Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (1979)

1979. Disco. Studio 54, cocaine and dancing. Ahhh , those were the days ... But as I was only seven years old the year this album was released I was blissfully unaware of all glamorous nightlife. And Sweden's jet set wasn’t quite in the same league as New York's ditto.

The Italian Giorgio Moroder must almost be considered a legend within the music world, especially the dance and disco world. He has produced artists such as Donna Summer, David Bowie, Blondie, Bonnie Tyler, Freddie Mercury, The Three Degrees etc. He founded Musicland Studios in Munich, where ELO, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Elton John have recorded. He has also recorded ​​numerous solo albums including a number of soundtracks, not the least the soundtrack to the epic masterpiece Scarface, all gangsters favourite movie - Say hello to my little friend! And this year he turned up on Daft Punk's new album Random Access Memories.

E= mc² is a pure electronic disco album. No guitars, bass or drums. No horns. No triangle. This was unusual in 1979. Although electronics had long been used in disco, it always shared its place with strings, horns and groovy guitar rhythms. Sure, there were bands like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream that solely used electronic instruments, but they were hardly in the disco world.

Personally, I have never been a big disco fan, so the album shouldn’t be to my taste, I think disco music usually is too superficial. But I can’t lie – this is a pretty fun record! The falsetto song gives you Bee Gees vibes, it's uptempo and danceable. Allmusic.com gives the album 4 stars and writes:

“This is the electronic dance music that preceded the rise of techno, house, and industrial noise, and it came at a time when hip-hop was in its infancy and the rave subculture had yet to be invented. Even though the songs themselves are average, Moroder and Faltermeyer's futuristic production makes E=MC2 a historically interesting LP that anyone who has enjoyed electronic dance rhythms needs to check out.”

And since I in the 90's was totally lost in goa trance (as it was called at the time) I suppose E = mc² has its place in the collection.

My record was bought in Quebec, Canada, and was released by Casablanca. Since that is KISS old label I always think that I'll be hearing Detroit Rock City when I put it on the turntable. The closing song, also the title track, ends with Moroder telling us who helped out making the record, all to a disco beat. Pretty fun.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Baby Blue 4:53
2. What A Night 4:55
3. If You Weren’t Afraid 5:16

Side B

1. I Wanna Rock You 6:30
2. In My Wildest Dreams 4:37
3. E=mc² 4:32