Customer Reviews

En Attendant Cousteau

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Waiting for Cousteau is dedicated to Jacques Cousteau and is Jarre's 'water' album. Calpyso part 1 is a frantic steel drum piece (best performed live), Calypsos 2 is a thumping, pounding slower track and Calypso 3 is an even slower 'ballad' track with a 'guitar' solo at the end.

The final piece itself "Waiting for Cousteau" is a 45 minute ambient watery piece. It's very good relaxing / nature / sleep inducing music with a piano providing the limited melody.

This is probably one of the last Jarre albums you'll want to add to your collection because most of the real melodies only last for 16 minutes, the rest is the ambient track which may not be everyone's cup of tea. On the flipside, if you're looking for something really thoughful and ambient, get waiting for cousteau simply for this track!

Waiting for Cousteau is one of those rare tracks that can be classed as pure ambient. So much more emotion than a Brian Eno ambient recording, Waiting for Cousteau is an epic. The track slowly builds adding very subtle layers of water and voices with the the slightest hint of melody just barley visible. I love it's sadness and simplicity. The Calypso's are more standard Jarre fair with part 2 standing out as a favorite. However, the real attraction is 45 minutes long.... I wish Jarre would make another recording similar to the 45 minute masterpiece here. It's not just noise - there's so much more going on than that. The piano is not random, I mean go listen to an early Tangerine Dream album - pure white noise ! Waiting for Causteau is Jarre's first pure ambient track and it stands miles higher than anything else - it's wonderful music and absolutely timeless.

The first three tracks are old Jarre--very pleasing. The last track is new Jarre... except he never really did this again after this album. How very disappointing. I mean who knew that Jarre could do good modern ambient!?

That last track, if you listen to it VERY CLOSELY, MANY, MANY TIMES, will grow on you until you are aching to hear it again. It's as good as any Brian Eno--and if THAT'S not a compliment I don't know what is!

Ahhh, the power of good ambient music; like a comfy chair.

I should state right off that I don't particularly care for "world music". I'm not talking about world influences or sampling (ala Paul Haslinger) but straight up playing "world" music, which is what "Calypso Part 1" does. I would rather listen to music that let's me imagine whatever comes to mind. The opening track is a full blown Carribean excursion, electronically done. Not a bad song mind you, but I'm not often in a Carribean frame of mind. Part 2 is much better, as Jarre goes back to "electronic" music, with only dashes of Calypso. Part 3 is a straight electronic piece, reminiscent of pieces Jarre has used to close his albums before, although there is still 1 more track to go. Ah yes. the last track. The title track. A 46 minute ambient piece, the first "ambient" I had ever heard, I didn't know what to make of it. Nothing really happens, just some shimmering, and random single piano notes. It sounds like Jarre set some parameters on computer, turned the synths on, and went to lunch. Not bad for background music, but not terribly interesting either. I still pull this CD out for the occassional listen (thus 3 stars) but not very often. Of course, if you LIKE what I've described, this may be just for you.

I prefer to review ambient music so let me briefly comment on the first three "Calypso" tracks: FF> FF> FF>. Upon hearing track #4 "En Attendant Cousteau" I felt I was wading in shallow Jarre waters. But halfway through the third playing I realized I was swimming in deep ambient seas. A surreal depth of layered oceanic music. Light euphotic sparkling sounds filter down into aphotic middle pseudo-organic tones. With increasing depth finally abyssopelagic tides rise and counterpart up to balance this hydrospheric masterpiece. Here Jarre has proven he has an ambient soul.

Jean Michel Jarre's efforts are once again incredible on this album. For reviewers who do not understand the point of this album, please read on. This album is dedicated to Jacques Cousteau. Calypsos 1, 2, and 3 are named after his seacrafts. And since he spent a lot of time deep under the ocean, Waiting for Cousteau is 46:53 long. That's why the track is so long genius! And no, the three Calypsos are not cheesy. They are three of the finest pieces of music Jarre has composed in the 1990s. Just because he uses calypso-type rhythms does not make the music cheesy. Listen to the music and judge for yourself.

After writing some terrific space-themed music, JMJ has come up with this, a collection of marvellous tracks which will conjour up images of glistening waves, undersea kingdoms and radiant coral reefs.

Alright, so track 4 is long, but so what? Listen to this and be transported to a faraway underwater world.

Is it really 46min 55sec?

Pull out all of your JMJ CD's, set them up in the player. Get ready for a journey like none you've ever had.

Finish your journey with "En Attendant Cousteau". It will fuse the parts of the journey into a tiny jewel that sparkles with the brightest light that you or I will ever see in ten lifetimes.

Open your mind, get comfortable, and let JMJ take you into parts of your mind and imagination you never knew were there.

This is a priceless work of beauty and emotion. This is the only CD on your list that matters (unless there are other JMJ CD's on the list).

Do yourself a favor, buy all of JMJ's CD's. Set aside a full day to enjoy them. Then see what you think about life.

For those "fans" that didn't get it, Jarre didn't leave the sequencers and computers running while he went to lunch. The 46 minute piece is the soundtrack to a documentary on Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the famed French marine-biologist. That's why it's ambient and mellow. Make sense now? As for the Calypso parts, they are named after the Cousteau Society's three exploration boats: Calypso, calypso II, and calypso III. That's it. Nonetheless, Jarre's trademark sound is on board with lush pads.

Waiting for Cousteau sounds very "digital" all the instruments used are very clean and sharp. The first 3 parts, Calpyso 1,2,3 are fine if slightly cheesy. A lot of people complain about the 46 minute "Waiting for Cousteau" track being so long and slow but it's the highlight of the album. To me, it's the most thoughtful and relaxing piece of music I've heard and an interesting departure for Jarre.