Search - Giorgio Moroder :: Cat People: Original Soundtrack

Moroder's Best Score - With a Great Bowie Track

Scott T. Rivers | Los Angeles, CA USA | 04/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps best known for his Oscar-winning "Midnight Express" score and his disco collaborations with Donna Summer, composer Giorgio Moroder's finest work can be heard on "Cat People" (1982). Like the Paul Schrader film it accompanies, Moroder's score remains a masterpiece of mood and atmosphere - featuring David Bowie's excellent title song (subtitled "Putting Out Fire"). It should be noted that Moroder utilized a different recording for the movie, which is equally memorable. Hopefully, the "Cat People" CD will be reissued with additional music from the film soundtrack."

Putting Out Fire With Gasoline

Gary F. Taylor | Biloxi, MS USA | 02/15/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The artistry of composer Giorgio Moroder aside, this CD is the only place you can find the original David Bowie vocal for "Theme from Cat People," perhaps better known as "Putting Out Fire With Gasoline." And that alone makes this CD a must-have: a piece of music that begins with primative-sounding percussion, introduces Bowie at his sultry, sexy best, and then suddenly explodes into one of the most chills-down-your-spine bits of music that you will ever encounter, the personification of ... hunger, desire, and a touch of kink. Moroder and Bowie make a remarkable combination--it is a great pity they did not do more together--and the recording here is far, far superior to the version of the song included on Bowie's LET'S DANCE.That said, the rest of the soundtrack is a mixed bag. There are moments of beauty, particularly those that repeat the opening theme--"Irena's Theme," "Leopard Tree Dream," and "Myth," the latter of which features Bowie's dusky, languid humming of the main theme. But other selections are so specifically tied to the film that they do not stand well alone. This is particularly true of selections like "Autopsy" and "Night Rabbit," which are essentially created as background music for the movie's "shocker" scenes, short bits of music that suddenly pop to increase the horror of the graphic violence occurring on the screen. While interesting to fans of the film, they aren't greatly interesting beyond the context of the film itself.The instruments here are a mix of synthetics and live, a typical Moroder concept that creates an interesting tension--a sort of strange mix of detachment and human involvement, if you will. And then there is that haunting, hungry, incredibly ... Bowie vocal to some of the most sensuous lyrics ever written for any song: "See these eyes so green... I could stare for a thousand years... colder than the moon... it's been so long. Feel my blood enraged... it's just the fear of losing you... don't you know my name? it's been so long." Incredibly ... incredibly powerful stuff, this single cut alone worth the cost of the CD; it's perfect ... and you may want to borrow cuts from the recording to add to your home-made background "event" music..."

MEOW

Michael Butts | Martinsburg, WV USA | 04/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I never understood why David Bowie reworked "Putting Out the Fire" for his single version. This original is awesome, and a hundred times better than the "juiced up" version. The intro, coupled with the sultry jungle drums, Bowie's evocative vocals, makes for one of the best movie themes in the past thirty years. Strangely enough, it was ignored at the Oscars, and just goes to show how much the academy has changed in including "pop" in its awards. However, I bought this CD mainly to get this excellent version of the title theme, and it's worth the price just to hear that version again. Moroder, who rose to fame with Donna Summer and "Midnight Express" captured the eerie sexuality of Paul Schrader's enigmatic film, and listening to the soundtrack conjures up images I thought I had long forgotten.
There's no putting out the fire on this title track!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."