Description
2023 reissue, 12″, Planet Records Classics.
First released way back in 1984 as the debut single from singer Maria Chaira Perugini – the first of three 12″ singles she released before disappearing into obscurity – ‘Eyes’ has long been regarded as an underground Italo-disco classic. This reissue, which boasts new artwork based on the Italian singer’s later singles, presents remastered versions of the single’s two mixes. The A-side ‘Original Mix’ is top-notch, synth-powered Italo-disco, with Perugini singing in heavily accented English atop beats, bass and stab-happy lead lines that sit somewhere between classic Italo-disco and the Hi-NRG work of NYC producer Bobby Orlando. Arguably even better is the flip-side Dub, which doffs a cap towards the Afro-cosmic movement via Marimba melodies, echo-laden vocal snippets, and a more chugging, arpeggio-powered groove. – Juno