zoolook

[wiicrackpot]

Just re-visited Jean Michel Jarre's -zoolook album, while i have his more accessable albums(oxygene and equinoxe), this is a gem of an album that i've only come to appreciate now, a pure samplers dream played with every 80's legendary synthesiser, scanned through the credits and i find peolpe like Adrian Belew, Laurie Anderson and Marcus Miller.

Side one contains just 2 tracks (Ethnicolour and Diva) and they are top rank, really experimental with layers upon layers of atmosphere and samples of human speech from different parts of the world and animal noises, all weaved together with JMJ's imagination and the other musicians input, this side alone is worth price of the album.

Side two is a more accessable with more flow and shorter tracks, stand out track Zoolookologie and thats about it,the sound throughout is not too shoddy with masses of dynamics, fast incisive transients painted in a quite dark back drop.

If you like artist ranging from say Thomas Dolby to Aphex Twins, give this another go if you have it in your collection, don't know how i've let it gather dust for so long.

Recommended,
wii.

[eddie spaghetti]

I have this album. Its a bit of a cracker but then i am a bit of a JMJ fan. Certainly one of his overlooked ones.

[wiicrackpot]

Yeah Eddie, i've overlooked it till today.:D

[cartridgemangler]

I've sold this album, twice... First time I had it on vinyl and bought it on CD. I ended up having to sell a pile of albums to make ends meet as a student, and most of my Tangerine Dream and JMJ collection went. Fortunately, I've since re-acquired pretty much everything I sold, with the exception of the Zoolook CD. In fact I don't have any JMJ on CD. I used to have the jumping-on-the-successful-album-sequel album, aka Oxygene pts 8-14 (IIRC) on cd but I think the ex took that with her.
Got most of JMJ's earlier stuff on vinyl now, as I only had cassettes recordings of the albums. Oxygene, Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, China Concerts, Zoolook, Rendez-Vous and Revolutions.
I don't seem to have the Houston-Lyon Concert which is of that vintage too.

Most albums seem to have an accessible 'pop' track in there, Oxygene has the minor key slow one everyone knows, in fact I'm sure it was released as a single, Part IV I think. Equinoxe Part V is the major third harmony piece that's well known, and perhaps the 'biggie' is Part 4 from Rendez-vous.
I've got a soft spot for Revolutions. At the time it was a major coup to have secured a lead guitar part from Hank Marvin (London Kid). I think I'm going to have to give that album a spin...

[Paramaribo]

I got just about ever track JMJ released up to 2000. Some are unfortunately only in mp3 format. My first 20 CD purchases in the 80's included every single JMJ CD released up to that time.

[wiicrackpot]

Thanks for the info Kenny,very interesting.

Stan, i didn't know JMJ was as prolific as that, as my collection only contains the above mentioned and Redezvous (4 all in),what do you or others recommend to add to my collection?.

wii.

[eddie spaghetti]

Aero is good. Its one of his later ones but is a goody. Best to avoid the rest of the later ones unless your a die hard fan.

[Roksoff]

Yeah, Aero is excellent, as is Jarre in Hong Kong.
Jarre in China is good too. The audio cd is pretty much the same as Hong Kong but the DVD that accompanies China is superb.

Aint got Zoolook, donno why, but I'll get it now.
:cheers:

[wiicrackpot]

Ta boys, Aero and Revolution it is then, don't know why but i must have lost interest after getting zoolook, must have been disappointed initially,:o after all if you're used to Oxygene and Equinoxe, zoolook is not a easy listen is it.

wii.

[eddie spaghetti]

Try les chants magenetiques (magnetic fields) as well. Also a goody.

[Paramaribo]

Stan, i didn't know JMJ was as prolific as that, as my collection only contains the above mentioned and Redezvous (4 all in),what do you or others recommend to add to my collection?.
The oldest recordings I have from him is from 1972. The album is called 'Deserted Palace'. In it you can detect the early experiments of musical excerpts that decades later ended up in more refined form.

Personally it is more the individual tracks than specific albums that I recommend. Les Concert En Chine is however one of the few albums I enjoy listening to in its entirety.

[FunkyGibbon]

For a mind expanding experience play Zoolook loud in the dark. It's amazing!