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
