Record of the Week

When asked recently by a fellow collector do I own this record, "Own it? I want to BE it for Halloween" was my reply. E=mc Squared, released in 1980, is the world's first live-to-digital record, and involves early solid state electronics e.g. MOOGs, memory banks, synthesizers, programmed drums, and a vocoder into which The Father of Disco both scats and acknowledges the album's credits.
The standout track for me is anthemic "If You Weren't Afraid," in which Moroder pleas, "If you were not afraid of flying, we could leave the ground. If you were not afraid of trying out the love we found." Some girls have all the luck. A close second is "I Wanna Rock You," an appeal to the libidinous Italian in all of us. "I've been watching you dancing. It's good to see what you've got. I wanna show you my night moves, and baby I got a lot." Give him a break, English was his third language; besides, the maestro is not known for his poetry, he is known for his instrumentation, imagination, and bringing computerized electronic music to the mainstream. Enjoy and run, don't walk.