One record at a time: 201. Jean Michel Jare - Waiting For Cousteau

In 1990 my expectations of Jean Michel Jarre were high. His previous album had reached number two in the UK charts and his "Destination Docklands" concerts had writ his name large in the mind of music fans such as myself. 

Yet, the album Jarre delivered that year was so far removed from "Revolutions" that I was left disappointed. That's not to say "Waiting for Cousteau" is a bad album; it is more that it was a change of direction that left many of us behind.

Here I am playing an LP I bought in 2015 from eBay, but on the day this album was released, I was firmly committed to CD. As you can see form the picture, I also have a couple of promo posters for the album as I just happened to be walking out of an HMV store as one of the assistants was tearing down a giant window display. I decided to try my luck and asked if I could have a poster. The shop assistant looked at me uncertainly as if he was trying to think of reasons why he couldn't give me one. Having failed to find sufficient rationale to deny my request he searched through the jumble of torn paper and ripped album sleeves and pulled out two of the least mutilated posters. Whilst both posters have a tear in the bottom left hand corner, I managed to disguise the damage sufficiently for them to adorn my bedroom walls during my youth.

The lead single and main theme from this album is a track called "Calypso". As I'm not a massive fan of steel band or Caribbean music, this song has never been to my taste. At eight and a half minutes in length, it is also too long. The single edit comes in at under three minutes and is probably the version I find most palatable.

We find ourselves on more familiar ground with the next track "Calypso Part 2" which sounds like it could have been taken directly from "Revolutions". After around four minutes we enter a second movement that sees the steel band returning to compliment the churning synth arpeggios and haunting melodies. For me, this second movement is the standout piece on the record.

Whilst this is one of the first Jean Michel Jarre albums where the sleeve doesn't tell us which instruments were played, it is clear he used his Roland D-550 for "Calypso, Part 3 (Fin Du Siècle)". I'm not too keen on the first few minutes of this track but it comes alive after about four minutes and proves to be quite entertaining from that point on.

The biggest disappointment of this album has always been the title track. The fist time I played this album I was expecting this to be one of Jarre's extended symphonic pieces like "Second Rendez-Vous" or "Magnetic Fields Part I". As the music played I began to ask myself, "When is something going to happen?" After a few minutes I was bored enough to use the "seek" function on my shiny new CD player. I was pretty incredulous when I realised this forty minute track was nothing but an ambient dirge. I had been robbed! This wasn't music, it was just a drone with a sprinkling of piano here and there. 

The LP and cassette includes a 22 minute version of this cut with the 47 minute version reserved for the CD. I have a memory of advertising for this album mentioning the CD had 24 minutes of extra music and I ruefully reflected that I'd rather have the LP. Today, I still don't listen to "Waiting for Cousteau" and hearing it on this record is the first time I have ever sat through the whole piece (albeit the 22 minute version). I admire this track more than the petulant teenager who heard it back in 1990, but I can't pretend this is one of Jarre's best efforts. 2/5

One record at a time: 200. Jean Michel Jarre - Live

One evening in October 1989 I took a rare trip into town to go record shopping with a fiend. Things were very different back then and information about upcoming releases wasn't as easily available as it is today, so I was very surprised when I saw "Live" on the shelves of HMV that evening. 

The trouble was that I had already spent my cash on a single and didn't have the £14 required to buy the CD. My companion proved his friendship by agreeing to lend me the gargantuan sum as long as I repaid him the following day. I made good on my debt and still have that CD to this day. As we can see, I also own a copy of the vinyl which I bought sometime in 2014.

The first thing that struck me about this album when I bought it was how underwhelming it was to look at. The artwork looked rushed and the title didn't make any sense. Was it "Jarre: Live" "Jean Michel Jarre: Jarre Live" or "Jean Michel Jarre: Live"? No wonder it got a new sleeve and proper title when re-released in the nineties.

However, I have an even bigger issue with this album: I don't believe it captures a 'live' performance. To my ears most of these songs sound like the album versions with some added reverb and crowd noises. There are a few different arrangements, but I think they are still just playback. The version of "Magnetic Fields Part II" has different drums but features a suspiciously perfect recreation of the solo played during the "Concerts In China". "Oxygene Part IV" carries some additional synth and percussion, but it sounds like the mix released on the 1989 "Oxygene" single with added reverb and crowd noises. "Fourth Rendez-Vous" has some additional guitar by Hank Marvin, but I can't tell if it was recorded live or an overdub in the studio. To be honest, it doesn't make much difference if Hank was miming or not as the album lost credibility long before we reach his track.

Personally, I think this album was released to recoup the cost of the two Docklands concerts and nothing more. As a live recording it has little value and must rank as one of Jarre's least interesting works. To add insult to injury the LP has two less tracks than the CD because “London Kid” and “September” are culled. Given the nature of the rest of the album, maybe that's not such a bad thing. 2/5

One record at a time: 199. Jean Michel Jarre - Revolutions

"Revolutions" was the first album by Jean Michel Jarre that I bought when it was released. Neither of these records is my original copy as that was rather badly treated and did not survive the eighties. I bought the record on the right of the picture nine years ago from eBay as a replacement. The other copy was acquired about three years ago as I felt compelled to find a copy where the sleeve had the blue area in the upper right to match my original. Nostalgia compels us to do the strangest things. 

Nostalgia also explains why I own a Roland D-50. I think it is common knowledge that 90% of the sounds on this album are derived from a Roland D-550 which is the rack mount version of the D-50 (I also own one of those but it is in storage). Yet owning the synth that a musician used to make a record can shatter your illusions. 

My perception of Jarre was that he was a master manipulator of sound who spent hours creating new patches and textures using an arsenal of synthesisers. At some stage of his career this may have been true, but by the late eighties Jarre was happy to load up sounds other people had created and stick largely to one synthesiser.

Today you can find the data required for almost every sound used on "Revolutions" floating about on the internet. The first time you load these sounds into a D-50 it is easy to be awestruck at having the same palette as M. Jarre. Yet, it doesn't matter how much you try, you won't come up with anything as good or successful as "Revolutions". The skill Jarre exercises on this album isn't in creating sonic fireworks but as a master of melody and arrangement

The patch "Machine Run" opens the first track "Industrial Revolution: Overture" before synthesized strings begin to play a haunting theme. A D-550 'guitar' punches through with a terrific solo that thankfully sounds nothing like a guitar. The song winds down and creates a lazy start to "Industrial Revolution: Part I" before it suddenly kicks into a second movement that is something to behold. We blend seamlessly into "Part II" which features synth arpeggios and more D-550 sounds soaring up to heaven. "Part III" is a slower anthemic affair with an extended solo.

"London Kid" sees one of Jarre's heroes, Hank Marvin playing his distinctive twangy Fender. It's a memorable and upbeat tune that must have pleased both artists when it was completed.

On the flip side we hear a Turkish ney flute weaving a melody around Jarre's increasingly frenetic synth sequences before an electronic voice announces, "Revolution". Depending on which version of the album you are listening to, you might hear a different mix of this track titled, "Revolution, Revolutions". This newer recording was used after the person playing the ney sued Jarre as he didn't have permission to use the recording. I'm not a fan of the "Revolution, Revolutions" version as the drums sound weak and the orchestra seem to be playing in a different key. This original mix is much more satisfying.

"Tokyo Kid" has always fascinated me as it sounds so unconventional. Jun Miyake provides a stunning trumpet solo that perfectly compliments Jarre's brooding score. The D-550 comes to the fore again with "Computer Weekend" which is a light and airy tune played out on the "Ocean Scenario" sound from a collection of patches by a German company called EMC.

"September" is a noble effort but the vocals sound like they were recorded in a broom cupboard using the world's worst microphone. "The Emigrant" is a fitting finale but won't be making the running for any 'best of' compilations. 4/5

One record at a time: 198. Jean Michel Jarre - In Concert - Houston / Lyon with Orchestra and Choir

In my rush to get through Jarre's enormous back catalogue I skipped this album when I first began this post. This is a little ironic as "Houston/Lyon" is probably one of the records I played most in my youth. Yet when these concerts were released on VHS in the early nineties the scales were lifted from my eyes and I began to regard this record with less reverence.

Why did I not like the album so much after I saw the videos? Because it clearly showed Jarre was miming to backing tapes. There are live drums and bass on this recording but they are playing to a click from a backing tape. I had often mused why an electronic musician had to promote the fact that their album featured 'orchestra and choir' on the sleeve, but now I know it is because they are one of few live elements on these recordings.

For some reason we are only given a small snipped of the music for "Oxygene Part V" before it moves into an audio collage of TV reports regarding the Houston concert. The first movement of "Ethnicolor" is just playback before the bass, brass and percussion join for the second movement. There is a recording of a radio broadcast of the Lyon concert where someone is clearly playing the synth parts and percussion live. It's a shame nothing so authentic seems to have made the cut here.

In the transition to the next track there is another audio montage that features so many American voices it is clear the focus is firmly on the Houston concert. Whilst it is obvious there are live elements in "Magnetic Fields Part I" it is equally clear there is a great deal of playback going on too. Similarly "Equinoxe Part V" sounds like the album version with some live drumming and a few firework noises.

There's a big subterfuge right at the end of the first side when we hear a man exclaim, "The most amazing sight ever seen by the human eye!" We assume he is talking about the concert he has just witnessed, but the video shows us that the man is actually a magician entertaining people on the streets of Houston before the concert. 

We finally hear something of the Lyon concert as the pope provides an introduction to "Third Rendez-Vous" in which there is a real choir and some real miming by Jarre on the "laser harp". "Second Rendez-Vous" does feature live drumming and, as you might imagine, the choir becomes prominent. "Last Rendez-Vous" sees Kirk Whalum playing lead saxophone and it sounds better than the album version to my ears. This record goes out with a bang as "Fourth Rendez-Vous" receives some horrendous fretless bass and a sax solo laid over the top. I hate the bass playing on this song; always have. Still, the album is entertaining enough if you can forgive the fact it is a largely fabricated and sterile version of these concerts. 2.5/5

One record at a time: 197. Jean Michel Jarre - Rendez-Vous

I'm pretty sure "Rendez-Vous" was the first album I ever bought. Whilst the copy I own today is the same UK pressing, it isn't the same record I acquired in 1987. This is largely because I ruined my original through a combination of carelessness and abrasive cleaning solutions to the point where only the sleeve survives.

"First Rendez-Vous" is a highly atmospheric opening piece featuring a menacing growl that gives way to a beautiful languid melody. Wihtout further ado, we launch straight into the first movement of "Second-Rendez Vous". Bombastic horns beat out the melody as we are showered with effects derived from an AKS synthesizer. A new horn melody emerges for the second movement as Jarre cunningly develops the themes and melodies.

Part three of the "Second Rendez-Vous" sees the mighty Elka Synthex play an irresistible melody over a beat box. This is the piece Jarre will mime to with his famous Laser Harp in concerts such as Houston and Lyon. The final movement sees the opening theme restored and then elevated to a fitting crescendo. Original CD releases merely used index marks (remember those white elephants?) to differentiate between the movements but newer CDs and digital releases splice them into individual tracks.

I've mentioned before that a lot of what Jarre does is smoke and mirrors, and in my youth I was led to believe so much that turned out to be a lie. I don't care what the credits tell you; there was no "Laser Harp" involved in the recording of "Third Rendez-Vous". The reality was that Jarre pulled out his Elka Synthex, dialled up a preset and played a tune he had written 11 years before for Gérard Lenorman. As good as this track is, that is what it amounts to. No cool shades, no asbestos gloves and definitely no lasers.

The standout piece on the record is "Fourth Rendez-Vous" which has arguably the most memorable melody Jarre had produced since "Oxygene Part IV". The Casio "BRASS ENS. 1" blasts away as a heavily disguised TR-808 pounds out the beat. Until I began this post I had no idea that there were two different album mixes issued for this track. I haven't knowingly heard both versions, but I can't imagine they are vastly different. 

"Fifth Rendez-Vous" is less melody driven and moves through three movements. The fist movement is in triple time and has a stirring melody that sounds like it was played on shimmering glass. There is a cameo appearance by Jarre's son who plays a couple of themes from the album on a home keyboard as effects swirl around him. Distinctive Fairlight strings underpin the final movement which recycles the music from "Music For Supermarkets Part 3". For me this is one of the best pieces on the album. I'm not a fan of "Last Rendez-Vous" as it is overly long and I don't like the sound of saxophones. Despite the drab ending this is generally a good album that remains entertaining. 4/5

One record at a time: 196. Jean MIchel Jarre - Zoolook

I bought the record on the left of this picture over thirty five years ago. Unfortunately the years haven't been kind to the disc so I recently bought another copy in better condition.

When I moved from vinyl to CD I kept my original record because it was the easiest way to hear the original versions of two tracks from the album. 

About a year after "Zoolok" was released, someone decided that the single mixes of the title track and "Zoolookologie" were superior to René Ameline's original efforts. As a result, all subsequent pressings of the CD and cassette would include these remixes. Discogs suggests there were no re-pressings of the UK LP, so until the age of the internet, this first version was the cheapest way of owning the original mixes.

When I first heard this album I was struck by how different it was to "Equinoxe", "Magnetic Fields" and "Rendez-Vous". Part of the folklore of this album is that during his travels around the world, Jarre made field recordings that were subsequently incorporated into the music. In addition French ethnologist, Xavier Bellanger contributed a large number of recordings of speech in various languages that Jarre processed and wove into the fabric of the record. Yet, like many things Jarre does, these claims don't bear much scrutiny. There are a number of vocal samples that are easily identified as belonging to the sample libraries for the Fairlight CMI and the Emu Emulator, and some recordings were of Jarre and the other musicians who contributed to the recording sessions.

The first movement of opening track "Ethnicolor" uses a distinctive reversed vocal sample over a choir and melody played on the "Tut" sample from the EMU Emulator library. This track also significant because it features the only discernable use of a Yamaha DX7 in Jarre's music. Whilst the whole world was plastering their recordings with this FM synthesiser in 1984, Jarre didn't really like it and so a small scattering of tubular bells is all you will hear in his music. After about seven minutes the second movement is ushered in by French horns and various sound effects. Soon the drums of Yogi Horton come crashing through with the distinctive slap bass of Marcus Miller rattling around under the increasingly frenetic samples and synths.

In 1983 Jarre auctioned a solitary copy of an album called "Music For Supermarkets". Rather than waste the material from that record, Jarre decided to recycle some of it here. Second track "Diva" begins as an atmospheric piece in which Laurie Anderson adds various nonsensical words that sound vaguely Gallic. Before long the track moves into a second movement that echoes "Music For Supermarkets Part VII". The principal difference in the version here is that Anderson continues with her gibberish vocals and there is some guitar courtesy of Adrian Belew.

The titicular single begins side B with a nice theme played on the "AAH" sample found in the Fairlight sample library. Various vocal snippets float in and out as the slap bass chugs along. As the lead single for the album I always feel like I should like this track, but it doesn't really excite me as much as it should.

"Wooloomooloo" is based around a looped sample (I seem to remember it is called something like "Tibet" in the Fairlight) that staggers along as Jarre adds a melody and lots of effects. The single "Zoolookologie" is an upbeat and frivolous pop song that was accompanied by a video that was so bad it might actually be good. The tune is pleasant enough and for once the slap bass is restrained sufficiently to not dominate the mix.

Once again Jarre plunders "Music For Super Markets" as "Part V" is reincarnated as "Blah Blah Cafe". Here, Emulator saxophones create funky melodies with quirky vocoder vocals soaring over pitched down drum samples. It's a heady, but effective concoction. The final track "Ethnicolor II" is another slower piece based on a looped sample. There are various effects moving in and out as a meandering melody is played out on cello samples. 

To me this album sounds a bit like Jarre fell in love with the Emulator and decided to build an album around it. By creating some themes, bringing in some new musicians and recycling bits of "Music For Supermarkets" there was just enough to hang these new sounds on. Whilst it was a valiant effort, this record is not one of his best. 3/5

One record at a time: 195. Jean MIchel Jarre - The Essential / Musik Aus Zeit Und Raum

It seems logical to look at these records together as they are essentially the same compilation. Well, I say 'essentially the same' but the fact is they were all released at different times, with different artwork and different content.

"The Essential" was first released in 1983 and presented various tracks from Jarre's first four albums. As you might expect this compilation opens with the main themes "Oxygene Part IV", "Equinoxe Part V", "Oxygene Part II" and "Magnetic Fields Part II". So far, so predictable.

Things do go slightly awry with the selection of  "Orient Express" which is a bit bombastic when held up against the smooth textures of "Oxygene" and "Equinoxe". The inclusion of "Magnetic Fields Part I" is much more understandable but it fades out after a mere three minutes. Side One finishes with an excerpt from "Fishing Junks at Sunset" which clearly illustrates there is diversity in Jarre's music even if it is not always enjoyable.

The flip side opens with a surprising selection, "The Overture". This is a good track but it is basically a rehash of a song we've already heard. The next three numbers are all appropriate choices for an "Essential" compilation, but both "Equinoxe Part IV" and "Magnetic Fields Part IV" are curtailed prematurely. Things go off the rails at the end with a jumble of tracks from "Equinoxe" and the uncomfortable "Magnetic Fields Part V".

For the German speaking market there was another compilation the following year called, "Musik Aus Zeit Und Raum". In my youth I used to see this record available as an import and was fascinated by the sleeve. One day I decided to buy it as I only owned "The Essential" on cassette and the track choices on this record seemed much better. When I got the record home and dropped the needle I was a little surprised to find new versions of "Magnetic Fields Part II", "Equinoxe Part IV" and "Magnetic Fields Part IV". I didn't know it at the time but, for whatever reason, this album features the single mixes of these tracks. It is also worth noting that the version of "Equinoxe Part V" included here is the original 1978 album mix as opposed to the more common second mix. I own the Polydor version of this record (a rare survivor from my youth) and the "Polystar" version and they both feature these different mixes - disappointingly the CD version uses the standard album versions. 

The final compilation is from France and is titled "The Essential 1976 -1986". This later release is pretty much the same as the 1983 version but swaps out "Equinoxe Part I" for the single remix of "Zoolookologie". Whilst this change is a slight improvement over the original, there was a lost opportunity to substitute some of the weaker tracks with more material from "Zoolook". So "Zeit Und Raum" remains the pick of these early compilations and the vinyl with the single mixes is a real bonus. 4/5