Puppet on a Chain [Original Soundtrack]

Original score composed by Piero Piccioni.
Recording information: Shepperton Studios (09/1970).
Author: Alistair Maclean.
Editor: J. Saul Kane.
Unknown Contributor Role: John Sloan.
This previously unreleased soundtrack for director Geoffrey Reeves' square-jawed, 1970s crime-caper Puppet on a Chain utilized the talents of lauded Italian composer Piero Piccioni. As with any collection of film music from the era, Puppet is a reliable barometer of the times. Piccioni utilized the beat-heavy, Hammond organ wash of the post-counterculture/European nightclub sect to frame the adventures of "super-agent" Paul Sherman as he picks off bad guys and drives real fast in his speed boat. The action sequences are funky and angular, bashing in heads with orchestral bursts and jazz horns that echo the soon-to-come blaxploitation era. Piccioni builds cool upon cool like a Ken Nordine bereft of words, bridging the gap between '60s kitsch, urban noir and espionage excess. ~ James Christopher Monger