Customer Reviews

Oxygene

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I heard this album back in 1978 in its LP form, locally printed by Polydor. Since the first time it took me to another dimension, a world I can only imagine with my eyes closed. I really loved this album first sight (first heard?), but I had my concerns about the quality of the the sound of the LP pressing made by the local Polydor (well, I didn't like the quality of sound records printed by the local Polydor until 1985). I bought this record once and again from international sources, even in tape (cassette) and time after time I thought that the sound quality wasn't satisfactory for me...

Then, as a last chance, I bought in 2003 the new CD issue, Digitally Re-mastered 96 Khz - 24 bit technology issued by 2000 year... Just to hear this disk, I bought a totally new digital audio system... And then my ears heard the sound I expected to hear since I had 14 years old. This disk is one of my very favorites, together with Magnetic Fields, Equinoxe and Zoolook (in that order), although the rest of the Jarre work is exceptional too.

I am a music lover, specifically Rock oriented. But only Jean Michel Jarre and Tomita had moved my attention to electronic sound, and they're my favorites in this arena. Oxigene puts a milestone in my life, and I think that would be done with yours if you listen to it carefully, lights off, eyes closed, well tempered sound and putting your mind in white. The sound will draw enough images in your mind to blow you away. Definitely, one of my best choices in music.

When Jean-Michel Jarre released Oxygene back in 1976 there was hardly a market for electronic music. German pioneers such as Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Klaus Schulze had all achieved recognition but, unfortunately, not much fame. With Oxygene, Jean-Michel Jarre brought electronic music to the masses and he did so without compromising the music. Oxygene, split into six parts, is a musical journey through surreal ambient soundscapes, electro-minimalism, synth-pop, and proto-techno. Even today the sound as well as the compositions stand out, so if you want to know how techno, ambient music, and trance started out, you definitely need to listen to this masterpiece!

Jean Michel Jarre pulled of an incredible move when he released "Oxygene." He made the world of electronic music safe for composers. While a small, select few folk were making music with the earlier synthesizers of the day, most of them either concentrated on making novel reinterpretations of classical (think Tomita or "Switched On Bach",) cold, mechanical drones (Tangerine Dream) or music that was intentionally robotic (Kraftwerk). While I love just about all of the aforementioned artists, "Oxygene" was the first album that made me think of synthesizers as instruments as opposed to toys.

Jarre did this by making the songs of "Oxygene" play out like a classical composition. Each movement had distinct and original melodies and each sounded like it could hold its own as a song unto itself. The themes also sounded like they could be as organic and enveloping as the album title suggested; this was earthy music long before the term "new age" got slapped on everything that was vaguely atmospheric and meditative.

NB; Also a reason I still listen to this with a touch of nostalgia; my high school put on a production of "Hamlet" that used "Part II" as the processional music for the entrance of King Claudius.

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.

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.

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.

Oxygene is widely regarded as the album that commericalised electronic music. Couped up in his bedroom flat in 1976 Jarre took all his learnings from the previous few years of research and produced Oxygene.

The album is divided up into 6 parts lasting for about 40 minutes in total of soothing electronic music.

Part 4 is perhaps the best known track Jarre has ever written but in fact the first 2 tracks are better. Parts 1,2,4 and 6 are good, and 3 and 5 are slightly 'lost'.

It's not as good as Equinoxe but Oxygene is one of the albums to be heard at least once. The 24bit sound remastering adds a lot more depth to the sound.

Many electronic musicians has been influenced somehow by this "Mozart" from the synthetizer era. It is the art of creating an organic symphony by mastering the technique of tweaking a synthetic sound wave.
If you have been into electronic music and computers since the 70's , bet you have heard several versions of his music on personal computers like the 8 & 16 bits Commodores (not the poor MIDI conversions found lately for PC's)

I also have a DVD concert and the show is absolutely fascinating as you see dancing fireworks, mind boggling large scale projections and laser-light instruments! many concerts pale in comparision!

This is no New Age, Tecno or anything like that... this is pure and genuine synth music at its best! I got these CDs not only to add value to my music collection, but also as a tribute.

Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene album played a defining role in evolving the course of synthesised music during the mid 1970's into the synthesiser driven 1980's.

Oxygene played a pivotal role in defining electronic music. Okay, so Kraftwerk had previously done it and Tangerine Dream, but where Jarre succeeded and they failed was in blending the music into a melody, rather than just a 'robotic' sound.

Oxygene is a wonderful chillout journey from start to finish - a timeless masterpiece.

I will put it simply to you... buy this CD... when you get it... put on a headset... light a candle... turn off the lights... and get ready for the best soundtrack that Jean Michel Jarre has ever written! I got my first introduction into his music at the age of only 14... and when I got old enough to purchase my own music... I looked everywhere for it and found only one copy of it in my city! Now with the internet... it is available to everyone! Get yourself a copy of it. It is a very relaxing but yet such a mysterious CD to listen to. Does it tell a story thru all 6 parts? I know the answer and anyone who knows Jean Michel Jarre should know as well... let your mind wander and let the music take you to a whole new world... if you close your eyes and relax... he will paint a very beautiful picture for you.