In 1976, Red Redford Sound Sistem One released RRSSONE on EMI Italiana. The album of funk, disco, and easy listening music was arranged and conducted by Red Redford, better known as Paolo Ormi. Each side features five covers and one original composition by Ormi.

Side A includes “Scandalo al sole,” “Holiday for Strings,” “Wind,” “Besame mucho,” “Spinning Wheel,” and “Stranger in Paradise,” with “Metti una sera a cena,” “La mer,” “More,” “Perfidia,” “Et maintenant,” and “RRSS” on the back.

The album was produced by Red Redford (aka Paolo Ormi) and Franco Patrignani.

Red Redford Sound Sistem One (aka Red Redford Sound System)’s “Holiday for Strings,” composed by David Rose, is on YouTube:

The idea behind the album was explained in the liner notes on the back of the album–the image above contains the original Italian text. The album’s colorful artwork is credited to Atelier.

“With this “Sistem Sound” album, Red Redford presents a new way of thinking, of arranging and conducting an orchestra. The novelty lies in the purpose that Redford chooses for his artwork, as he address his creativity not for a single night’s audience (as in a concert performance) but instead for a “discographic” one (as in vinyl recordings); a refined, international listenership that loves to appreciate good music in the best way possible. Hence, Red Redford has conceived an orchestra in motion, recording it with special effects. You will especially enjoy the “Sound System” when played on top-of-the-line stereo systems.”

The third track, “Wind,” was initially released the previous year in a joint production by Columbia and EMI.

The Red Redford Sound System 45 has Max Steiner’s “Scandalo al sole (A Summer Place)” on the A-side.

“Wind,” Paolo Ormi’s own composition, is on the B-side.

Red Redford Sound System’s “Wind” is online:

It was also selected for Metti una bossa a cena 2, a 2001 compilation from Schema that also includes Stefano Torossi’s “Per lei” and Bruno Nicolai and Edda Dell’Orso’s “Allora, il treno” among other standouts.

Yet, it seems “Wind” is the only track from RRSSONE to ever be reissued, in any format. Copies of Red Redford Sound Sistem One’s long out of print album are difficult to come by 40 years later. This correspondent searched auction sites for more than a year before finally locating one.

The two singles, on the other hand, are usually easy to find on Discogs and similar music marketplaces and auction sites, including eBay.

The Red Redford Sound Sistem One’s funk-easy listening instrumental interpretation of “Spinning Wheel,” a composition by David Clayton-Thomas, the former lead vocalist of Blood, Sweat and Tears, is on SoundCloud:

Note: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

Side B of Red Redford Sound Sistem One’s RRSSONE opens with an instrumental version of Ennio Morricone’s “Metti una sera a cena,” the title track from Giuseppe Patroni Griffi’s 1969 film (also known as One Night at Dinner and Love Circle).

A vocal version of this Ennio Morricone classic from the original soundtrack featuring Edda Dell’Orso is located in an interview of the legendary soprano on this site.

Other composers covered on this side include Charles Trenet (“La mer”), Alberto Dominguez (“Perfidia”), Gilbert Bécaud (“Et maintenant”), and Norman Newell, Nino Oliviero, and Riz Ortolani (“More”). None of these tracks are currently available on either YouTube or SoundCloud.

This is also the case for tracks by Consuelo Velazquez (“Besame mucho”) and George Forrest (“Stranger in Paradise”) as neither of these compositions from Side A are online at this time.

Unfortunately, a video for “RRSS,” a Red Redford (aka Paolo Ormi) composition that is the final track on the album has recently been taken down from YouTube.

More Music from Red Redford

Composer-musician Paolo Ormi used the Red Redford alias for a handful of disco-funk 45s and the single full length LP, all released between 1975 and 1977. Officially, Redford is credited with composing, arranging, and conducting on these records, yet he may also have played bass, keyboards, and percussion on select tracks–documentation of such specifics in this period is sketchy at best.

In 1975, Red Redford was used for the writing credit on both sides of Hedycrum’s “Kiss Me” single released on Italy’s Celluloide label.

The long out of print, exceptional example of Italian funk created in the disco era includes “Walking” on the B-side.

Hedycrum’s “Kiss Me,” written by Red Redford (aka Paolo Ormi), is on SoundCloud:

Note: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

In 1977, the Red Redford Sound System released “The Impeachment” single on Odeon-EMI.

The funk bomb, composed by Renato Recca, appears to be the final record Paolo Ormi made with the Red Redford Sound Sistem One/Red Redford Sound System.

“The Impeachment” features Gil Ventura on saxophone.

Red Redford Sound System’s “The Impeachment” is on YouTube:

Paolo Ormi’s Tastiere (1974) featuring Sandro Brugnolini and Stefano Torossi

In 1974, Paolo Ormi released Tastiere on Italy’s Jubal label, an instrumental album of funk and jazz electronica that features fellow composers Sandro Brugnolini and Stefano Torossi.

A closer look at that album is located HERE. The piece showcases several highlights from Paolo Ormi’s prolific career in music including tracks with Beryl Cunningham, Sweet Company, and Nora Orlandi–and a clip from Kill Bill, Vol. 2 using Orlandi’s “Dies Irae 2 (M9),” conducted by Ormi.

“Dies Irae 2 (M9)” originally appeared on Orlandi’s Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh soundtrack. Recorded at Dirmaphon Studios in Rome in 1970, the album was not released until 2000, on Italy’s Hexacord Records, in conjunction with another Italian imprint, Cinedelic Records.

In 2016, Italy’s Four Flies Records released Esterno giorno and Esterno notte. The pair of vinyl-only compilations drawn from RCA Italy’s film music vaults each feature a different version of Paolo Ormi’s “Provaci anche, tu, Lionel.”

Paolo Ormi’s “Interazione,” composed by Sandro Brugnolini, is online:

https://soundcloud.com/dj-el-topo-1/interazione-paolo-ormi

Earlier this year, some old friends from Italy’s Golden Age of library and soundtrack music got together for a few laughs including two of the three composers on Paolo Ormi’s Tastiere.

From left to right, Stefano Torossi, Alessandro Alessandroni, Augusto Zappi, Sandro Brugnolini, and Romano Di Bari, founder of Flippermusic. The photo, recently posted on Alessandroni’s facebook page, is courtesy of Margaret Courtney-Clarke.

Torossi Audio Sampler features Three LPs with Sandro Brugnolini including Trio of Tracks with Paolo Ormi