When Giorgio Moroder made a cameo on Daft Punk’s intergalactic hit Random Access Memories last year, followed soon after by his first-ever DJ set at the age of 73 at New York’s Output, it became official. A new generation of budding discophiles, with peach fuzz where their ironic facial hair is still growing, suddenly discovered what their forebears long took for granted: Giorgio Moroder saved civilisation. He’s the one who unleashed Donna Summer on the world, singlehandedly invented electronic dance music, composed or produced some of the catchiest pop hits and film soundtracks of the 80s and appeared on some of the most dagtastic album covers of all time – face it, we wouldn’t be where we are without this Italian-born producer, musician, singer and songwriter extraordinaire.
No one except fellow Daft collaborator Nile Rodgers has had a bigger influence on both the world of dance music and the mainstream. Even if you think you’re not familiar with Moroder’s work, trust me, you’ve been dancing to or humming his songs for years. With the music legend set to headline a series of events at the Sydney Opera House for Vivid Live, here’s a beginner’s primer featuring 10 essential Moroder masterpieces. Dig in and feel the love.
1. Donna Summer – Love to Love You Baby (1975)
Let’s start by getting back to basics. This midtempo orchestral-funk epic, one of the records that signalled the international explosion of disco, is as seminal as it gets. More importantly it’s as sexy as it gets, and its sizzle hasn’t diminished at all in the last four decades. Just try making it through all 17 minutes of the long version, featuring the soft sounds of Summer seemingly pleasuring herself in the studio, without breaking a sweat.
2. Giorgio Moroder – Knights in White Satin (1976)
From Moroder’s solo album of the same name, this epic achievement foreshadows his future role as a pop and rock impresario by rocketing a Moody Blues cover into outer space. It combines his mastery of chunky, soulful urban-American disco with melancholy, über-Euro vocal stylings. The trippy interlude is marked by Kraftwerk-inspired electro keyboards, hinting at the epochal moment to follow.
3. Donna Summer – I Feel Love (1977)
Moroder and Summer’s collaboration had already signalled a sea change in dance music; but no one was prepared for the aural revolution that this track represented. Audaciously foregrounding hypnotic Moog riffs, somehow icy and feverish at once, and de-emphasizing Summer’s ethereal cooing, it was the first dance record to be recorded entirely with synthesizers. As infectious as it is eerie, it topped charts all over the world, pointing the way to the future just when disco was becoming overexposed and sadly watered down. It goes without saying that it was a huge influence on multiple dance genres, from Italo-disco to new wave to Detroit techno. Despite its legacy, it still sounds fresher than records half as old whenever it’s given a spin late at night.
4. Giorgio Moroder – From Here to Eternity (1978)
For many this is Eurodisco’s finest moment. It’s terribly cheesy, of course, with its breathlessly melodramatic vocals, clunky lyrics and, compared to Moroder’s earlier funk-based work, somewhat stilted groove. But it’s exquisitely fine cheese. The trademark arpeggiated keyboard riff and Kraftwerkian synth flourishes don’t quit, the groove becomes more fascinating the more it plods on, and the continually climaxing chorus is unforgettable. The vocoder ices the cake.
5. Giorgio Moroder – Evolution (1978)
After the heights he achieved with synthesized sounds, this instrumental long player is Moroder back in funkster mode and cruising at the peak of his powers. It’s difficult to reconcile this cut’s psychedelic groove – which could be mistaken for a contemporary indie-disco excursion from the likes of Prins Thomas or Lindstrøm – with the fact that it appeared on the original Battlestar Galactica TV soundtrack album. I may have to go back and check, but I don’t remember the Cylons getting down like this.
6. Giorgio Moroder – Chase (1978)
From the soundtrack of the notorious Midnight Express, this is Moroder’s greatest moment as a film composer and second only to I Feel Love in the pantheon of his proto-techno. Affirming Moroder’s genius as a purveyor of electronic music for the masses, it’s been used in a thousand radio spots, TV commercials, video games and sports-highlight reels over the years; but that hasn’t diminished its spooky, insistent groove nor its impossible-to-forget melody. (Too bad if it makes you think of a Turkish prison.)
7. Giorgio Moroder – E=MC2 (1979)
This catchy, super-fun but intricate vocal track shows Moroder’s adaptability and vision; it was released just as the pulsating blend of funk, Latin, electro, rock and R&B known as garage began to take over in the wake of the disco backlash. You can hear house music evolving in its perfect synthesis of soul and electro.
8. Blondie – Call Me (1980)
The dawn of the ’80s and the so-called last days of disco saw Moroder moving away from a strict 4/4 dancefloor groove and into the world of pop and rock music – with a massive impact on the mainstream. This Moroder-produced single by the New York punk/pop/dance outfit was one of the biggest hits of the era. If you forgot or never knew Moroder produced it, it’ll suddenly all make sense when you think of its grinding guitar riff, subtly layered synths and insidious melody – as well as Debbie Harry’s Donna Summer-like cooing on the bridge.
9. Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder – Together in Electric Dreams (1984)
You can’t talk about Moroder without considering his unabashedly mainstream pop work of the mid ’80s. Regret it, revel in it with arch yacht-rock irony, or love it on its own terms, but you can’t dismiss it. With due respect to the mega-hits from the soundtracks of Top Gun and The Neverending Story, I’ll take this one from the 1984 sleeper Electric Dreams (appropriately enough about a computer that falls in love), which was actually Moroder’s biggest hit under his own name. The collaboration with the Human League’s Oakey was meant to be; and the sugary pop confection, expertly synthesized and layered with yummy keyboard and guitar hooks, epitomises the commercial sound of the era (and my childhood).
10. Daft Punk – Giorgio by Moroder (2013)
Random Access Memories is widely considered overweening or at least overrated by dance-music purists, but this nine-minute tribute featuring a spoken word from the man himself is widely loved – perhaps for its authentically Moroderesque quality, or perhaps simply because it lets an icon tell his story. The details are terrific, from the crowd noise at the beginning to the click track in the breakdown; and the emotional heights achieved by the crescendoing orchestral electro/prog-rock are formidable. It’s a terrific signpost pointing to Moroder’s legacy for a new generation.
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