item will soon be shown on this site!)
Only a handful of these LPs ever saw a re-release in the LP- and/or CD-format: Intermezzo Media re-issued a couple of them in the middle of the 80ies, which are easily distinctive from the highly sought after originals as "Intermezzo" is written on them and they feature the cheaper and softer cardboard and not as heavy vinyl (however, without making any compromises regarding the pressing quality). The re-issued items are the two western LPs "Ringo il Texanno/All´ombra di una colt" by Nico Fidenco and "Un minuto per pregare, un istante per morire" by Carlo Rustichelli as well as five Ennio Morricone-scores: "Svegliati e uccidi", "Menage all´Italiana", "Come imparai ad amare le donne", "Ad ogni costo" and "L´avventuriero". Why the LP "I western di Ennio Morricone" saw no re-release (actually a couple of copies were printed without covers, but they never went into final production), is a mystery, but probably it was considered that these tracks were in abundant supply on other recordings (which is not completely true, however) ...? "La battaglia di Algeri" (aka "The battle of Algiers") was also not re-released, most likely because the US-release was and is in abundant supply and the same might be true for "La classe oparaia va in paradiso", which was re-released as cheap looking vinyl-issue in France at that time. However, as a result, these three items went to be the most looked after Morricone RCA SP-releases, since many coollectors decided to be able to live with the Intermezzo re-releases, but what to do in case no Intermezzo re-releases has been manufactured ...?
However, with the coming of the CD-format (shame on the "music-industry"!), some more items were re-released in this format. The people behind Intermezzo now brought us among others (mosty by Morricone again), the "big lost treasure" LE SOLDATESSE by Mario Nascimbene. Other non-Morricone-scores, which are already available in the CD-format, are Rustichellis "UN MINUTO PER PREGARE, UN INSTANTE PER MORIRE", Piccionis "COLPO ROVENTE" (on EasyTempo) and Ortolanis "NELLA STRATTA MORSA DEL RAGNO". Hopefully, more will follow ... (did you listen, EasyTempo, Hexacord, DRG, Beat, ... etc? smile).
I could now start writing rave reviews about the music featured on these waxings, but it speaks for itself: this series contains a couple of the most sought after jazz-recordings of all time (GLI ARCANGELI, AL CINEMA CON PIERO UMILIANI and the PICCIONI LPs), maybe the rarest Italo-western vinyl ever (IL GIORNI DELL´IRA), ultra funky and beaty LPs like COLPO ROVENTE; LE INIBIZIONI DEL DOTTOR GAUENZI, VEDOVO, COL COMPLESSO DELLA BUONANIMA (what a title!!); VIVERE A TOKYO: CITTÁ DELL´PARADISO (a late "mondo"!) and Ferrios funkiest LP-recording ever: LA POLIZIOTTA! Actually, if you´d ask me if there ever has been a bad recording issued in this series, politeness would of course forbid to answer such a question, but I´d have to hint to only one single recording I do not like "that" much, which is LE COPPIE.
Well, that was again a lot to read (and to write, of course), so I´ll (have to) leave it at that for the time being and encourage everybody to take a closer look at all the covers shown on the following pages and to drop me an e-mail, should you have any questions, encouragements, ideas or whatever else (including vinyl) to offer ... Happy viewing from one addict to many other soon-to-become addicts (smile)! In case of questions, comments and/or offers, please drop me a line e-mail! I answer all questions as fast as possible, plan to collect them and want to put them into a FAQ-section (which is planned for 2003!). The same goes of course, if you have any info or items for sale or trade available!!
AVAILABLE items (visually graded: cover/record; play-graded upon request):
SP 8001: Ombre vive (Nico Tassone & Gino Peguri), M-/M- SP 8011: La suora giovane (Teo Usuelli), M/M SP 8016: La guerre est finie (Giovanni Fusco), M/M SP 8026: Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova, veneziano (Fiorenzo Carpi), M/EX+Please note: of all the listed items I have only one spare copy available; wants-lists welcomed (trade preferred!). WANTED: orig. copy of Interrabang (Berto Pisano) and Allonsanfan (Ennio Morricone on RCA SP 8051, if exists)!