Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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Celebrated as the European electronic music community's premier ambassador, composer Jean Michel Jarre elevated the synthesizer to new peaks of popularity during the 1970s, in the process emerging as an international superstar renowned for his dazzling concert spectacles. The son of the famed film composer Maurice Jarre, he was born August 24, 1948, in Lyon, France, and began studying piano at the age of five. Abandoning classical music as a youth, Jarre became enamored of jazz before forming a rock band called Mystere IV; in 1968, he became a pupil of the musique concrete pioneer Pierre Schaeffer, joining Groupe de Recherches Musicales. His early experiments in electro-acoustic music yielded the 1971 single "La Cage"; the full-length Deserted Palace followed a year later.

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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Jarre's early works were largely unsuccessful, and gave little indication of the work to follow. As he struggled to find his own voice, he wrote for a variety of singers, including Francoise Hardy, and also composed for films. Seeking to push electronic music away from its minimalist foundations as well as the formal abstractions of its most experimental practitioners, he slowly developed the orchestrated melodicism of his 1977 breakthrough effort, Oxygene, an enormous commercial hit that reached the number two spot on the U.K. pop charts. The follow-up, 1978's Equinoxe, was also a smash, and a year later Jarre held the first in a series of massive open-air concerts at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the estimated one million spectators on hand earning him a place in The Guinness Book of World Records.

Only in the wake of 1981's Les Chants Magnetiques (Magnetic Fields) did Jarre mount a proper tour, traveling to China with a staggering amount of stage equipment in tow; the five performances, performed backed by some 35 traditional instrumentalists, later generated the LP Concerts in China. Released in 1983, Music for Supermarkets instantly became one of the most collectible albums in history – recorded for an art exhibit, only one copy was ever pressed, selling at a charity auction for close to $10,000. The master was then incinerated, guaranteeing the record's rarity. Jarre's next proper release was 1984's Zoolook, which failed to connect with audiences with the same success as its predecessors.

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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A two-year hiatus followed before he resurfaced on April 5, 1986, with an extravagant live performance in Houston celebrating NASA's silver anniversary; in addition to the over one million in attendance, it was also broadcast on global television. Rendez-Vous appeared a few weeks later, and after another highly visual live date in Lyon, France, Jarre assembled the best material from the two events as the 1987 concert LP Cities in Concert: Houston/Lyon. Revolutions, featuring the legendary Shadows guitarist Hank B. Marvin, followed in 1988, and a year later a third concert LP, dubbed simply Jarre Live, hit stores. After 1990's En Attendant Cousteau (Waiting for Cousteau), Jarre mounted his biggest live experience yet, with an attendance of over two and a half million fans converging on Paris to see him perform in honor of Bastille Day.

The decade to follow proved surprisingly quiet, however, and apart from the occasional live appearance Jarre was largely removed from the limelight; finally, in 1997 he issued Oxygene 7-13, updating his concepts for a new musical era. At the turn of the millennium, he recorded Metamorphoses and then took a break from the studio as a flurry of reissues and remixes followed, including Sessions 2000, Les Granges Brulees, and Odyssey Through O2. In 2007, after a seven-year hiatus from recording, Jarre released a new dance single, "Teo and Tea," a surprisingly strong return to electro, and followed it with a trancey, angular album also titled Teo and Tea.

by Jason Ankeny

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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This 'best of Jean Michel Jarre' CD from 1983 covers his first four albums: Oxygene (1976), Equinoxe (1978), Magnetic Fields (1981) & The Concerts In China (1982). It was originally released in Germany and has only been available in the UK on import. It differs from the UK version of this album (entitled 'The Essential Jean Michel Jarre' (1983)) in that the track listing is slightly different: gone is 'The Overture' and 'Fishing Junks at Sunset' but added is the excellent 'Arpegiator'. Also the 'Magnetic Fields 1' featured on this album is the more well known first part of the track instead of the second part featured on the UK version. All the tracks on this album, with a couple of exceptions, are unedited and makes the running time 15 minutes longer than the UK version. For these reasons, it is IMHO the best compilation album of Jarre's early period and includes all his most famous tracks from this era, the only notable omissions perhaps being 'Equinoxe 7' and 'Souvenir of China'.

If you are looking for a good introduction to Jean Michel Jarre's music or a 'best of the early years' album, then look no further than this

By PRTM, amazon

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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Putting together Jarre's best tracks over 12 albums, Images is a superb collection of his greatest electronic feats and atmospheric pieces, displaying his supreme instrumental prowess. With 20 tracks spanning the same number of years, this compilation serves as an enjoyable guide through electronic transition. Beginning with the keyboard gurgling of "Oxygene" and "Equinoxe," Jarre delves into three different eras; the '70s, '80s and '90s, showcasing how electronics, instrumentation, and Jarre himself has changed by way of modernization. Each of the tracks on this compilation reflect a certain mood and concept sketched splendidly from numerous synthesizers, sequencers, and computerized instruments. For example, "Moon Machine" captivates the chill of deep space with its icy synth layering, while "Orient Express" uses electric string imitations to transform the listener into the mystique of the Far East. Surprisingly, the tracks do not lose any resilience by being taken out of their conceptual domain and hold their own wonderfully as contributing pieces to the set. The most astounding factor to the album is the beautiful sound of this disc, digitally remastered in 24-bit technology, making every cut of synthesizer sound even sharper. Jarre helped change the feel and the image of new age music, which is firmly proven on this amazing compilation.

by Mike DeGagne

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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Instead of releasing (another?) traditional anthology or best of compilation, Jean Michel Jarre decided to create Aero - which apparently stands for 'anthology of electronic revisited originals' - in 2004. As the title implies this album contains re-recorded versions of previously released material from throughout Jarre's career, but there are also some new pieces of music the best of which is the Aero title track. An attempt is made to integrate the old and new pieces into a more or less continues piece of music with a mostly good result. After a brief opening scene, we move into the first of two pieces taken from Jarre's famous 1976 breakthrough album Oxygene. Oxygene 2 is a fantastic piece of electronic music and this version is great. Also the well-known Oxygene 4 is really nice. Jarre is very careful not to destroy these classic numbers and he wisely sticks fairly close to the original versions here. The purists will probably always prefer the original versions, but I actually enjoy these versions just as much as I enjoy the originals, if not more! Besides, the rest of the original Oxygene album was just transportation to my ears and Aero is a much more consistent album overall and thus a better place to hear these pieces.

Equinox is represented with three tracks, but the inclusion of Equinox 8 was rather unnecessary as it is nothing more than a brief interlude that distracts more than it does provide a nice transition. I cannot tell you how these pieces compare to the original versions as I have never heard the original Equinox album, but I do enjoy this version of Equinox 4 which is very much in the tradition of Oxygene 4. Last Rendez-Vous, on the other hand, is a slightly dull jazzy piece.

With a running time of well over an hour, I feel that this album is slightly too long for its own good. Some of the interludes seem unnecessary to me and sometimes they even disrupt the flow of the album rather than tying the pieces together as was presumably the main intention. However, this is still a very nice collection of electronic pieces and from my point of view this is all the Jean Michel Jarre you ever need and more! As I pointed out, I have not heard all of the albums on which these pieces were originally released so I cannot say if this really is the best of Jean Michel Jarre, but it probably works well as an introduction to the artist. Out of the albums I have heard from Jarre, this one is certainly my favourite. Needless to say this is by no means Prog Rock, but it will probably appeal to many fans of progressive music.

by SouthSideoftheSky, progarchives

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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"Jarremix" was only released in few european countries and I had a hard time trying to get one copy. When finally I could hear it I couldn't believe it. It's the worst Jarre compilation I have ever heard. The remixes are very poor, they don't develop any internal ideas of the original tracks, they only upbeat them. Seriously, it's a shame to do that on such great pieces. You will prefer to hear always the original ones rather than these remixes (as Aphex Twin says: "made only for cash"). As a great commercial name, it's included a remix by french DJ Laurent Garnier, a big (not great) star at that time but, believe me, I'm a Jarre fan, his remix of "Oxygene 1" is the most awful track of the compilation.The only ones that could be saved are the ones from Jarre's Collaborator Bruno Mylonas (and not everything of them, though). The only highlight of "Jarremix" is the "Calypso 1 Latino Mix" that I love more than the original "Calypso 1" (despite of the name). And this is due to that it was made in 1990 and not in the whole rave madness that embraced Jarre's remixers from 1993 on, when "Chronologie" was released. You will hear this "Calypso 1" version on the opening scene of the "La Defense- Une Vile En Concert" video recording of the concert in Paris 14-7-90. After hearing it, I can really understand why "Jarremix" was only released in few countries…

by jordi, progarchives

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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Although billed as a Jean Michel Jarre recording, Odyssey Through 02 is actually a remix project by various artists, each taking a cut or two from his groundbreaking Odyssey album. Perhaps the reason Jarre's name is on it as one of his own is because he had final say over the end result. Here, countryman DJ Cam, Loop Guru, Apollo 440, Hani, Resistance D, the Sunday Club, and Boodjie & Veronica take elements from the classic "Oxygene," and re-create it in three "phases" completely out of sync with the source material and out of context. In other words, track ten is first and done three different times by different artists and "Oxygene 8" is done four times! DJ Cam remixes "Oxygene 7" and it is the only time it appears here; he remains somewhat faithful to the source, though he warps its time/space continuum a bit. In addition, there are a pair of bonus tracks in remixes of "Oxygene 13," and "Rendez-vous." The rest of the material from the album is ignored here. Musically, it's like any remix outing, some of it smokes – Hani's version of "8" is another standout in phase one, and Resistance D's redo of "10" in phase two is pretty spaced out and lovely – and some of them miss the mark entirely (they shall remain nameless). Ultimately this is a bit of a drag, there are too many tried and true house beats pumped into the abyss with Jarre's material being a backdrop for updated beats that don't sound all that new. A brand-new album by Jarre himself, in or out of touch, would have been preferable – like why didn't he just remix and recontextualize it himself? Perhaps to make the purchase more palatable, Jarre collaborated with the Belgian company ArKaos to offer a multimedia desktop for punters who get ahold of this where the user can create "paintings" to accompany the various selections. Yawn.

by Thom Jurek

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The CD issue of Jean-Michel Jarre's soundtrack to the Jean Chapon film Les Granges Brulées has been long overdue. An integral but less well-known part of the composer's catalog, it marks Jarre's first full immersion into film scoring and as such, it is an inquisitive, speculative works that illustrates concept more than it does nuance. In this case that's a plus. The themes here are rarely extended; they shift and jar the listener episodically, coursing form one "major" scene to the next without bothering much with serial elements. It's a compelling listen, but ultimately not terribly memorable.

by Thom Jurek

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Jean-Michel Jarre Discography. Part 3 (Compilations, Remixes, Soundtracks and Tribute)

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One might have expected that Silva Screen Records, here operating through the subsidiary label Silva Classics, would be more interested in Jean Michel Jarre's father Maurice Jarre than in the younger musician. After all, Reynold da Silva's record company specializes in making new recordings of music from film scores, and it's Maurice Jarre who's the famous screen composer, while Jean Michel Jarre is the synthesizer player who stages spectacular concerts and sells records in the millions with his new age music. But that's the point: this is The Symphonic Jean Michel Jarre, an attempt to take his music and play it as though it had been written like his father's. As usual, Silva employs the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, with the Crouch End Festival Chorus along to provide the "ah" sounds as appropriate. The disc borrows liberally from Jarre's own hit albums, including Oxygene, Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, and Rendez-Vous, all of which hit the U.S. charts in the 1970s and '80s during the new age boom. Conductor Nic Raine and Gareth Williams had the heavy lifting of transcribing Jarre's sounds into arrangements and orchestrations, and though they have succeeded in taking him to an orchestra (with what sounds like some synthesized cheating here and there), his music still sounds more new age than classical. "Chronologie 2" calls to mind the Laura Branigan hit "Gloria," and there are other examples of pop/rock dance music. Jarre dabbles in world music styles, albeit without much apparent comprehension, such as in the heavily clichéd Oriental touches in "Fishing Junks at Sunset." Nevertheless, the excerpts drawn from across his work and carefully orchestrated prove consistently interesting and do him a favor as a composer, suggesting that he might do some film scoring himself.

by William Ruhlmann