Chase (instrumental)
{{short description|1978 electronic instrumental by Giorgio Moroder}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Chase
| cover = Giorgio Moroder - Chase cover art.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Giorgio Moroder
| album = Midnight Express: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| B-side = {{hlist|"Love's Theme"|"Istanbul Blues"|"(Theme From) Midnight Express"}}
| released = 1978
| recorded = 1978
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
- Eurodisco{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GioEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Giorgio+Moroder+The+chase+euro+disco&pg=PA82|title=Giorgio Moroder|magazine=CMJ New Music|date=May 2000|access-date=28 August 2023|quote=Giorgio Moroder's "The Chase" isn't necessarily a familiar name, but you'd recognize it if you heard it: it's the ur- Eurodisco instrumental, an interlocking set of minor-key patterns that's as classic as late-night get-up-and-boogie background music gets, created by the man who produced most of Donna Summer's hits.}}
- italo disco{{Cite podcast|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2023/09/how-instrumentals-become-infectious-hits|title= Insert Lyrics Here Edition|website=Hit Parade {{!}} Music History and Music Trivia|publisher=Slate|last=Molanphy|first=Chris|date=September 15, 2023|access-date=October 3, 2023}}
- electropop{{Cite podcast|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2023/09/how-instrumentals-become-infectious-hits|title= Insert Lyrics Here Edition|website=Hit Parade {{!}} Music History and Music Trivia|publisher=Slate|last=Molanphy|first=Chris|date=September 15, 2023|access-date=October 3, 2023}}
| length = {{ubl|{{Duration|m=13|s=06}} {{small|(maxi single)}}|{{Duration|m=8|s=26}} {{small|(LP version)}}|{{Duration|m=3|s=38}} {{small|(single version)}}}}
| label = Casablanca Records
| writer = Giorgio Moroder
| producer = Giorgio Moroder
| chronology = Giorgio Moroder
| prev_title = Let The Music Play
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = E=MC2
| next_year = 1979
}}
"Chase" (also known as "The Chase") is a instrumental composition by Italian music producer Giorgio Moroder. It was released as a single by Casablanca Records during 1978 from his Academy Award-winning soundtrack album Midnight Express (1978), and was a disco instrumental that was subsequently extended and released as a maxi single. It made the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1979, peaking at number 33, and the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 48.
Background
Created especially for the film Midnight Express, Alan Parker, the director of the film, explicitly asked Moroder for a song in the style of "I Feel Love", which Moroder composed for Donna Summer. It was Moroder's second time composing a movie soundtrack after his work on 1972's German softcore sex film "Sex Life in a Convent".{{Cite web|title=Giorgio Moroder, Filmkomponist by Thomas Staedeli|url=https://www.cyranos.ch/skmoro-d.htm|access-date=2021-08-30|website=www.cyranos.ch}}{{Citation|title=Sex Life in a Convent (1972) - IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068377/|language=en-US|access-date=2021-08-30}}[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/31/giorgio-moroder-sylvester-stallone-bob-dylan-donna-summer "Giorgio Moroder: 'Sylvester Stallone wanted Bob Dylan to sing on a Rambo movie'"], The Guardian, 31 October 2013. The song's main melody was played on a Roland SH-2000 synthesizer, while the bass lines were played on a Minimoog synthesizer. The track also has a flanging effect produced by the MXR Flanger, while other instruments used include an ARP/Solina String Ensemble, Fender Rhodes, Hohner Clavinet, and piano.[http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/article/5916-giorgio-moroder-gear-guide-inc-new-novation-morodernova-.html Giorgio Moroder Gear Guide], Dolphin Music
Although a disco piece, "Chase", along with "I Feel Love", is more specifically considered the pioneering introduction of the hi-NRG genre, which came to prominence in the early 1980s. The music was arranged by Harold Faltermeyer under the leadership of Giorgio Moroder.
Reception
In 2016, Pitchfork named it the 175th best song of the 1970s, saying, "Any time someone describes a piece of music as 'cinematic,' there’s a decent chance they’re thinking, consciously or subconsciously, of 'Chase'. It's impossible to overstate, let alone list, the amount of composers and films who've ripped off 'Chase'."{{cite web |title=The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9935-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1970s/|author=Katherine St. Asaph |work=Pitchfork|date=22 August 2016 }} In 2019, Spin ranked it among "The 30 Best Disco Songs That Every Millennial Should Know".{{cite web|author=Spin Staff|title=The 30 Best Disco Songs That Every Millennial Should Know|url=https://www.spin.com/2019/06/best-disco-songs-of-all-time/|work=Spin|date=18 June 2019|accessdate=12 April 2025}}
Track listing
- Casablanca — NBD 20146 — single-sided 12"
{{Track listing
| headline = Side A
| title1 = Chase
| length1 = 13:06
}}
- Casablanca — NBD 956 — 7" single
{{Track listing
| headline = Side A
| title1 = Chase
| length1 = 3:38
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side B
| title1 = Love's Theme
| length1 = 3:20
}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Original version
{{col-2}}
;Giorgio Moroder vs. Jam & Spoon version
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2000)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| Canada Dance/Urban (RPM){{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.7276.pdf| title=RPM Top 30 Dance - May 29, 2000}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 14 |
| {{single chart|Germany|44|artist=Giorgio Moroder vs. Jam & Spoon|song=The Chase|songid=4135|rowheader=true|accessdate=22 June 2016|refname=}} |
| {{single chart|Italy|25|artist=Giorgio Moroder vs. Jam & Spoon|song=The Chase|rowheader=true|accessdate=22 June 2016|refname=Italian}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch100|68|artist=Giorgio Moroder vs. Jam & Spoon|song=The Chase|rowheader=true|accessdate=22 June 2016|refname=}} |
| {{single chart|Swiss|44|artist=Giorgio Moroder vs. Jam & Spoon|song=The Chase|rowheader=true|accessdate=22 June 2016|refname=}} |
| {{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|46|artist=Giorgio Moroder|rowheader=true|accessdate=22 June 2016|song=|refname=}} |
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs master|master=224846|name=Chase|type=single}}
{{Giorgio Moroder}}
{{Jam & Spoon}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Giorgio Moroder songs
Category:Songs written for films
Category:Songs written by Giorgio Moroder