One record at a time: 191. Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygène

In the seventies, foreign countries seemed remote and completely alien to me. Most of the people I knew led introverted and parochial lives that rejected anything 'foreign'. The idea of eating exotic foods like croissants, olives or even wholemeal bread would have made half of England collapse into their fish and chips fifty years ago.

As a result of this narrow minded attitude, every single person in my childhood pronounced the title of this album as "Oxy-jean". It wasn't until around 1985 that a French teacher finally corrected me and I began to pronounce it properly. 

I am still surprised this album was so popular in a country that couldn't even pronounce a simple word like "Oxygene". And yet, this record reached number two in the UK charts in 1977 and the single release of "Part IV" also penetrated the top five.

It stands to reason that an album that has sold a large number of copies will have resulted in a correspondingly large number of formats, pressings and re-issues. Discogs lists 409 different versions of "Oxygene" with contemporary releases "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis clocking up a mere 93 entries and big hits like "A New World Record" by ELO generating 236 versions. There are also another 30 versions of the "New Master Recording" of "Oxygene" which contains the same music but from an entirely different master. Definitely a new master and not the the original. Completely different.*cough*

Unfortunately I sold all of the Jarre vinyl I collected in my youth around 1990, so here I will be playing a remastered version from 2015. I also own copies of the record from the "Oxygene Trilogy" box set and a gatefold where it is coupled with "Equinoxe".

"Part I" begins with Jarre's signature sound of Eminent 310 strings through a Small Stone phaser and a Revox delay. Those tuning in expecting the Mini-pops beats and catchy melody of "Part IV" must have had quite a shock at being confronted with this dreamlike journey through the stars. The cornerstone of  "Part II" is the staccato synth melody which is augmented by pulsating VCS 3 sound effects and the Korg Mini-Pops drum machine. Whilst I have always like this song I don't regard it amongst the elite of Jarre's material as others do. The first side of the record finishes with the more aggressive sounding "Part III" in which a kick drum plods away before giving way to bird song.

I think almost everyone will be familiar with "Oxygene IV" so I won't go into it here. This is one of those songs that I've heard so many times it seems to just wash over me. Don't get me wrong, it is still think it is a genius idea, but extreme familiarity has brought a mild disinterest. Strangely "Part V" is actually split into two parts which both roll in at around five minutes in length. The shimmering Farfisa organ of the first section gives way to contrasting rhythmical sequences and a pulsating bassline. Things slow down for the final piece "Part VI" which brings back the Korg Mini-Pops and VC3 sound effects for one last hurrah. This might be the album that made Jarre a household name, but it is far from my favourite album he has released. 4/5