Now here, is where we start to see Christina and Maurizio discover the role their music can project. Remember that track by Vangelis called “Who”? If you don’t, head on over here first, and check it out again. Back then, in 1974, no one was quite ready for what this sound was asking for. No matter, Chrisma did. They plucked this obscure song from Vangelis’ vault and exactly knew how to remake it as the seductive song it was always meant to be. How did they do so? By amplifying the temptation hinted at in the original track. With the aid of Nicholas, Vangelis’ brother, they slowed down the tempo and added some snake-charmer-like synthesizer melodies, all the while their sensuous harmonies softened the track even more. The song now really sounded like something it wasn’t before. Before, the feeling was mysterious, now it was intriguing and for damn sure, it was dead sexy. The problem presented to them was getting beyond the increasingly faceless disco scene.
The first video, which is mildly NSFW, features Maurizio and Christina preparing for a performance of this track. In a video, where a whole backing band dressed like topless gigolo football players, Maurizio in a sequin v-neck and leather pants ensemble, and two half-naked go-go dancers…the most striking image is the person dressed in the least revealing outfit: Christina. That alta moda outfit consisting of a sheer black front halter dress, sequin elbow pads, coupled with a unique lace mask and the gorgeously sophisticated waterfall hair worn by the elegantly made-up Christina projected everything that was so enticing about the track. It was decadence in the flesh, and not behind the curtain anymore. True glamorous sensuality, the likes of which Italian’s weren’t used to seeing, much less being personified musically in such a way, made them a cultural phenomenon shortly thereafter.
The second video, which actually goes through the full song itself, wisely plays up the other side of the track: one part was decadent (giving in to the temptation) and the other side was the fantasy of it all (what could happen…). Its a brilliant video in its own right. Check out the announcer sizing them up, then they, with a wink and a nod, agree to “perform” the track, all the while using video overlay tricks and strobes to ramp up the underlying dreamlike feel of this song, which makes you forget that their “dance” is just a trigger for all the visuals going around them.