Oxygene 3

[Equinoxe1978]

Here are more thoughts on his albums:
Oxygene - Essential album, brought electronic music to the masses 9/10
Equinoxe - Even better. A Classic. 10/10
Magnetic Fields - A little disappointing for me but some nice tracks 7/10
China Concerts - Don't overlook this, some great new pieces (and first western artist to play there) 9/10
Zoolook - Ethnicolor imo is the best piece of electronic music I've heard and the rest is pretty good 9/10
Rendez-Vous - OTT classical style (which I love) and a great synth pop track (R4) 8/10
Revolutions - 17 minute overture/parts are fantastic, album then goes downhill 7/10
Waiting for Cousteau - Do you love the Brian Eno-ish Ambient track? if so 8/10, if not 6/10.
Chronology - I like this, quite Rendez-vous in style but more upbeat 8/10
Oxygene 7-13 (aka Oxy2) - Great, love it, all the way through 9/10
Metamorphosis - A mixed bag, some stuff works, some not 6/10
Aero - Didn't see the point of this myself but a couple of nice new tracks 6/10
Teo and Tea - What, Why? 3/10
Time passes...
Electronica Part One - I think is really strong, love the Moby, Clarke, and Carpenter tracks 8/10
Part Two - Not as good, but like Pet Shop Boys and Hans Zimmer tracks 7/10
Oxygene 3 - 7/10

The two lounge music albums he did are not for me, but Velvet Road is a very good track.

[Numanoid]

I don't think that it's worth discussing at length.

Well, see you in another thread then

[himalaya]

Zoolook - Ethnicolor imo is the best piece of electronic music I've heard and the rest is pretty good 9/10

Yes, Ethnicolor is amazing, it's 'startling'. An epic sonic journey.

[ghettosynth]

Here are more thoughts on his albums:
Oxygene - Essential album, brought electronic music to the masses 9/10

You know man, given your username, it's a bit hard to take your ratings as unbiased.

But bringing electronic music to the masses? Really? No, I think that Autobahn, SOB, and even Hot Butter's cover of Gershon Kingsly's "Popcorn" deserve more of that credit.

Jarre is electronic music's Neil Diamond, and don't get me wrong, I like Neil Diamond because my mother wore that shit out so it's engraved into my neural pathways, but, I don't for a second deny that he's a total cheeseball who just happens to have a decent voice.

Teo and Tea - What, Why? 3/10

Indeed, it's terrible and the fact that he went this route rather than going for a more underground and understated sound, to me, reflects that generally cheesy aesthetic that I hear in almost all of his work.

I like this review from RA:

https://www.residentadvisor.net/reviews/4546

Téo and Téa is nothing short of embarrassing. It bursts into life with some of the most galling Gaulish pop techno you could imagine – the kind of album you might find your pre-teenage daughter listening to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX_YRpqDbMw

[himalaya]

In a way, I wish JMJ had also focussed on this totally 'out there' approach as shown with Ethnicolour. Not to re-create it as he has tried with the Oxygene albums but to evolve that sound which was both experimental, 'soundtrack'-like, emotive, totally listenable (as opposed to so experimental that it would disappear its own experimental hole).

[Equinoxe1978]

Yes Teo and Tea is terrible, but there are reasons for that, and JMJ said "You have stand by your work, but would I do that again? No".
And yes Oxygene was that important. 12 million copies sold. Tangerine Dream haven't sold that in about 100 albums (not a sign of quality I know, but just stating facts).
Anyway, like any artist that has been around for 40 years, the quality of work is going to be up and down as they search for new ideas, and some fans will always want just more Oxygene/Equinoxe style, whilst some respect the fact that he has tried everything from ambient to techno.

[Equinoxe1978]

Double Post, Sorry. Lack of Oxygene to the brain.

[Equinoxe1978]

BTW, the video for Zoolook is great. If you don't like the music, just turn it down and watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F36bJ5 ... lJarreVEVO

And the Oxygene 8 video is quite cool. Yes, I said cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVEAk5L ... =JohnBerge

[andrew71]

The two lounge music albums he did are not for me, but Velvet Road is a very good track.

I've never got into Sessions 2000, but I think Geometry of Love is vastly underrated, personally.

[Numanoid]

Je Me Souviens (with Laurie Anderson) from Metamorphoses is one of his finest synth-pop tracks IMO

[Equinoxe1978]

Je Me Souviens (with Laurie Anderson) from Metamorphoses is one of his finest synth-pop tracks IMO

Yes, I think that is the best track on the album, although the Sharon Corr violin track is very nice as well.

It should be noted, for those who want to beat up JMJ because of Teo & Tea, he did almost zero publicity for it, and did a 30th Oxygene tour instead with the old analogue equipment, which imo was rather fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HYtkbv ... annel=ATeo

[Numanoid]

Teo & Tea is like soundtrack to a manga movie, it is what it is

Still I think Foggy Joe's Zig Zag dance is a special casus, maybe the same penguin as in Oxygene 4, otherwise "quite different"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p23t6PhVSjc

[himalaya]

....and did a 30th Oxygene tour instead with the old analogue equipment, which imo was rather fine.

I was there. In London. Loved every second of it. I sat in the middle of the hall, like a kid in a toy shop awaiting to receive his most favourite toy as a present. Saw him in London Docklands, and Wembley too.

[Numanoid]

The pro can also mistakes, Jean-Michel calling for the engineer because the midi keyboard isn't working, and then he found the on/off button

https://youtu.be/rXUkjnF8QsY?t=266

[himalaya]

I call it the 'volume knob syndrome' , ie: you spend a long time looking in panic why there is no sound. You check everything, cables, speakers, audio drivers, if the plugin is by-passed, etc, etc, everything except the master volume knob, only to realise ten minutes later that the volume is turned down.