Customer Reviews

Moon Safari

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The French duo that makes up Air was more or less unknown before the release of Moon Safari. I read an early review of the album that got my juices flowing - when it was finally released, I was at the front of the queue.

What is the music like? Imagine a gently flowing stream, or the wash of a distant sea against a mystical shore. Imagine strange electronic sounds, the dreamy calm of a French female vocalist, a few acoustic guitars, and synthesizer sounds reminiscent of the 70's.

Mix all of these ingredients carefully, layer, edit and...Hey Presto! you have Moon Safari. The texture is rich yet subtle. The sound engaging yet ethereal.

For me, the essence of this album lies in one track.....'All I need' - listen, enjoy and float away.

This album is something out of this world. The instrumntals speak volumes. If ever a music style were to be ranked with the best this would be amongst the top. Its soft jazzy undertones make the rythm stick in your mind like nothing else. An original that could never be replicated. I love this CD. I tell people of it all the time. Though I wish the word of this hit gets out, I also want to keep it a secret. It's that catchy tune you hum and everyone wants to know what it is.

Amazing and thought provoking!!

I could lecture for hours probably about how electronica has changed between 1998, when this cd was made, and now, 2003, when this review was written. A lot's happened. In short, a genre that spent 30 years putting together a foundation and less than five years in becoming an actual mainstream area. Electronica is a genre obsessed with the divides between mainstream and underground, and in the past of couple of years, the music has taken a turn in many directions, mainly towards experimentation or pop music. That's the musical history lesson for today.
Moon Safari was released, as I said, before all of this happened. Now, it sounds incredibly mainstream (I hate the terms mainstream and underground, because good music is good music, but its hard to find other way to explain the two), but then it was kind of experimental. At the time, however, a group like Air could put out a cd like Moon Safari, which is accurately described as having a certain bubble gum quality, and gain respect, not insults, from all people enamored with the genre.
Every track on this cd is incredibly good. At the end, you hear hints of The Virgin Suicides Score, and 10,000 ghz legend. At the beginning, you're reminded of Premiers Symptomes, the first Air album. It fits right in with their artistic history.
Favorite tracks (in the order they appear on cd):
La Femme D'Argent
Kelly Watch the Stars
TALISMAN
Remember
Ce Matin-La

If you want to hear some good music, buy this album. And if you don't like it, either because it's not mainstream enough, or because it's too mainstream, at least you heard it, and if you can't get props from others on it, as in "hey, you own moon safari, you dog you", you can always sell it to a used cd shop, where it will undoubtedly go quick.

Hidden somewhere behind the shockwave from Daft Punk, Air entered the music scenes all over the world as light and gentle as thier music. Many of you out there have probably never heard of Air, and this will unfortunately continue to be the case. But if you ever get the chance to listen to Moon Safari, don't hesitate. This spectacular and absolutely brilliant form of modern electronic music will surely capture everyone's heart.

Before i listened to Air, i only listened to the really publicised stuff, but my friend Jordan taught me that the best music is most of the time not bought by a big company, and boy was he right..this is an unbelievable cd..i cant put it down!

Air's first album 'Moon Safari' is the least brilliant of the band's albums so far.

Still, it is a very worthwile buy.

Sometimes it sounds like music which can be used for tv series, like 'Talisman'. Or 'Ce Matin Là' with its horn sounds and bubbling synths.

The spacey 'Sexy Boy' is very early-1980ish and must be a dance floor hit. Funny and great track, a lot more optimistic and relaxed than most Air stuff. 'Kelly Watch The Stars' is another great song - the favourite song of many an Air fan. The way it uses the synthesizer effects is simple but well-arranged in the smallest detail.

At the lower end of the scale are the two songs on which Beth Hirsch sings the lead vocals. Her far to fragile and not particularly charming voice bore these compositions down to close-to-nothing.

Air's first album 'Moon Safari' is the least brilliant of the band's albums so far.

Still, it is a very worthwile buy.

Sometimes it sounds like music which can be used for tv series, like 'Talisman'. Or 'Ce Matin Là' with its horn sounds and bubbling synths.

The spacey 'Sexy Boy' is very early-1980ish and must be a dance floor hit. Funny and great track, a lot more optimistic and relaxed than most Air stuff. 'Kelly Watch The Stars' is another great song - the favourite song of many an Air fan. The way it uses the synthesizer effects is simple but well-arranged in the smallest detail.

At the lower end of the scale are the two songs on which Beth Hirsch sings the lead vocals. Her far to fragile and not particularly charming voice bore these compositions down to close-to-nothing.