Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene
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Free Music Notes for Oxygene
Free Music Review: Absolutely incredible.
Hit: 5 Stars
Ok, I should first start by remarking that in no way am I a big fan of electronic music. It's just never been to my taste. Initially this was because I regarded the synthesizer as the lazy man's way of making music, but now that i'm older I realize that working a synthesizer well requires at least as much patience and practice as any other instrument. I can only imagine how much effert Jean Michel put into this album over the three months it took him to create it, and in his dining room no less. And not only does he pull it off, but he pulls it off quite nicely. It's the only piece that I've ever listened to that left me feeling as though I'd just made a journey through space, under the sea, across an arctic wasteland and perhaps even across time itself all within the space of about forty minutes. And it was all done by one man.
Oxygene has a spacy, I would even say hypnotic feel to it, which would explain why it's been used in Sci-Fi films and radio programs. Anyone who's ever listened to this piece and who's also familiar with the BBC's Hitchiker's Guide radio program will know that Oxygene gets some fairly heavy use in a lot of the narration sections. I even had a teacher use it, the entire album, mind, in an assignment for Creative Writing back in my Senior year of High School. The idea was that we were to listen to the piece and then just write whatever popped into our heads. And since the class was well over an hour long there was ample time to listen to the whole album. I seem to recall some fairly abstract pieces of work emerging from that particular class, although for the life of me I couldn't tell you what any of them were about. I don't even remember mine. But that just goes to show what effect Oxygene can have on you if you open your mind to it. The tense, urgent sound of Oxygene II, all the tracks of this album are named in this way (Oxygene I through VI), is enough to set my blood to racing. Quite apart from the spacy sound effects that thread throughout the first half of the track, the melody itself is a high-pitched, urgent one that almost makes you feel as though your life is on the line. And the bass, although it's only the same note repeated rhythmically over and over again, is played in such a way as to make you think of a frantically racing heart. In fact this very track is used in several films I know of, Galipoli to name one. It also appeared as the main theme for a film we watched when I was in eighth grade Social Studies. We were talking about Hiroshima and the atom bomb, and my teacher had rented what she thought was a documentary about it. It may have been about Hiroshima rightly enough, but if it was a documentary it was of a silent variety, featuring only the aforementioned Oxygene II. Whether or not more of the piece was featured in said film I don't know, because my teacher ejected the cassette from the VCR rather quickly because the music got on her nerves. Of course that was before I learned that it was part of a piece called Oxygene, and at that point I agreed with her about it beig annoying. But since hearing the full masterpiece in Creative Writing I've tried, mostly without success, to find a copy for myself. Then I found one here on Amazon. After reacquainting myself with it I can actually give you a breakdown of each track, so let's get on with that, shall we?
The CD opens with Oxygene I, which sounds like a prelude to something. It opens quietly with what sounds, to me at least, like an etherial sort of melody that is quickly joined by the bass and other accompaniment. There's even a Theremin, or what sounds like one, featured heavily in this track. The melody remains basically the same throughout with a few subtle changes, then towards the end some spacy sound effects begin to phase in. At that point the melody changes to a kind of tense, anticipatory sort of sound, by which you know you're coming to the end of Oxygene I and will soon be into Oxygene II.
Oxygene II, probably my absolute favorite track, picks up right from Oxygene I. In fact oxygene I bleeds seamlessly into Oxygene II. The melody, as I said earlier, is a very high-pitched, I would even say urgent little tune enhanced shortly by the synthe bass and the spacy sound effects that almost put one in mind of a meteor shower in the vacuum of space. Soon we're treated to another high pitched little melody that, if anything, is even more urgent, I might even say sinister, than the main one, all the while with the main melody still playing underneath. Twice we're treated to this little gem, after which the melody takes a dramatic change. Oddly enough, however, it works out just fine. The spacy effects, too, are largely absent from the second half of the track, replaced by an amazingly realistic sound as of wind blowing through sand or even tall, dry grass. Soon there's even what sounds like a choir of human voices, a sign that the track is coming to its end.
Oxygene III is little more than a bridge between the fabulous Oxygene II and the equally fabulous Oxygene IV. But it's a fabulous bridge at that. In fact it's one of the pieces used fairly heavily in the BBC's Hitchhiker's Guide radio drama. The theremin is back in this one as well.
Oxygene IV is perhaps the most well-known track on the album. It starts out with more windy sounds, joined by a cool rhythm and an even cooler melody. The wind remains in the background, making you think of crossing an arctic glacier. In fact if I remember right the video for this track featured a penguin march.
Oxygene IV bleeds eventually into Oxygene V, marked by more bird sounds, or perhaps stoner sounds if you choose to look at it that way. The tune itself starts out extremely quietly, almost enough to allow you to catch your breath from the journey so far. But soon it picks up a little with a newer melody, accompanied by the same grandios bass sounds like in Oxygene III or even Oxygene I. But wait! There's more! Soon enough the track takes a complete 180, with an insistant riff and a completely different melody that persists for a good three minutes at least.
But all good things come to an end, and Oxygene ends with Oxygene VI. An excellent windy noise preceeds a catchy rhythm and a quiet melody, accompanied by a convincing sound of waves breaking on the sand, complete with sounds of gulls. The track ends on the same soft, windy note on which it began.
All in all I find nothing on Oxygene to complain about, except perhaps its brief playing time. Forty minutes? Brief? For something like this, yes it is, since it's almost guaranteed to leave you wanting more. So if you're into synthe music, or even if you're not but want an intensive listening experience, you might just do yourself a favor by taking a good long listen to Oxygene. It might just change your life for the better. It certainly improved mine.
Free Music Review: Has two classic sythesiser instrumentals tracks: 4.5/5
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is, I think, an entirely synthesiser based recording. However, the variety of sounds emanating from the synthesiser more than make up for the lone instrument. I can't remember when I first heard music from this alum. Perhaps I heard some tracks before Peter Weir released him famous Australian World War I movie "Gallipoli" [based on an historical event that is used and abused to define Australia as a nation]. Some of the noises the synthesiser creates makes me think of war time noises, so perhaps that is why director Peter Weir used the track Oxygene II from this album, or my viewing of the movie influences how I interpret sounds in the cd.
Before I begin discussing the tracks on this cd, I'll just let it be said that the album cover art is one of music's best-right up there with Midnight Oil's album "Red sails in the sunset" [reviewed here by me].
Now, to the music. There are six tracks on this album, ranging from under three minutes long to over ten minutes long. Each track is called "Oxygene", followed by a Roman numeral from 1 to 6.
Oxygene I sort of sounds like a prelude to something. It's slow and delicate in nature, with some bits sort of sounding like a vessel being repeatedly filled with liquid. If you've ever seen those novelty performance tv shows, some sounds are akin to that old tv faithful of a saw being played like a violin-a mournful sound. A sound like a glockenspiel [or whatever it is called] is also apparent, when a heavier soundscape comes into play, perhaps presaging the classic Oxygene II.
One thing that surprises me is the delineation of the tracks-the LCD display on your cd will separate the tracks one way, and the album cover has slight variations on track length. To me, in some cases, both definitions are wrong-as I have certain tracks starting sooner than either the cd or the cover have them starting.
That being said, pretty much all of the tracks "bleed" into eachother. Around the time that the first track has "watery" sounds, there are also sounds which make me think of shells whistling over your head [as in wartime]. Another thing that surprised me was the feeling of joy I felt once I felt that the prelude to Oxygene II was beginning in the first track-I had a sort of Meg Ryan in the restaurant scene experience in the movie "When Harry met Sally". Don't know what that was all about-I just felt really happy listening to this bit. I hadn't heard this album for ages, until I relistened to it last night, purely to review it for here.
The second track, Oxygene II, has a terrific melody and vitality to it. The synthesiser plays the main melody in a high pitch. It races along at a fast pace, making me think of machine guns...or a rapid heartbeat...or galloping horse! Further into the track the melody changes sound and becomes more haunting. The music sounds alien and then it becomes very desolate-like the sound of a fierce wind lashing sand at you.
Track 3- has a more creepy sound...gothic, perhaps, or regal. A very low-down sound, with the reappearance of the sound like a saw being played like a violin. The tracks starts to "bleed" into Oxygene IV with the sound of birds...seagulls, perhaps.
Oxygene IV-the second classic from this album. Again, you hear the sound of wind, there is a really cool, low-down rhythym, with a very nice, melodic riff over the top of that. The song bleeds into the next track with some more 'watery' sounds, or 'stoner' sounds, depending on your view.
Oxygene V-continues bleeding from the previous track then becomes more like a church organ...solemn. It then becomes heavier in tone, not unlike parts of the third track on this album.
Might have mucked up in my note taken, as I'm not sure what part of the following refers to track 5, and when I start to comment on track 6:
There is a change of vibe-the riff becomes insistent, suggestive of either track 2 or perhaps 4. There are some nice uses of stereo 'widgy widgy' effects [i.e. if you are wearing headphones, the sounds migrate to one side of your headphones to the other, etc.].
There are more 'desolate' noises, like windswept sand, plaintive seagulls etc. Perhaps some noises can be likened to the Earth 'breathing' or perhaps it is more like the sound of waves rolling in and out of a beach.
Towards the end, you hear some Latin American sounds from the synthesiser-like maraccas, perhaps.
In conclusion, this is a terrific album-tracks 2 and 4 are pop classics, and the rest is what I would call very good 'hot bath' music!
Check out the movie "Gallipoli" to see and hear how well Oxygene II works to create tension in this movie.
If you like this kind of music, I have reviewed or recommend the following albums:
Cocteau Twins-Blue Bell Knoll [synth music with lyrics, not in English]
Air-Moon Safari [synth music with English language lyrics]
Patti Smith-Horses ['arty' music with poetic lyrics]
Midnight Oil-Bird Noises [an EP with a terrific instrumental "Weddingcake Island". Has a "The Shadows" type vibe to it].
Gary Numan [don't have anything of his, but I must get a hits cd one day-he was a British pop singer who made some terrific synthesiser based songs].
Just by the by, some heavy metal acts dabble in instrumentals or trippy type music, e.g. Black Sabbath's very nice and trippy track "Planet caravan" and Metallica's cool rhythym based instrumental "Orion".
Free Music Review: An electronic classic
Hit: 5 Stars
My first exposure to this 1976 album took place in 1985 while in college. As somebody who lived on a steady diet of Yes, Pink Floyd, and Tangerine Dream in high school, I was (at the time) surprised that I had never heard of French electronic composer Jean Michel Jarre. At any rate, discovering this album was a moment that I will forever cherish and it is now an integral part of my electronic collection along with the follow-up album Equinoxe (1978).
Stylistically, this music is closest to the "Berlin School" approach to electronic music (e.g. Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze) especially the mid-1970s work of Tangerine Dream, although an admixture of the styles of electronic composers that are closer to progressive rock (e.g. Synergy, Kitaro, Tomita, and Vangelis) is present too. I should note however that the music on Oxygene is not as intense as the music written by any of those other composers and as such is a lot more "listener friendly" and inviting.
The six part Oxygene suite includes sections (or movements if you will) that range in length from 3'24" to 10'26". The movements are mostly brooding and synth heavy, with the occasional "computerized" rhythm provided by what is referred to in the liner notes as a "Rhythmin' computer". Other instruments used by Jean Michel on Oxygene include the ARP synthesizer (possibly an ARP string ensemble), AKS synthesizer, VCS3, RMI Harmonic synthesizer, Farfisa organ, the Eminent, and the mellotron. Together, these instruments are used to create ever-changing and spacey soundscapes that fizzle, bubble, pulse, and brood. He has a good sense of melody and there is certainly no shortage of them on this album. When the melodies are coupled with the wide range in dynamics and timbres, it makes for a very interesting listening experience. On top of it all is his trademark phasing, which makes everything sound just that much more...cosmic.
All in all, this is a classic of electronic music and is very highly recommended along with Equinoxe.
Free Music Review: One of the all-time greatest electronic albums
Hit: 5 Stars
Oxygene has been with me most of my life. My dad owned this album when I was a kid, but that LP disappeared in his collection in 1986, but in 1991 I bought me an LP of this to relive the nostalgia, and my attitude hadn't changed one bit of this album, and I can still say that to this day. Jean Michel Jarre was responsible to making electronic music more acceptible to the mass audience, as much as I love a lot of the works of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream's earlier works, there were a lot of people turned off by their works, since their music was not as accessible. Oxygene, contrary to popular beliefs, is not Jarre's debut album. His first full album release was Deserted Palace in 1972, and he released a few singles before then, like "La Cage" in 1970. I hadn't heard these, as they aren't exactly easy to come by (I never seen them around). It was Oxygene that made Jarre a household name in electronic music, and is a truly stunning masterpiece in this genre. Very spacy, lots of lush string synths, with a strong emphasis on melodies, making it more pop-oriented than the likes of earlier Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, etc. It's basically a continuous play divided in to six parts. I only have one complaint of this album and that was the first half of "Oxygene V", because it sounds exactly like funeral music and I find it rather difficult to listen to, but the rest of the album is nothing short of amazing. It's too bad that Oxygene set a bad example of what electronic music would later be in the 1980s and 1990s, but that never stopped me from enjoying this album. Jarre might be a big figure in Europe with many albums hitting Top 10 over there, but in America, he's basically confined to a small, loyal following, basically, the same people who enjoy the likes of Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Tomita, etc. Every time I listen to Oxygene, it gives much such fond memories. It's a no brainer, this album is an absolute must for all electronic lovers out there, so be sure to get a copy.Free Music Review: Floating into Blue and White
Hit: 5 Stars
So begins Jean Michel Jarre's long circular path that, at the time of this writing, will end with Aero. This path has been illuminated with motifs running from clocks and time-stasis, to seasons and revolutions, from deep space to deep oceans, to advances in stereo and 5.1 surround technologies.
And what better place to begin than with the motif that is most required for human life, the one-third essence of water, and a tiny fraction of our atmosphere: oxygen. Jarre's first solo album is an aural presentation of burning stars, atmosphere formation, light refraction and the colors thereof, density of air, life, and finally proof of life: wind. To feel the wind blowing on one's face...an image represented by the intro and outro to Oxygene 6.
Jarre has said that the surprising success of Oxygene was due to its dissociation with similar electronic works released in the 70s. Rather than focus on short loops and patterns, he expanded his ideas (somewhat deviantly) from the classical form, resulting in a technique that ebbs and flows, morphs and variates. Ever true to the electronic limits of his time, Jarre cannot simply remove all blips and beeps, but embodies these textures with the grace of a divinely-inspired man (he has said so himself!).
Oxygene presents these incorporated motifs of colliding atoms and fleeting particles over smooth, glass-like melodic themes. The effect is profound: like drifting.
And while Jarre has never been happy with current technologies, feeling limited by stereo in that the listener can never be fully immersed into his soundscapes, his audience can hardly complain. His music has allowed us to delve into worlds we've only dreamed of, unrealized until now.