In 1968, Stefano Torossi’s È stato bello amarti / Omicidio per vocazione album was released by Italy’s CAM Records. Side A’s nine tracks are from Torossi’s original soundtrack for director Adimaro Sala’s È stato bello amarti (It Was Good To Love You), released the previous year. The eight compositions from Torossi on Side B come from Vittorio Sindoni’s 1968 film Omicidio per vocazione (aka L’assassino ha le mani pulite) (Deadly Inheritance), a soundtrack reissued in April by Digitmovies.

Although Stefano Torossi had appeared on a couple of 45 singles taken from film soundtracks when he was a member of The Flippers in the early 1960s, including Franco Rossi’s Odissea nuda (Nude Odyssey) and Roberto Bianchi Montero’s Un alibi per morire (An Alibi For Murder), the CAM album was his first full length release as a composer issued as an LP. Torossi’s earlier work on soundtracks including Giorgio Simonelli’s I due mafiosi (The Two Mobsters) and Giuseppe Veggezzi (aka Joseph Vegh)’s Sfida al diavolo (aka Katarsis), both films released in 1963, and director Amasis Damiani’s Un brivido sulla pelle (A Chill On The Skin) from 1966, were never released as albums.

Side A of the È stato bello amarti / Omicidio per vocazione LP starts with Stefano Torossi’s title track, followed by “Chi sei?”, “Fuochi sulla spiaggia,” “Ragazzina,” “Era d’agosto,” and “Incontro al Night,” plus two alternate versions.

At the moment, it seems only “Fuochi sulla spiaggia” is available online. Videos for “Chi sei?” and “Ragazzina” previously found on YouTube have been taken down recently.

Stefano Torossi’s “Fuochi sulla spiaggia,” the third track on the È stato bello amarti soundtrack, is here:

Side B of Stefano Torossi’s original CAM LP, the soundtrack for Omicidio per vocazione (aka L’assassino ha le mani pulite) (Deadly Inheritance), includes two versions of the title track, “Caccia all’uomo,” “Prima dell’alba,” “Dietro l’orchestra,” “Camion,” “Fari,” and “Fonogramma fisso.”

The Digitmovies CD reissue adds more unreleased tracks from the original recording session. The new material was obtained from master tapes, recorded in mono, and includes “Bossa, folk music, and other alternative and dance versions of previously released pieces – all approved by Maestro Torossi,” according to the Digitmovies website.

This correspondent’s favorite cut on the entire album is a haunting vocal version of the title track from Omicidio per vocazione.

When asked about this exceptional, Edda Dell’Orso-esque vocal performance, Stefano Torossi was not sure who was responsible:

I would say the vocalist in question is not Edda Dell’Orso. She could be either Nora Orlandi, who at the time had a male/female vocal group, or even the late Giulia Alessandroni, wife of Alessandro Alessandroni.

Stefano Torossi’s “Omicidio per vocazione (Versione romantica),” the fourth track on Side B, is on YouTube:

An instrumental version of “Omicidio per vocazione,” the opening cut of È stato bello amarti / Omicidio per vocazione‘s Side B, was also selected for Incalzante – Cupo – Angoscioso – Thrilling – Agitato (N. 2), a library and soundtrack compilation LP from 1972 that includes contributions from Benedetto Ghiglia, Giovanni Fusco, Piero Piccioni, and Stefano Torossi. The same CAM album has three more Torossi tracks: “Fuochi sulla spiaggia” from È stato bello amarti and “Caccia all’uomo” and “Prima dell’alba,” both from Omicidio per vocazione.

The same instrumental version of the title track from Omicidio per vocazione is on Barry 7’s Connectors 2: 17 Rare Italian Library Tracks, a 2002 compilation from Lo Recordings.  The LP, CD, and download from the UK label is the second installment of choice offerings from the archives of CAM Records.

“Dietro l’orchestra,” a composition that showcases a number of instantly recognizable Stefano Torossi touches, is online:

In 1972, CAM released a second compilation LP, Grottesco – Comico – Ironico, that included contributions from Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Armando Trovajoli, and one from Stefano Torossi, “Fonogramma fisso.”

Three of the eight original tracks from Side A of È stato bello amarti / Omicidio per vocazione were also later included on yet a third CAM Records’ compilation released in 1972, Sentimentale – Moderno. These Torossi original compositions include “È stato bello amarti,” “Ragazzina,” and “Chi sei?” The LP of library and soundtrack selections also features compositions from Stelvio Cipriani, Gianni Marchetti, Ennio Morricone, and Piero Umiliani.

In 2009, Swedish record company Fin De Siècle Media released a limited edition 500-copy CD reissue of Omicidio per vocazione, again paired with È stato bello amarti, although this time Omicidio per vocazione got top billing.

The deluxe gate-fold reissue of the Omicidio per vocazione / È stato bello amarti soundtrack is still available from several online music retailers specializing in movie soundtracks including Chris’ Soundtrack Corner in Germany, Discogs, and eBay.

Stefano Torossi’s “Caccia all’uomo,” from Omicidio per vocazione, is online:

I Camaleonti’s “Noi e gli altri” 1967 B-Side Composed By Stefano Torossi

Besides composing the soundtrack for È stato bello amarti in 1967, Stefano Torossi‘s Noi e gli altri,” a composition originally used for an Italian television broadcast, was released by CBS as the B-side of I Camaleonti’s 45 single, L’ora dell’amore (Homburg).

I Camaleonti’s “Noi e gli altri” is on YouTube:

A video album for È stato bello amarti / Omicidio per vocazione that includes all of the tracks currently found online including “Fuochi sulla spiaggia,” “Omicidio per vocazione,” “Dietro l’orchestra,” “Fonogramma fisso,” “Caccia all’uomo,” “Omicidio per vocazione (Versione romantica),” plus a pair of action-packed trailers from Omicidio per vocazione that use Stefano Torossi’s title theme, is here:

Online Sampler includes 45s from The Flippers, Orchestra Da Ballo Italfon plus Five More Torossi Tracks from 1968

An online sampler covering 1960 to 1969 includes six singles and sixteen album cuts:

• The Flipper’s “Non gridar bambina” (1960) RCA Camden (A-side)
• The Flipper’s “Happy Cha Cha” (1961) RCA Camden (A-side)
• Orchestra Da Ballo Italfon’s “Barbanera Twist” (1962) Italfon (B-side)
• The Flippers “Bombolo” & “Dinah” (1962) RCA Victor
• Stefano Torossi “Non importa” (1968) Costanza Records (A-side)
• Stefano Torossi’s “Runnin’ Round The Piper,” “Nostalgia,” “Auto” & “Bomba atomica” from Musica per commenti sonori (1968) Costanza Records (CO 10002)
• Sandro Brugnolini & Stefano Torossi’s “Sweet Beat,” “Interrupted,” “Repetition,” “Starter,” “Makkaresh,” “Fast Train,” “Motuproprio,” “Free Stuff,” “Wawa,” “Polyphony,” “Grace” & “Flyer” from Musica per commenti sonori (1969) Costanza Records (CO 10005)

NOTE: This Spotlight on Stefano Torossi’s È stato bello amarti / Omicidio per vocazione was first published 19 September 2014. This upgraded version adds new content.