A couple of nights ago, after months of idle conformity, I decided to start exercising again. Not that I wanted to, but my expanding belly was commanding me otherwise. As I got ready for a quick jog, I opened Spotify on my phone and saw that my friend Gerry had sent me a peculiar track called La polizia sta a guardare. I pressed play, took the first steps towards the inevitable pain of a one-mile run, and was immediately – and thankfully – transported back to the ’70s: A haunting keyboard riff, jazzy bass and drums, and a horn section dripping with urgency. Far out, man.

This theme by Stelvio Cipriani was composed for an Italian crime/police thriller of the same name. The style seems influenced by the American jazz-infused/orchestra scores of the era with a bit of James Bond thrown in. It’s simple, exciting, and badass all at once. Maybe the film itself is as good as this track, maybe not, but it doesn’t matter. All I know is by the end I was ready to get into my 1968 Ford Mustang and head to the station downtown to figure out that unsolved murder on my desk.

Click on the cover and check it out.

Carlos I. Cuevas