@@JustJP Nicely Summarized Justin ! You have a Talent for these Endeavours. And we thank you. Try to check out on RUclips, (perhaps to the Following) Jean-Michel's Live Berkeley 'Greek Theater'. Performance from 2016 or 17'. I was very near, I believe, to where the Video Poster was positioned. To the Visuals, you will beholding 5-7 back layers of Diod (?) Curtains able to create an illusion of 3D.
"This doesn't SOUND like 1976. This sounds like 2020." Brother, you should have HEARD it in 1976! Let me tell you, it SOUNDED like ... 2020! (I only wish 2020 actually did sound like this.)
Ditto! When this came out in 1976 I first heard Part 1 on some TV documentary and had to know who did this awesome spacey music with those hypnotic scaling runs. Then I heard Part 4 first on the radio then JMJ was on Top Of The Pops with some ARP synths (2500 and 2 Pro Soloists) and his Eminent U320 organ. This album sounds amazing for the stereo sound staging, either through headphones or sitting between the speakers. I preferred laying on the bed with the lights out and a speaker by each ear listening to sounds ping pong and move around the sound stage and drift into the music. Oxygene was my oasis in the musical desert along with Kraftwerk (Autobahn) and Space (Magic Fly). When you consider this was 1976 and he was using mostly monophonic (1 note at a time) instruments and a few polyphonic keyboards like a Korg Ensemble and Eminent organ for the chord pads, recording on to an 8 track recorder, it still holds its own today. I still get goose bumps hearing Oxygene 47 years later.
To the contrary, I think this music sound so much like the 1970ies! This is the same time Emerson, Lake & Palmer had a similar sound for their "Pictures at an Exhibition" recording or "Fanfare of the Common Man", or Tomita did his version of "Pictures at an Exhibition". It's the age of Faltermeyer's "Beverly Hills Cop" sound track. It's the time Kraftwerk was founded.
Jarre is a pure genius. Oxygene is a masterpiece composed in 1976 and it really sounds as a composition of 2020. When I listened this masterpiece it was like receiving a gadget from future. It was and still is outstanding!!
I'll tell you a few things about Oxygene's A-side. All I know for now The album begins with some very echoy notes made with the magnificent Eminent 310U electronic organ to which, little by little, other instruments are added. The human voice that makes the main melody is made with the AKS synthesizer and this sound is Jarre's favorite, according to his own words. In the middle part of the song, some low notes made with a Minimoog that was barely used on the album and that is out of the credits, give way to some powerful rising brass programmed in the ARP 2600 synthesizer. Finally we come to the last minutes of the theme, in which, a background noise made with the VCS3 will accompany us until the end of the theme while we resume with some strings of the Eminent 310U the main melody that was previously made by the human voice of the AKS. Meanwhile, some sound effects produced with the VCS3 begin to be heard, which will conclude the song, giving way to the second Part of the Album. Part 2 links directly to part 1 of the album beginning with a rolling sequence performed on the AKS synthesizer. The sound of the bass seems to have been done with the ARP 2600, while almost all the special effects were done with the VCS 3. The rhythm is handled exclusively by the Korg Mini pop 7 Rhythmi Computer drum machine. There is no data on what instrument he used to perform the main melody, although the flute sound was surely made with the ARP 2600. The human choirs are, of course, made with the Mellotron. The wind sound is made with the VCS 3 processed by an Electroharmonix Smalltone pedal. The song begins with the farfisa organ that ends in a C minor chord while some low notes of a Minimoog make a melody that will soon be accompanied by some higher notes throughout the song made by the RMI Harmonic synthesizer.. The human voice is made with the AKS synthesizer. The song ends with the sound of some birds. Surely a real recording. These are the instruments he used on the album. ARP 2600 synthesizer Eminent 310 organ AKS Synthesizer VCS3 Synthesizer Farfisa Organ Korg Mini pop 7 Rhythm Computer RMI Harmonic Synthesizer RMI Keiboard Computer Mellotron Minimoog Monophonic Synthesizer (Excluded from credits for hardly being used) ARP 2500 Synthesizer (Excluded from the credits and without actual confirmation of its use by Jarre) A hug.
He puts on a hell of a show. I remember the Texas concert where he turned the skyscrapers there into the backdrop for his performance. Not to mention the "laser harps"...
@@joemaurone7923 yeah, the “Rendez-vous Houston” concert. Fantastic! And let’s remember that he wanted to have a piece played from space, with the astronaut Ron McNair playing sax from the space shuttle Challenger... the one that blew up 😢 Now, that piece is called “Ron’s Piece”
My dad used to play this when I was 2. I am now 38. This is my favorite album of all time, and it's permanently burned into my consciousness. Thank you so much for exposing your RUclips audience to it!
JM Jarre is the greatest musical genius of our time. He will be remembered in the same way we remember Beethoven and Mozart. This is all I have to say.
I listened to jarre when I was a kid, I'm now 37 and the album hasn't aged a bit. I would even say that it is timeless. In tune with the times. Equinoxe - Oxygène and - Chants magnétiques are 3 masterpieces.
I always loved his music. I discovered somewhere in the very early 80s (maybe even 1980). It was kind of mind blowing at the time and I still enjoy it. It was perfect for putting the headphones on and laying outside at night to stare at the stars. Spent many nights lost in the music. The Concert in China, Zoolook, Équinoxe and Rendezvous were also excellent. On Rendez-Vous there is a piece called called Last Rendez-Vous (Ron's Piece) named for Ron McNair, one of the astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was named that because McNair was supposed to record the saxophone part while in space as the first piece of music recorded in space. While another saxophonist eventually recorded the part, the song was dedicated to McNair and the other astronauts who were lost. I remember watching the shuttle launch specifically because I was tracking it for this recording as I was a fan of Jean Michel's work and also was a obviously a stargazer. It was such a gut-punch when the disaster happened. That song has always been poignant for me as a reminder of that shocking day. Oddly, this past year I started a job in which the department I'm in is in a building named for McNair. It felt a bit full-circle after all these years. So glad to see people still taking an interest and appreciation for it. Great reaction. I really enjoy how you break it down and your obvious enthusiasm. Enveloping is indeed the right word to describe it.
They also incorporated some of the story surrounding Ron's Piece and NASA into the massive 1986 Houston anniversary show. McNair was supposed to play his saxophone part from space for that show. I remember watching that as a kid, being completely blown away by the entire spectacle using the skyscrapers as projection screens, all the fireworks etc. With over a million people in the crowd, it was just a show on a whole new level.
Jean-Michel Jarre is a classical trained composer, which is probably why it ages so well. There is nothing, or at least very little, contemporary about his music and I think that's why it seems timeless. As a side note, his father, Maurice Jarre, was also a composer, who, among much else, composed the music for the movie "Lawrence of Arabia".
You should also check out some Kraftwerk eventually. They pioneered electronic music in the 70s just like Jean Michel Jarre did, but took a very different approach. Maybe listen to their 1974 Album "Autobahn" as an introduction. Some might even call Kraftwerk as influential as the Beatles.
@@TuckertonRR From Tangerine Dream my favourite album is the live performance Poland, just three songs topping nearly 1 hour of constantly progressing synth pop.
Another Jean-Michel Jarre work that deserves a listening is Zoolook his incursion in the pop/world music fields, this album has participations of Adrian Belew and Laurie Anderson, is a very different beast from his previous works.
I loved that album too, especially the monumental opening track. I was amazed when I recently discovered JMJ had been a musician alongside Ray Parker Jr on one of Christophe's albums.
Still an amazing record 45 years later... beautiful sound design in both tone, processing and positioning... I can hear a lot of ARP2600, Mellotron and Eminent... but the way they sound and combine is really smooth and all the more remarkable considering it was all done on 8 track. The sound you mention as a horn is a mellotron flute but its so beautifully processed it doesn't sound so typical. Track 1 is very classical... Gm Fm Cm D7 chords with the Eminent going through a Small Stone phaser.. beautiful.. Jarre never really topped this record or me. I'm surprised there hasn't been a multitrack breakdown of this LP (like has been done with Steely Dan, Queen and Stevie Wonder a'la Classic Albums) as it would be an education to everyone.
The albums I mostly listen to from Jarre are Oxygene and Zoolook.. maybe a little Rendezvous and parts of China concerts too... but I tend to avoid the well known pieces... For someone who is new to this genre it's a complete rabbit hole of beautiful muisc... for me it peaked with Johannes Schmoelling's original Zoo of Tranquility CD on Theta (not the remake).. after that I was onto other music and genres but I still treasure this period of discovery.
@@Wesker1984 I actually prefer Equinoxe to Oxygene as it feels more mature. That is probably because after the success of Oxygene JMJ was able to invest in a proper studio and more equipment (Oxygene was famously recorded in JMJ's kitchen). The use of more equipment allowed him to create more complex soundscapes in Equinoxe.
Just a second thought note: I saw a video on YT some time back (a year?) with Jarre playing the full Oxygene live on his original old synths. He had 5-6 assistants to play the simultaneous parts, but it gave me a lot of insight into how some of the sounds were created. Once you've finished the studio album (and relistened because it's amaze-balls), go check that out on your own time for some insight... which you can share when you react to Equinoxe for us. :) (Edit: the link: ruclips.net/video/H9UzNh_2TXk/видео.html)
I would seriously recommend the old stuff: Rubycon, that’s the one that put Tangerine Dream on the map. Has an immense audience around the world. Real German: dark, mystic an imaginative. The opposite of the French melodic electronic music from the early seventies.
I've never heard of this artist. I'm not very far into it and am enjoying it. It immediately brings to mind Isao Tomita, another artist whose work I also enjoy.
indeed. nothing else. tape echos. 8 track recorded at a kitchen and a handful of real vintage gear like VCS3 etc. right, a sound of 1976 likes 2020. this is how JMJ was called "pioneer of electronic music". he used the gear in a way noone thinks about, with orchestral structures/arrangements. influence of his father maurice jarre (filmcomposer) is already beside.
First of all, don’t sweat the visual reaction, I too just closed my eyes and listened most of the time. When the big synth notes happened I looked up just when you looked up and that was cool. I think I read a review back then that made me buy this album... later in college with an artist friend, he had it also and we really got into this music. Later bought the Concerts in China double album probably for its striking red, white and black cover. Along with Tomita, Jean Michel synthesized my brain, for the good. So mind expanding... love it still. Hopefully you can do some Tomita. Snowflakes Falling, Firebird, The Planets are monumental reimagining of classical music albums. Edit: Ok, you went and done it again and I just can’t let it go... 1976. So much great music happened that year. Tangerine Dream’s Stratosfear is terrific... Another album that expanded my young little mind in a different way was, wait for it... David Sancious’s Transformation (The Speed of Love), for reals, 1976 was mega. Also, while listening to JMJ I kept thinking of another Jean, Jean Luc Ponty. His Cosmic Messenger album was/is one of my absolute favorites. Highly recommended. Peace and synthy
Great Album, Pt 5 is actually my personal favourite. His music is quite haunting. As a side note i feel his music is a logical progression from his fathers. Maurice Jarre was a multi Oscar winner, composing many of David Lean's films, Dr Zhivago etc. (He also did Mad Max, Beyond the Thunderdome.) His influence on his son is unmistakable
in fact the father had little influence on jean-michel because he left his family when JMJ was young. JMJ was educated by his mother who had relation in the world of music including jazz musicians.
It's easy to overlook, but this album was released in December 1976 (44 years ago!). Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" were released in 1973. I remember being a kid in the early 80s and hearing this on tape with my parents, thinking "THIS is the future of music". It was so different to anything I had heard before! No vocals, no "real" instruments I could identify. The idea of sound synthesizers was simply mind blowing. Also: so much theremin sounds :-) Edit: there's a version of JMJ playing this album live using the original hardware called "Oxygen in your living room" and there are a few clips on RUclips.
Justin, if you go down this path you know you’ll end up with Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. All fathers of EDM. All worth a listen. BTW, it’s so nice of you to go through my record collection and add something every now and then. Really enjoy it. Keep it up and best wishes for 2021.
I own 95 Tangerine Dream, all Kraftwerk and a few Schulze.... he has a long way to go.... TD is my favorite band along with Depeche Mode.... however JP thinks DM is just another synth pop band (how wrong he is), and I don't think he heard TD.
I was one of the lucky ones (there were hundreds of thousands of us) who saw him perform in London (the Docklands Concert). Being London, it rained, and there's Jean-Michel on stage, on a boat (raft) on the river Thames, moving gently up and down river throughout the concert so everyone gets a good view. One of his opening statements was "don't worry about the rain, us frogs love the rain". Sorry, but anyone who's happy to take the mick out of himself is okay in my book, instant legend and a fantastic musician. Great concert, saw the laser-harp, the fireworks, projections, everything. If you don't get to see him live, at least watch a concert or two online, there's so much to experience.
Thank you for respecting the artist and his work by not pausing and interjecting. This was the first music I heard that I knew was 'for me', and 40 years later it, with Equinoxe and Magnetic Fields still reward me.
His Rendez-vous album from 1986 was the first album I ever really binge listened to, when I was around 10 years old. My mom randomly got it for her birthday, but I was the one who got hooked. Also, one of my most memorable concert experiences was JMJ - standing in a field in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain for hours and hours, waiting for the show to start. I was absolutely miserable. But when the show started with this music and the impressive light show in the rain with a whole bunch of windmills as the backdrop (which is why it was out in the countryside in the first place), it was just pure magic.
The famous windmill concert in Aalborg in 2002, that’s the stuff of legends. I was too young to go back then, but I did see him in a nice dry theater in Copenhagen in 2008. Also an amazing experience.
Oh, man. I’m glad you liked this. Personally, Jarre is not my cup of tea. Something about his music has just never...quite sat right with me. I just can’t get into it. It’s kind of uninteresting in my own mind. So, I guess since I think everyone’s preferences are like my own, I thought you would hate it. Glad you found stuff to appreciate. That’s awesome.
Hi JP. Dave from the UK. The ethereal beauty of Pt 1 brings to mind Vangelis. His track 'So Long Ago So Clear' (from the album Heaven and Hell) has the added bonus of a simply magical vocal performance by Jon Anderson (for me it's on a par with 'Soon' from Gates of Delirium). Music from the spheres!
I fell in love with this album when I was 11 years old. Ive listened to it many many times. With that I fell in love with the Universe. He is an absolute genius in my 55 year old opinion. Voyager was sent out into the unknown with music of human creation but not his. When I think about it, I fancy this as her headphone music as she cruises beyond our solar system. I also fall to sleep to the soundscapes capture by Voyager of our solar system. Its so similar. He is a true musical pioneer before our time.
I was 16 in 76 and when I listened to Oxygene it was so out of this world, still fresh and futuristic today. I now have the Oxygene Trilogy (3 albums decades apart) and Equinox Watcher (3 albums decades apart) and it’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Fantastic music, nearly as good as Pink Floyd.
I've always been fascinated with synthesizer music ever since my 8th grade music teacher brought in a very simple synth that he owned. This was back about the time Switched On Bach came out, so this was pretty early on. What I find incredible, looking back on things, is how creative both musically and technically these artists were. Back then there was no digital recording, you had to put everything on tape. Most tapes had few tracks, I think JP said 8 tracks for this album. What this meant is that to compose a piece you had to record on your limited number of tracks, and then mix them down so you could free up more space to record some more. Edits were literally done by cutting and pasting tape together. I remember getting this album when it first came out. I think I was attracted to the cover since I didn't know anything about Jean Michel Jarre. I'm sure the album was in the 'imports' section and was in a category that caught my eye. When I played it, I wasn't disappointed. I really do think of this album as the equivalent of a classical music composition. The work is best experienced by putting the album on and simply listening to it from start to finish. You get the most out of it by really absorbing it. I'm looking forward to side 2. As others have mentioned, you might want to look at Tangerine Dream (particularly from the early/mid 70's), Klaus Schulze, and others.
If we all wake up tomorrow with no vocal chords, all future music will hopefully sound like this. Just kidding, but we need to bring the instrumental epics back! This is an extraordinary piece of work. Timeless and (ironically) breathlessly beautiful.
I agree! That's why I've been doing electronic instrumental music since the 90's, under the name Spaceplayer. It's a shame instrumentals are so rarely done now. Last mainstream I can personally remember is "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson.
Yeah, this guy was ahead of his time. Wendy Carlos's Switched on Bach was the beginning of synth music for most folks. JMJ kicked it up a notch and set the bar very high. Some other folks in comments have made some excellent suggestions to follow in this vein so I will recommend a folk/prog song (I think) called "Badlands Flashback" by Bruce Cockburn. Other Cockburn fans may have other suggestions i.e. "Silver Wheels" or "Hoop Dancer" or some of his more popular songs ("Wondering Where the Lions Are", "Tokyo", "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" or "If I had a Rocket Launcher"). Great in depth review. Thanks.
Don't worry about how 'engaging' your reaction seems. There are plenty of reactors out there giving it the big eyes and 'oh ma gods!" and we don't need another. What I like about you JP is your good taste, your honesty and those little nods (like to a friend) when a good bit comes on. Keep doing what you're doing!
Its so strange I listened to JMJ since 1976 and mainstream popular music scarcely acknowledged him, let alone review him. I had to wait all these years for someone to finally examine his stuff. He did eventually become famous to be fair but not mainstream. Jarre managed to put out diverse and dramatic compositions. My favorite album was his follow up album (1978) - Equinox, more variety in sounds and music and with an even better cover. Jarre's signature sound was his organic/complication ability. That was him at his best.
LOL Everything I was into was "weird" according to everyone else. Now all my faves are being reacted to and praised. The pop albums long forgotten. Even Black Sabbath which everyone seemed to really hate and slag off. Oh how I wish I had a time machine...... :)
it's fun to watch your reaction we know what's coming and to see you hear for first time brings me back 45 years ago when I was 30 and bought this album mainly because of the cover then found out what was inside imagine hearing this when the airwaves we're dominated by disco
Love reactions to these longer pieces. His first three albums are in such a similar cain to me, they're almost a set. I don't so much compare him to Mike Oldfield as much to some of classic Tangering Dream, Vangelis and Synergy. Truly amazing stuff. Enjoy!!
For me, this album calls to mind “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” because of the synths, the minor key, and the development/way it flows. Another reference would be Tangerine Dream. Love the video for “Pt. Four” with the emperor penguins marching along to the tune.
When I was much younger, not fitting in with the local high school crowd, I stated listening to “new age” music. It started with Tubular Bells and then I bought anything I could find on the Virgin Records label: Jean-Michel Jarre’s Oxygene and Equinoxe, Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra and Stratosphere , Klaus Schulze’s Timewind, Edgar Froese’s Aqua, Pekka’s Mathematician’s Air Display, David Bedford’s Star’s End and Instructions for Angels, to name a few. And everything Mike Oldfield released. And all things Yes. And the entire pre- Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd. And Premiata Forneria Marconi. And Aphrodite’s Child’s 666. And after close to 50 years later, I still have all of these on vinyl. And they still sound great. I saw Jarre’s Rendez-vous Houston in 1986 along with 1.5 million other people. I sat in my car parked off the freeway overpass and watched the light show and fireworks displayed on the skyscrapers and listened to the music transmitted over the FM radio. Spectacular to say the least.
I adore how much this album sounds like it’s the personified Vision of the Future making music. It’s a future we never got, I get that a lot with synthesiser music, it sounds like the music of the future we haven’t reached yet, so as long as that vision persists of a utopia to strive for, it’ll stay in that way timeless. The soundscapes Jarre creates are out of this world!
Your comments about how this sounds today and that it fits in with today's soundscapes is interesting. I guess for those of us who have lived with this since it's inception it feels a bit like a circle. The mid 70's was a huge melting pot of different styles and genres - some more mainstream than others - but generally you could hear all sorts moving from one environment to another. In the UK at that time we had a lot of Rock, Glam Rock, Folk Rock, Pop, novelty (!), Easy Listening all making the charts - very rich and diverse - if not all quality! This album made a lot of people in the UK reconsider electronic music as a viable musical compositional genre in it's own right which would stand the test of time. Yes it still sounded futuristic or a bit other worldly but in the Uk we were used to a lot of these sounds from our own BBC Radiophonic workshop who were true pioneers in using un-tuned oscillating tones into sound effects and simple tune structures for programmes, public information films and adverts etc. In 1962 we had the hit single "Telstar" by the Tornadoes which used a Clavioline - an early electronic keyboard. A year later we had the seminal theme to Doctor Who and so on. By the late 70's and into the 80's synths became so commonplace they were not futuristic but current and by the late 80's were considered more of a fad than futuristic and there was a resurgence of indie rock bands which almost eclipsed the next era of synth music which was their use in Rave, acid house, trance and EDM. These early sounds of JMJ were considered not futuristic but old fashioned and quaint. Now synths (or their plug in counterparts) are just part of the fabric of our soundscapes and the re-emergence of their original clean electronic voices has began to make them sound like a new sound to our younger generations unaware of their heritage.
For your information - in case you didn’t know - the Mellotron wasn’t a sampling keyboard, it was a replay keyboard because it had _analogue_ recorded sounds in it. It had different racks of tapes, each rack having different analogue recorded sounds on it; classically (as I remember it): male choir, female choir, male/female choir, flute, and brass, each tape had a 7 second play on it. Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream took his Mellotron Mark 5 to the BBC in London to get sounds that he needed so that the manufacturers, Streetly Electronics, could get the sounds on to the tapes. Towards the last part of _Part 2_ , just as the white noise comes in, I think Jean-Michel plays the lower notes of the Mellotron with the flute rack, just as the Mellotron with the male/female choir rack comes in a little later.
Listening to this music gives me two visions: Diving along a pristine coral reef, with some shark drifting by... Or: a slideshow of large images from the Hubble space telescope... pure relaxation.
OMG this brings back wonderful memories. My Jazz dance teacher choreographed a routine to this for a performance. I bought the album and always enjoyed listening to it. Thank you.
Fun fact: since you mentioned a "cinematic" vibe, and the classical vs. ambient debate, Jean-Michel Jarre's father is famed film composer Maurice Jarre, who scored such cinematic epics as LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, FATAL ATTRACTION, and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. Also another one of my favorite composers.
Discovered Jean-Michel in the early years by a whim. My first "Jarre" experience was "Equinoxe" ... amazing musical journey. Next up, was Oxygene and the rest is history. Master & pioneer for sure.
Back in 1976 I borrowed this from a friend to listen and bought for myself the same afternoon. one of my top 5 artists and still producing unique sounds to this day.
This was ground-breaking when it came out. JMJ is one of the masters of the genre. Still a timeless classic. JMJ is still going. Saw him live a few years ago. He puts on an amazing show. Find a way to see him when thats possible. Its a trip!
Jarre did an outdoor concert in downtown Huston TX where dancing lasers were projected on the sides of the buildings. The live album even included the local radio reports reflecting the excitement. The event shut traffic down for miles. Can you imagine an entire city joining in unison for a night. What a joy it must have been. It was albums like this -- Vangelis, Tomita, Larry Fast's Synergy, Dick Hyman, Walter Carlos, Tangerine Dream -- that nicely complemented what Prog was doing. I love them all.
@@schuylersouthwell2554 I was about 15 years old... take a guess. Hyman is still alive (b. 1927) and has made great contributions to jazz and other genres. Total Bells and Tony anyone?
This is good, but I prefer Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Peter Baumann - The "Daddies" of electronic music. The earlier Kraftwerk are great too (especially the side long title track of Autobahn).
Great pick Justin. If you want to SEE how it is done check "Oxygène in your living room". Jarre perfoms the whole album full live with All original gear. 4 musicians which each almost same vintage setup To recreate the 8 track recording. a MUST see..
If you're going down the rabbit hole of early electronic music also check out the second Synergy (Larry Fast) album, Sequencer, and Vangelis, Heaven and Hell (if you haven't already). Tomita is a Japanese electronic musician with some interesting albums, like Snowflakes are Dancing from 1974 (based on Debussy's tone paintings). I was turned on to this Jean Michel Jarre album by a friend of the family who happens to be French (go figure). Great album! On a different note, the early Phillip Glass ensemble albums (minimalism) also sound like much of this electronic music, with the exception that they play every note by hand, no sequencers. The Photographer is a really good one. And Steve Reich also, Six Marimbas. Serious shit.
Amazing music. Finally someone reacts to Jarre. A very good choice to do half the album instead of individual tracks. I hope you react to the second half of the album too. And also to Equinoxe, which is just as good as Oxygene. Another recommended track by Jarre is his epic album version of Ethnicolor from the Zoolook album, which has very creative use of samples.
@@biraoliverio Yes, Magnetic Fields is great too. but it could have been 10 minutes longer. I love most of his work. And he's still producing good music. I really enjoyed his latest album "Equinoxe Infinity".
For me its a true classic. Jarre can be extremely hit or miss throughout his discography, but this and equinox are really satisfying to listen and get lost in. On another note. Don't dread not being overly dramatic in your reaction. You treat the music thoughtfully and with respect. Its the main reason i subscribe to this channel.
The first part had me looking to bond, the second I found carbon and we got a drink of water, and the third just had me lost in the ozone! Peace and breath in the air.
I got the LP back in 1979 or 1980, I don’t know how many times I listened to it as it was showing the future of the music. There are several videos on RUclips with Jean Michel playing Oxygene and other tracks, it’s worth watching them. I enjoyed this video a lot as it’s always great to learn what the new generations think of the music I listened when I was your age.
I wasn't expecting this but considering how much you love ambient and atmospheric music, this was an inevitable direction! I second the recommendations for Tangerine Dream after this. Phenomenal discography. You can't go wrong with Stratosfear or Force Majeure as starting points, but everything from Zeit (1972) through the late mid 80s will probably give you something to like. My favourites are Exit, White Eagle and Hyperborea.
One must remember that was done 45 years ago! The guy likely invented the genre. Nobody had gone this far with synths at the time. Brilliant. He sold 80 millions records since and made a few shows with 1+ million spectators (one in Houston).
Thanks for doing this Justin, I thought you would like this. It’s amazing stuff to simply immerse yourself in. His work is slightly more melodic and brighter in feel than much of Tangerine dream (not to criticise as I also love TD) It’s almost the musical representation of the difference between a French mentality and a German mentality. For a really interesting comparison please try Ricochet from Tangerine Dream which was produced at roughly the same time.
When you mentioned the sax appearing in track 2 it reminded me of the final track in his later "Rendezvous" album. This was to be played by Astronaut Ron McNair from space, but tragically as we all know the Space Shuttle Challenger never made it and Ron and the crew perished - the track was kept on the album and dedicated to the Challenger crew as a tribute. Although Oxygene made Jarre's name, there's so much quality, imagination and innovation in all of his work
This was one of the first albums to be recorded in the artist's own home. Of course it was pre-digital, recorded on tape without the benefit of polyphonic synthesisers so the parts were built of many layers. This introduced a lot of tape hiss which is why Jarre opted for those swooshy, windy background sounds. Great credit also goes to sound engineer Michel Geiss who enabled Jarre to do things with the synthesisers and tape machines that had never been achieved before.
We all need it , can´t live without it, it can deprive us life when we lack it , it bring life , bring decay, it fills our lungs, it feels light , feels heavy, we can feel the lack of it but cannot grasp nor hold it. The trinity of three lay around us all, covering with the invisible blankett , protecting us from the shinging rays of our galaxitc sphere that heats Tellus our mother.
Welcome in the world of Jean Michel Jarre. You just stepped into the Jarre-zone and this is the point of no return. There is so much more to explore. Have a wonderful journey where many had gone before you. I am so happy for you😊
Seen Jarre live once back in 2010 on top of a fortress in Oslo, Norway. It all startet in the afternoon, there were several bands playing all night, and the rain was pooring down, but stopped right before Jarre came on with his show and lazers, awesome consert :D
Now I feel bad for not recommending this! How did you not know JMJ before? I think I know every note of every album, and frankly, there's nothing better to have in your headphones when writing software! I think I first heard his Concerts in China album when it was first released (JMJ was the first western 'pop' musician to be allowed to play in Communist China!) and very quickly had all his other albums, and still wait for every new release from this musical genius!
Yes, 1976! I've been listening to JMJ since the early 80's when I bought the cassette from a 99 cent bin and I've been listening to him ever since - though that tape wore out long ago. Welcome to his world!
This is exactly the album I was looking for in the 70s. There were also with us in Germany in this time the Sunday driving bans. Empty streets and even empty highways on which we went for a walk at that time and with this mood also came a film about a virus that has wiped out everything the film was called "The Hamburg disease" and in it this music was played that I have been looking for a very long time. There was no Internet and the search was not easy and then I came across the German band Tangerine Dream where I'm still a big fan today and only much later on Jean-Michel Jarre and finally found this album and for me the best album ever by this artist. There are also following albums with this title meanwhile Oxygene Part 1 to 20
Justin, I was thrilled to see this on your channel. Not many reaction channels touch this type of stuff but it was a huge part of my musical experience growing up. I listened to Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and early Vangelis when I was a teenager and it helped me with my mind as I almost meditated to it I think. Jean Michelle was influenced by these pioneers but brought his own style to the form. He seems such a great guy and has such energy and enthusiasm when he’s in front of a live audience. Thanks for doing this.
![Stromae, Pomme - “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1F3OGIFnW1k/mqdefault.jpg)
In a million years I would not have imagined a reaction to Jarre. Congratulations
And quite the Jarre Tour Guide Justin just provided for us.
I like a good surprise 🎁
@@JustJP Nicely Summarized Justin ! You have a Talent for these Endeavours. And we thank you. Try to check out on RUclips, (perhaps to the Following) Jean-Michel's Live Berkeley 'Greek Theater'. Performance from 2016 or 17'. I was very near, I believe, to where the Video Poster was positioned. To the Visuals, you will beholding 5-7 back layers of Diod (?) Curtains able to create an illusion of 3D.
I should have filmed my reaction to his latest concert in Notre-Dame in VR (real VR, not movie VR) just a few days ago. It was beyond amazing.
me too...Nice surprise.
"This doesn't SOUND like 1976. This sounds like 2020."
Brother, you should have HEARD it in 1976! Let me tell you, it SOUNDED like ... 2020! (I only wish 2020 actually did sound like this.)
Lol!
I agree. It's a terrible so called remaster. In the older versions from 80. and early 90. you won't hear this hissing throughout the pieces.
Ditto! When this came out in 1976 I first heard Part 1 on some TV documentary and had to know who did this awesome spacey music with those hypnotic scaling runs. Then I heard Part 4 first on the radio then JMJ was on Top Of The Pops with some ARP synths (2500 and 2 Pro Soloists) and his Eminent U320 organ. This album sounds amazing for the stereo sound staging, either through headphones or sitting between the speakers. I preferred laying on the bed with the lights out and a speaker by each ear listening to sounds ping pong and move around the sound stage and drift into the music. Oxygene was my oasis in the musical desert along with Kraftwerk (Autobahn) and Space (Magic Fly). When you consider this was 1976 and he was using mostly monophonic (1 note at a time) instruments and a few polyphonic keyboards like a Korg Ensemble and Eminent organ for the chord pads, recording on to an 8 track recorder, it still holds its own today. I still get goose bumps hearing Oxygene 47 years later.
@emdotambient ! I was 19yo and it was a .... WOOOOOSH !!
To the contrary, I think this music sound so much like the 1970ies! This is the same time Emerson, Lake & Palmer had a similar sound for their "Pictures at an Exhibition" recording or "Fanfare of the Common Man", or Tomita did his version of "Pictures at an Exhibition". It's the age of Faltermeyer's "Beverly Hills Cop" sound track. It's the time Kraftwerk was founded.
Jarre is a pure genius. Oxygene is a masterpiece composed in 1976 and it really sounds as a composition of 2020. When I listened this masterpiece it was like receiving a gadget from future. It was and still is outstanding!!
I'll tell you a few things about Oxygene's A-side. All I know for now
The album begins with some very echoy notes made with the magnificent Eminent 310U electronic organ to which, little by little, other instruments are added. The human voice that makes the main melody is made with the AKS synthesizer and this sound is Jarre's favorite, according to his own words. In the middle part of the song, some low notes made with a Minimoog that was barely used on the album and that is out of the credits, give way to some powerful rising brass programmed in the ARP 2600 synthesizer. Finally we come to the last minutes of the theme, in which, a background noise made with the VCS3 will accompany us until the end of the theme while we resume with some strings of the Eminent 310U the main melody that was previously made by the human voice of the AKS. Meanwhile, some sound effects produced with the VCS3 begin to be heard, which will conclude the song, giving way to the second Part of the Album.
Part 2 links directly to part 1 of the album beginning with a rolling sequence performed on the AKS synthesizer. The sound of the bass seems to have been done with the ARP 2600, while almost all the special effects were done with the VCS 3. The rhythm is handled exclusively by the Korg Mini pop 7 Rhythmi Computer drum machine.
There is no data on what instrument he used to perform the main melody, although the flute sound was surely made with the ARP 2600. The human choirs are, of course, made with the Mellotron. The wind sound is made with the VCS 3 processed by an Electroharmonix Smalltone pedal.
The song begins with the farfisa organ that ends in a C minor chord while some low notes of a Minimoog make a melody that will soon be accompanied by some higher notes throughout the song made by the RMI Harmonic synthesizer.. The human voice is made with the AKS synthesizer. The song ends with the sound of some birds. Surely a real recording.
These are the instruments he used on the album.
ARP 2600 synthesizer
Eminent 310 organ
AKS Synthesizer
VCS3 Synthesizer
Farfisa Organ
Korg Mini pop 7 Rhythm Computer
RMI Harmonic Synthesizer
RMI Keiboard Computer
Mellotron
Minimoog Monophonic Synthesizer (Excluded from credits for hardly being used)
ARP 2500 Synthesizer (Excluded from the credits and without actual confirmation of its use by Jarre)
A hug.
Jean-Michel Jarre did a really cool online concert at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on New Year's Eve.
He puts on a hell of a show. I remember the Texas concert where he turned the skyscrapers there into the backdrop for his performance. Not to mention the "laser harps"...
Yep. Saw New Year’s Eve in watching that live
@@joemaurone7923 yeah, the “Rendez-vous Houston” concert. Fantastic!
And let’s remember that he wanted to have a piece played from space, with the astronaut Ron McNair playing sax from the space shuttle Challenger... the one that blew up 😢 Now, that piece is called “Ron’s Piece”
ruclips.net/video/VKjFjFtKBRI/видео.html
It was a blinder
My dad used to play this when I was 2. I am now 38. This is my favorite album of all time, and it's permanently burned into my consciousness. Thank you so much for exposing your RUclips audience to it!
Ty thats awesome!
JM Jarre is the greatest musical genius of our time. He will be remembered in the same way we remember Beethoven and Mozart. This is all I have to say.
I listened to jarre when I was a kid, I'm now 37 and the album hasn't aged a bit. I would even say that it is timeless.
In tune with the times.
Equinoxe - Oxygène and - Chants magnétiques are 3 masterpieces.
ruclips.net/video/LzAui_gcdhM/видео.html
I always loved his music. I discovered somewhere in the very early 80s (maybe even 1980). It was kind of mind blowing at the time and I still enjoy it. It was perfect for putting the headphones on and laying outside at night to stare at the stars. Spent many nights lost in the music. The Concert in China, Zoolook, Équinoxe and Rendezvous were also excellent.
On Rendez-Vous there is a piece called called Last Rendez-Vous (Ron's Piece) named for Ron McNair, one of the astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was named that because McNair was supposed to record the saxophone part while in space as the first piece of music recorded in space. While another saxophonist eventually recorded the part, the song was dedicated to McNair and the other astronauts who were lost.
I remember watching the shuttle launch specifically because I was tracking it for this recording as I was a fan of Jean Michel's work and also was a obviously a stargazer. It was such a gut-punch when the disaster happened. That song has always been poignant for me as a reminder of that shocking day.
Oddly, this past year I started a job in which the department I'm in is in a building named for McNair. It felt a bit full-circle after all these years.
So glad to see people still taking an interest and appreciation for it. Great reaction. I really enjoy how you break it down and your obvious enthusiasm. Enveloping is indeed the right word to describe it.
They also incorporated some of the story surrounding Ron's Piece and NASA into the massive 1986 Houston anniversary show. McNair was supposed to play his saxophone part from space for that show. I remember watching that as a kid, being completely blown away by the entire spectacle using the skyscrapers as projection screens, all the fireworks etc. With over a million people in the crowd, it was just a show on a whole new level.
@@papaquonis I remember that happening but only saw parts of it on video. I would have loved to have seen that in person.
Rendez-vous always reminds me of the Challenger 🙏🏼
I never knew this. A poignant tragedy indeed.
All fantastic albums, but I never understand why "Les chants magnetiques" (Magnetic fields) is so underrated and not mentoned here,
He is the son of Maurice Jarre who composed the Oscar winning soundtrack for Lawrence of Arabia
Jean-Michel Jarre is a classical trained composer, which is probably why it ages so well. There is nothing, or at least very little, contemporary about his music and I think that's why it seems timeless. As a side note, his father, Maurice Jarre, was also a composer, who, among much else, composed the music for the movie "Lawrence of Arabia".
Jean-Michel Jarre’s _Oxygène_ is timeless! I have been a fan since 1986 and I am never tired of listening top this whole album.
Its just that good!
I have been listening to jarre since 1977, he is amazing ahead of his time
You should also check out some Kraftwerk eventually. They pioneered electronic music in the 70s just like Jean Michel Jarre did, but took a very different approach. Maybe listen to their 1974 Album "Autobahn" as an introduction. Some might even call Kraftwerk as influential as the Beatles.
Yes, American Hip-hop acknowledges the Kraftwerk influence (Afrika Bambaataa).
"Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n auf der Autobahn".
Jarre, Tangerine Dream, etc are "Berlin school" electronic. Kraftwerk (& others) are "Dusseldorf school" electronic.
@@TuckertonRR I like Ralf and Florian's early albums, with the wonderful flute playing - I guess Klink Klank studio is in Dusseldorf?
@@TuckertonRR From Tangerine Dream my favourite album is the live performance Poland, just three songs topping nearly 1 hour of constantly progressing synth pop.
Another Jean-Michel Jarre work that deserves a listening is Zoolook his incursion in the pop/world music fields, this album has participations of Adrian Belew and Laurie Anderson, is a very different beast from his previous works.
It's a close call for me with Zoolook and Oxygene as my favourite JMJ. Ethinicolor was a big tune.
@@neilloughran4437 For me two songs that uses samples in a very creative way, Ethnicolor and Zappa's G-Spot Tornado.
And the first samples in the music world 🌎
I loved that album too, especially the monumental opening track. I was amazed when I recently discovered JMJ had been a musician alongside Ray Parker Jr on one of Christophe's albums.
Zoolook is another Jarre's masterpiece!
Michel is pronounced "me shell"
Ty galier!
Or, just like 'Michelle.'
Laying with my head between two speakers listening to this has been therapy for me many times in my life.
I remember doing that as a child with Kraftwerks Man Machine. A few years later i got to hear this at my friends house after smoking my first joint.
Still an amazing record 45 years later... beautiful sound design in both tone, processing and positioning... I can hear a lot of ARP2600, Mellotron and Eminent... but the way they sound and combine is really smooth and all the more remarkable considering it was all done on 8 track. The sound you mention as a horn is a mellotron flute but its so beautifully processed it doesn't sound so typical. Track 1 is very classical... Gm Fm Cm D7 chords with the Eminent going through a Small Stone phaser.. beautiful..
Jarre never really topped this record or me. I'm surprised there hasn't been a multitrack breakdown of this LP (like has been done with Steely Dan, Queen and Stevie Wonder a'la Classic Albums) as it would be an education to everyone.
Thanks for the details. Those simple changes made this material accessible to me as a boy.
I put Equinoxe on par to Oxygene tbh.
The albums I mostly listen to from Jarre are Oxygene and Zoolook.. maybe a little Rendezvous and parts of China concerts too... but I tend to avoid the well known pieces...
For someone who is new to this genre it's a complete rabbit hole of beautiful muisc... for me it peaked with Johannes Schmoelling's original Zoo of Tranquility CD on Theta (not the remake).. after that I was onto other music and genres but I still treasure this period of discovery.
@@Wesker1984 I actually prefer Equinoxe to Oxygene as it feels more mature. That is probably because after the success of Oxygene JMJ was able to invest in a proper studio and more equipment (Oxygene was famously recorded in JMJ's kitchen). The use of more equipment allowed him to create more complex soundscapes in Equinoxe.
Just a second thought note: I saw a video on YT some time back (a year?) with Jarre playing the full Oxygene live on his original old synths. He had 5-6 assistants to play the simultaneous parts, but it gave me a lot of insight into how some of the sounds were created. Once you've finished the studio album (and relistened because it's amaze-balls), go check that out on your own time for some insight... which you can share when you react to Equinoxe for us. :) (Edit: the link: ruclips.net/video/H9UzNh_2TXk/видео.html)
Oxygene part 1, one of my favorite tracks. Good to listen to lying on bed at night in the dark.
Defintitely. Let it swirl all around you :D
This was my father's album and Mike old field tubular bells, loved them as a child, also introduced me to vangelis
Thats awesome! Ty for sharing Tania🙂
Tangerine Dream is a good recommendation after this. Stratosfear, for example.
Yes, my favorite from them also. Great album. Another review read that made me buy it. Plus, the Sorcerer movie soundtrack.
I'd go with Tangram or Force Majeure for T-Dream.
Tangerine dream are great. Rubycon and Tangram are my favorites.
I would seriously recommend the old stuff: Rubycon, that’s the one that put Tangerine Dream on the map. Has an immense audience around the world. Real German: dark, mystic an imaginative. The opposite of the French melodic electronic music from the early seventies.
Yes, Stratosfear and Rubycon are real classic TD at their best !
I've never heard of this artist. I'm not very far into it and am enjoying it. It immediately brings to mind Isao Tomita, another artist whose work I also enjoy.
I'm glad youre enjoying it!
Jean Michel Jarre is the master number one of the electronic music. His concerts are of the 500,000 people at least.
Grounbreaking album for electronic music. I love the retro-futurism it oozes today!
Thumbs up, Justin.
Ty Murdock!
indeed. nothing else. tape echos. 8 track recorded at a kitchen and a handful of real vintage gear like VCS3 etc. right, a sound of 1976 likes 2020. this is how JMJ was called "pioneer of electronic music". he used the gear in a way noone thinks about, with orchestral structures/arrangements. influence of his father maurice jarre (filmcomposer) is already beside.
First of all, don’t sweat the visual reaction, I too just closed my eyes and listened most of the time. When the big synth notes happened I looked up just when you looked up and that was cool.
I think I read a review back then that made me buy this album... later in college with an artist friend, he had it also and we really got into this music. Later bought the Concerts in China double album probably for its striking red, white and black cover.
Along with Tomita, Jean Michel synthesized my brain, for the good.
So mind expanding... love it still.
Hopefully you can do some Tomita. Snowflakes Falling, Firebird, The Planets are monumental reimagining of classical music albums.
Edit: Ok, you went and done it again and I just can’t let it go... 1976.
So much great music happened that year. Tangerine Dream’s Stratosfear is terrific... Another album that expanded my young little mind in a different way was, wait for it... David Sancious’s Transformation (The Speed of Love), for reals, 1976 was mega.
Also, while listening to JMJ I kept thinking of another Jean, Jean Luc Ponty. His Cosmic Messenger album was/is one of my absolute favorites. Highly recommended.
Peace and synthy
I once gave the China album to my sister for Christmas but she didn't like it.
@@markspooner1224
More for us...
That album is a trip. Ahead of it's time.
Jarre taught me to dream and travel with music
Great Album, Pt 5 is actually my personal favourite. His music is quite haunting. As a side note i feel his music is a logical progression from his fathers. Maurice Jarre was a multi Oscar winner, composing many of David Lean's films, Dr Zhivago etc. (He also did Mad Max, Beyond the Thunderdome.) His influence on his son is unmistakable
Triple Oscar-winner - most famously for the "Lawrence of Arabia" soundtrack.
Wow, I did not make that connection!! Will re-listen to those soundtracks
there was a Kevin Jarre too who wrote films (maybe a brother?)
@@gdkey8025 adopted brother of Jean-Michel
in fact the father had little influence on jean-michel because he left his family when JMJ was young.
JMJ was educated by his mother who had relation in the world of music including jazz musicians.
It's easy to overlook, but this album was released in December 1976 (44 years ago!). Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" were released in 1973. I remember being a kid in the early 80s and hearing this on tape with my parents, thinking "THIS is the future of music". It was so different to anything I had heard before! No vocals, no "real" instruments I could identify. The idea of sound synthesizers was simply mind blowing. Also: so much theremin sounds :-)
Edit: there's a version of JMJ playing this album live using the original hardware called "Oxygen in your living room" and there are a few clips on RUclips.
Justin, if you go down this path you know you’ll end up with Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. All fathers of EDM. All worth a listen.
BTW, it’s so nice of you to go through my record collection and add something every now and then. Really enjoy it. Keep it up and best wishes for 2021.
Ty so much Erik, im glad youre enjoying going down memory lane!
Absolutely! Have you hear The Sorcerer? If so what are your thoughts?
I own 95 Tangerine Dream, all Kraftwerk and a few Schulze.... he has a long way to go.... TD is my favorite band along with Depeche Mode.... however JP thinks DM is just another synth pop band (how wrong he is), and I don't think he heard TD.
@@JustJP Kraftwerks run of albums from Autobahn-Radio activity-Trans Europe express-Man Machine and Computer World are something else!
@@cosmin98684 Have you seen the 80s movie Miracle Mile? TD did the score and it's excellent.
I was one of the lucky ones (there were hundreds of thousands of us) who saw him perform in London (the Docklands Concert). Being London, it rained, and there's Jean-Michel on stage, on a boat (raft) on the river Thames, moving gently up and down river throughout the concert so everyone gets a good view. One of his opening statements was "don't worry about the rain, us frogs love the rain". Sorry, but anyone who's happy to take the mick out of himself is okay in my book, instant legend and a fantastic musician. Great concert, saw the laser-harp, the fireworks, projections, everything. If you don't get to see him live, at least watch a concert or two online, there's so much to experience.
That sounds like an amazing experience Andrew
Thank you for respecting the artist and his work by not pausing and interjecting. This was the first music I heard that I knew was 'for me', and 40 years later it, with Equinoxe and Magnetic Fields still reward me.
Absolutely Mark! Ty
His Rendez-vous album from 1986 was the first album I ever really binge listened to, when I was around 10 years old. My mom randomly got it for her birthday, but I was the one who got hooked.
Also, one of my most memorable concert experiences was JMJ - standing in a field in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain for hours and hours, waiting for the show to start. I was absolutely miserable. But when the show started with this music and the impressive light show in the rain with a whole bunch of windmills as the backdrop (which is why it was out in the countryside in the first place), it was just pure magic.
Thats awesome, sounds like a great show
The famous windmill concert in Aalborg in 2002, that’s the stuff of legends. I was too young to go back then, but I did see him in a nice dry theater in Copenhagen in 2008. Also an amazing experience.
This is my first time hearing this too and I am blown away. Part IV is most famous song on here, and it’s Jean-Michels Most successful single
Awesome, glad you liked it!
You should watch his concerts then, playing the laser harps is just as ethereal as listening to him. It adds a whole new dimension to his music.
Oh, man. I’m glad you liked this. Personally, Jarre is not my cup of tea. Something about his music has just never...quite sat right with me. I just can’t get into it. It’s kind of uninteresting in my own mind. So, I guess since I think everyone’s preferences are like my own, I thought you would hate it. Glad you found stuff to appreciate. That’s awesome.
Hi JP. Dave from the UK. The ethereal beauty of Pt 1 brings to mind Vangelis. His track 'So Long Ago So Clear' (from the album Heaven and Hell) has the added bonus of a simply magical vocal performance by Jon Anderson (for me it's on a par with 'Soon' from Gates of Delirium). Music from the spheres!
I fell in love with this album when I was 11 years old. Ive listened to it many many times. With that I fell in love with the Universe. He is an absolute genius in my 55 year old opinion. Voyager was sent out into the unknown with music of human creation but not his. When I think about it, I fancy this as her headphone music as she cruises beyond our solar system. I also fall to sleep to the soundscapes capture by Voyager of our solar system. Its so similar. He is a true musical pioneer before our time.
I was 16 in 76 and when I listened to Oxygene it was so out of this world, still fresh and futuristic today.
I now have the Oxygene Trilogy (3 albums decades apart) and Equinox Watcher (3 albums decades apart) and it’s like the gift that keeps on giving.
Fantastic music, nearly as good as Pink Floyd.
Justin, you should try Vangelis' Heaven and Hell album, it even has a beautiful song song by Jon Anderson of Yes
Not to mention that a portion of it was famously used as the theme for Carl Sagan's COSMOS!
Stunning cover art too...
Superb first listen ! Oxygene is pure Avant-garde. There is nothing like it
I've always been fascinated with synthesizer music ever since my 8th grade music teacher brought in a very simple synth that he owned. This was back about the time Switched On Bach came out, so this was pretty early on. What I find incredible, looking back on things, is how creative both musically and technically these artists were. Back then there was no digital recording, you had to put everything on tape. Most tapes had few tracks, I think JP said 8 tracks for this album. What this meant is that to compose a piece you had to record on your limited number of tracks, and then mix them down so you could free up more space to record some more. Edits were literally done by cutting and pasting tape together.
I remember getting this album when it first came out. I think I was attracted to the cover since I didn't know anything about Jean Michel Jarre. I'm sure the album was in the 'imports' section and was in a category that caught my eye. When I played it, I wasn't disappointed. I really do think of this album as the equivalent of a classical music composition. The work is best experienced by putting the album on and simply listening to it from start to finish. You get the most out of it by really absorbing it. I'm looking forward to side 2.
As others have mentioned, you might want to look at Tangerine Dream (particularly from the early/mid 70's), Klaus Schulze, and others.
Is no one going to mention the slight resemblance between his background and the cover of _Équinoxe_?
-(Well I just did)-
Two amazing works by Michel Granger
Looks more like the Equinoxe album cover
If we all wake up tomorrow with no vocal chords, all future music will hopefully sound like this.
Just kidding, but we need to bring the instrumental epics back! This is an extraordinary piece of work. Timeless and (ironically) breathlessly beautiful.
I agree! That's why I've been doing electronic instrumental music since the 90's, under the name Spaceplayer. It's a shame instrumentals are so rarely done now. Last mainstream I can personally remember is "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson.
Yeah, this guy was ahead of his time. Wendy Carlos's Switched on Bach was the beginning of synth music for most folks. JMJ kicked it up a notch and set the bar very high. Some other folks in comments have made some excellent suggestions to follow in this vein so I will recommend a folk/prog song (I think) called "Badlands Flashback" by Bruce Cockburn. Other Cockburn fans may have other suggestions i.e. "Silver Wheels" or "Hoop Dancer" or some of his more popular songs ("Wondering Where the Lions Are", "Tokyo", "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" or "If I had a Rocket Launcher").
Great in depth review. Thanks.
Agree absolutely! Wendy Carlos 'Ode to Joy' ruclips.net/video/0MCnnfXPSHw/видео.html
I have all his albums on vinyl n CD, his London Docklands concert 1988 was my first gig as a teenager.....was hooked on synth music. Absolute Genius.
Don't worry about how 'engaging' your reaction seems. There are plenty of reactors out there giving it the big eyes and 'oh ma gods!" and we don't need another. What I like about you JP is your good taste, your honesty and those little nods (like to a friend) when a good bit comes on. Keep doing what you're doing!
Ty Rich!😄
As some pointed out: you need to check out Zoolook (the album). It will knock your socks off. Especially when you realize it was done in 1984.
One of my favourite music. Thanks.
Its so strange I listened to JMJ since 1976 and mainstream popular music scarcely acknowledged him, let alone review him. I had to wait all these years for someone to finally examine his stuff. He did eventually become famous to be fair but not mainstream.
Jarre managed to put out diverse and dramatic compositions. My favorite album was his follow up album (1978) - Equinox, more variety in sounds and music and with an even better cover. Jarre's signature sound was his organic/complication ability. That was him at his best.
LOL Everything I was into was "weird" according to everyone else. Now all my faves are being reacted to and praised. The pop albums long forgotten. Even Black Sabbath which everyone seemed to really hate and slag off. Oh how I wish I had a time machine...... :)
it's fun to watch your reaction we know what's coming and to see you hear for first time brings me back 45 years ago when I was 30 and bought this album mainly because of the cover then found out what was inside imagine hearing this when the airwaves we're dominated by disco
I saw Jean-Michel performing at a Tower Records in Seattle. It was life changing!
I bet it was!
Love reactions to these longer pieces. His first three albums are in such a similar cain to me, they're almost a set. I don't so much compare him to Mike Oldfield as much to some of classic Tangering Dream, Vangelis and Synergy. Truly amazing stuff. Enjoy!!
Ty Dennis!
It is the analog (!) synths the makes this album so amazing, so organic, so timeless.
I can only imagine how much of a pain staking task, it must of been, to program all these sounds and tones into synthesizers 45 years ago.
Congrats mate, you've just "detoxed" your brain, and improved your I.Q by a solid 7 points, according to my psychology of creativity dissertation!.🙏
Haha ty Wanksy! :D
For me, this album calls to mind “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” because of the synths, the minor key, and the development/way it flows. Another reference would be Tangerine Dream. Love the video for “Pt. Four” with the emperor penguins marching along to the tune.
When I was much younger, not fitting in with the local high school crowd, I stated listening to “new age” music.
It started with Tubular Bells and then I bought anything I could find on the Virgin Records label: Jean-Michel Jarre’s Oxygene and Equinoxe, Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra and Stratosphere , Klaus Schulze’s Timewind, Edgar Froese’s Aqua, Pekka’s Mathematician’s Air Display, David Bedford’s Star’s End and Instructions for Angels, to name a few. And everything Mike Oldfield released. And all things Yes. And the entire pre- Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd. And Premiata Forneria Marconi. And Aphrodite’s Child’s 666. And after close to 50 years later, I still have all of these on vinyl. And they still sound great.
I saw Jarre’s Rendez-vous Houston in 1986 along with 1.5 million other people. I sat in my car parked off the freeway overpass and watched the light show and fireworks displayed on the skyscrapers and listened to the music transmitted over the FM radio. Spectacular to say the least.
I adore how much this album sounds like it’s the personified Vision of the Future making music.
It’s a future we never got, I get that a lot with synthesiser music, it sounds like the music of the future we haven’t reached yet, so as long as that vision persists of a utopia to strive for, it’ll stay in that way timeless.
The soundscapes Jarre creates are out of this world!
Your comments about how this sounds today and that it fits in with today's soundscapes is interesting. I guess for those of us who have lived with this since it's inception it feels a bit like a circle. The mid 70's was a huge melting pot of different styles and genres - some more mainstream than others - but generally you could hear all sorts moving from one environment to another. In the UK at that time we had a lot of Rock, Glam Rock, Folk Rock, Pop, novelty (!), Easy Listening all making the charts - very rich and diverse - if not all quality! This album made a lot of people in the UK reconsider electronic music as a viable musical compositional genre in it's own right which would stand the test of time. Yes it still sounded futuristic or a bit other worldly but in the Uk we were used to a lot of these sounds from our own BBC Radiophonic workshop who were true pioneers in using un-tuned oscillating tones into sound effects and simple tune structures for programmes, public information films and adverts etc. In 1962 we had the hit single "Telstar" by the Tornadoes which used a Clavioline - an early electronic keyboard. A year later we had the seminal theme to Doctor Who and so on. By the late 70's and into the 80's synths became so commonplace they were not futuristic but current and by the late 80's were considered more of a fad than futuristic and there was a resurgence of indie rock bands which almost eclipsed the next era of synth music which was their use in Rave, acid house, trance and EDM. These early sounds of JMJ were considered not futuristic but old fashioned and quaint. Now synths (or their plug in counterparts) are just part of the fabric of our soundscapes and the re-emergence of their original clean electronic voices has began to make them sound like a new sound to our younger generations unaware of their heritage.
For your information - in case you didn’t know - the Mellotron wasn’t a sampling keyboard, it was a replay keyboard because it had _analogue_ recorded sounds in it. It had different racks of tapes, each rack having different analogue recorded sounds on it; classically (as I remember it): male choir, female choir, male/female choir, flute, and brass, each tape had a 7 second play on it. Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream took his Mellotron Mark 5 to the BBC in London to get sounds that he needed so that the manufacturers, Streetly Electronics, could get the sounds on to the tapes.
Towards the last part of _Part 2_ , just as the white noise comes in, I think Jean-Michel plays the lower notes of the Mellotron with the flute rack, just as the Mellotron with the male/female choir rack comes in a little later.
Thank you JP. For Enjoying this the way we All did back in 76. With our jaws on the ground and our minds in the Skys!!!💯💯☮️🤟🌈❤️
Man, you just opened a bottle of the best champagne ever! Good luck on this journey
The best Jean Michel Jarre album.
This was our background music while we played DnD in the early 90's. Thanks for the trip on memory lane.
Good choice!
handmade in Jarre’s kitchen absolutely stunning ❤️❤️❤️
Listening to this music gives me two visions: Diving along a pristine coral reef, with some shark drifting by... Or: a slideshow of large images from the Hubble space telescope... pure relaxation.
OMG this brings back wonderful memories. My Jazz dance teacher choreographed a routine to this for a performance. I bought the album and always enjoyed listening to it. Thank you.
Thatd be an interesting dance! Ty Bonita!
In my teens/twenties i loved this.... haven't listened to JMJ for decades. Thanks for the reminder.
Fun fact: since you mentioned a "cinematic" vibe, and the classical vs. ambient debate, Jean-Michel Jarre's father is famed film composer Maurice Jarre, who scored such cinematic epics as LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, FATAL ATTRACTION, and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. Also another one of my favorite composers.
Makes sense then!
Discovered Jean-Michel in the early years by a whim. My first "Jarre" experience was "Equinoxe" ... amazing musical journey. Next up, was Oxygene and the rest is history. Master & pioneer for sure.
Back in 1976 I borrowed this from a friend to listen and bought for myself the same afternoon. one of my top 5 artists and still producing unique sounds to this day.
This was ground-breaking when it came out. JMJ is one of the masters of the genre. Still a timeless classic. JMJ is still going. Saw him live a few years ago. He puts on an amazing show. Find a way to see him when thats possible. Its a trip!
Best way to listen to listen to this is with headphones on and turn off the light and drift in the sound
Electronic masterpiece, and my favourite of Jarre's work.
Jarre did an outdoor concert in downtown Huston TX where dancing lasers were projected on the sides of the buildings. The live album even included the local radio reports reflecting the excitement. The event shut traffic down for miles. Can you imagine an entire city joining in unison for a night. What a joy it must have been.
It was albums like this -- Vangelis, Tomita, Larry Fast's Synergy, Dick Hyman, Walter Carlos, Tangerine Dream -- that nicely complemented what Prog was doing. I love them all.
Dick Hyman!! "Topless Dancers of Corfu" or 'Kolumbo".
@@schuylersouthwell2554 I was about 15 years old... take a guess.
Hyman is still alive (b. 1927) and has made great contributions to jazz and other genres. Total Bells and Tony anyone?
Thats so awesome Ed, I can only imagine
jmj music inspred me to be obsessed with synthesizers even after 30 year years later im still in awe by it today it will never be dated
This is good, but I prefer Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Peter Baumann - The "Daddies" of electronic music. The earlier Kraftwerk are great too (especially the side long title track of Autobahn).
TD is my favorite band so I know exactly what you're saying 😊
Great pick Justin. If you want to SEE how it is done check "Oxygène in your living room". Jarre perfoms the whole album full live with All original gear. 4 musicians which each almost same vintage setup To recreate the 8 track recording. a MUST see..
I've listened to this album numerous times. It still sounds futuristic. Thank you for this reaction. Subscribed!
Thank you Mka :)
If you're going down the rabbit hole of early electronic music also check out the second Synergy (Larry Fast) album, Sequencer, and Vangelis, Heaven and Hell (if you haven't already). Tomita is a Japanese electronic musician with some interesting albums, like Snowflakes are Dancing from 1974 (based on Debussy's tone paintings). I was turned on to this Jean Michel Jarre album by a friend of the family who happens to be French (go figure). Great album!
On a different note, the early Phillip Glass ensemble albums (minimalism) also sound like much of this electronic music, with the exception that they play every note by hand, no sequencers. The Photographer is a really good one. And Steve Reich also, Six Marimbas. Serious shit.
Amazing music. Finally someone reacts to Jarre. A very good choice to do half the album instead of individual tracks. I hope you react to the second half of the album too. And also to Equinoxe, which is just as good as Oxygene. Another recommended track by Jarre is his epic album version of Ethnicolor from the Zoolook album, which has very creative use of samples.
Another Jarre album that I like is Magnetic Fields, mainly because the rumba like rhythms used.
@@biraoliverio Yes, Magnetic Fields is great too. but it could have been 10 minutes longer. I love most of his work. And he's still producing good music. I really enjoyed his latest album "Equinoxe Infinity".
Ty RoB!
with the transitions you can't cut the face between titles for a good listening.
He did the right choice.
For me its a true classic. Jarre can be extremely hit or miss throughout his discography, but this and equinox are really satisfying to listen and get lost in.
On another note. Don't dread not being overly dramatic in your reaction. You treat the music thoughtfully and with respect. Its the main reason i subscribe to this channel.
I fear I agree that the first 2 maybe 3 albums are classics and then.... bits and pieces. It happens.
Ty so much Maze😄
The first part had me looking to bond, the second I found carbon and we got a drink of water, and the third just had me lost in the ozone! Peace and breath in the air.
👨🚀
I got the LP back in 1979 or 1980, I don’t know how many times I listened to it as it was showing the future of the music. There are several videos on RUclips with Jean Michel playing Oxygene and other tracks, it’s worth watching them.
I enjoyed this video a lot as it’s always great to learn what the new generations think of the music I listened when I was your age.
I wasn't expecting this but considering how much you love ambient and atmospheric music, this was an inevitable direction! I second the recommendations for Tangerine Dream after this. Phenomenal discography. You can't go wrong with Stratosfear or Force Majeure as starting points, but everything from Zeit (1972) through the late mid 80s will probably give you something to like. My favourites are Exit, White Eagle and Hyperborea.
One must remember that was done 45 years ago! The guy likely invented the genre. Nobody had gone this far with synths at the time. Brilliant. He sold 80 millions records since and made a few shows with 1+ million spectators (one in Houston).
Thanks for doing this Justin, I thought you would like this. It’s amazing stuff to simply immerse yourself in. His work is slightly more melodic and brighter in feel than much of Tangerine dream (not to criticise as I also love TD) It’s almost the musical representation of the difference between a French mentality and a German mentality. For a really interesting comparison please try Ricochet from Tangerine Dream which was produced at roughly the same time.
When you mentioned the sax appearing in track 2 it reminded me of the final track in his later "Rendezvous" album. This was to be played by Astronaut Ron McNair from space, but tragically as we all know the Space Shuttle Challenger never made it and Ron and the crew perished - the track was kept on the album and dedicated to the Challenger crew as a tribute. Although Oxygene made Jarre's name, there's so much quality, imagination and innovation in all of his work
This was one of the first albums to be recorded in the artist's own home. Of course it was pre-digital, recorded on tape without the benefit of polyphonic synthesisers so the parts were built of many layers. This introduced a lot of tape hiss which is why Jarre opted for those swooshy, windy background sounds. Great credit also goes to sound engineer Michel Geiss who enabled Jarre to do things with the synthesisers and tape machines that had never been achieved before.
Jarre was an integral part of my childhood
We all need it , can´t live without it, it can deprive us life when we lack it , it bring life , bring decay, it fills our lungs, it feels light , feels heavy, we can feel the lack of it but cannot grasp nor hold it.
The trinity of three lay around us all, covering with the invisible blankett , protecting us from the shinging rays of our galaxitc sphere that heats Tellus our mother.
Welcome in the world of Jean Michel Jarre. You just stepped into the Jarre-zone and this is the point of no return. There is so much more to explore. Have a wonderful journey where many had gone before you. I am so happy for you😊
Happy to be here!
Seen Jarre live once back in 2010 on top of a fortress in Oslo, Norway. It all startet in the afternoon, there were several bands playing all night, and the rain was pooring down, but stopped right before Jarre came on with his show and lazers, awesome consert :D
Now I feel bad for not recommending this! How did you not know JMJ before? I think I know every note of every album, and frankly, there's nothing better to have in your headphones when writing software! I think I first heard his Concerts in China album when it was first released (JMJ was the first western 'pop' musician to be allowed to play in Communist China!) and very quickly had all his other albums, and still wait for every new release from this musical genius!
Oh, one correction. It doesn’t sound 1976 nor 2020. Sounds like 2076.
Yes, 1976! I've been listening to JMJ since the early 80's when I bought the cassette from a 99 cent bin and I've been listening to him ever since - though that tape wore out long ago. Welcome to his world!
This is exactly the album I was looking for in the 70s.
There were also with us in Germany in this time the Sunday driving bans.
Empty streets and even empty highways on which we went for a walk at that time and with this mood also came a film about a virus that has wiped out everything the film was called "The Hamburg disease" and in it this music was played that I have been looking for a very long time.
There was no Internet and the search was not easy and then I came across the German band Tangerine Dream where I'm still a big fan today and only much later on Jean-Michel Jarre and finally found this album and for me the best album ever by this artist.
There are also following albums with this title
meanwhile Oxygene Part 1 to 20
You really ought to dive into the work of Klaus Schulze's 70's albums.
Justin, I was thrilled to see this on your channel. Not many reaction channels touch this type of stuff but it was a huge part of my musical experience growing up. I listened to Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and early Vangelis when I was a teenager and it helped me with my mind as I almost meditated to it I think. Jean Michelle was influenced by these pioneers but brought his own style to the form. He seems such a great guy and has such energy and enthusiasm when he’s in front of a live audience. Thanks for doing this.
Ty Jim!