Giorgio Moroder
Déjà Vu
RCA Records
Everything old is new again. Giorgio Moroder got his start in the late 1960s Euro-Dance scene; he got his first Gold disc in 1965 and never looked back. Adept with the exciting new electronic synthesizers, he caught the wave of disco arranging hits like Donna Summer’s hit single “I Feel Love.” Déjà Vu is Moroder’s 15th album, and it’s a sparking listen as any of his earlier projects. I’ll start with “74 is the new 24”- it’s a warm, bubbly dance tune; fast enough to raise sweat but not something any reasonable fit dancer couldn’t impress with. Title track “Déjà Vu” takes its vocals from singer Sia. It’s another soaring love song set to a dance beat, like all pop music it’s at is most up-lifting when the topic is new love with a flowery sheen; the depressing “My baby left me” stuff is more at home in the darkness of blues and county. Any darkness in Moroder’s world is just there to emphasize the sparkle; take “Diamond.” It opens with a deep house groove and vocals from Charli XCX. Your first impression says “Quaaludes and dark glasses” but two bars in and its all “Molly and Glow Sticks.”
Now I’m not always clear on who all his vocalists are, but my longtime favorite Kylie Minogue joins the dance party on “Right Here, Right Now” with another floating journey to happiness. There are no downers allowed in Mr. Moroder’s studio, just happy, sweaty disco aimed getting you ready for love.
