From: owner-jarre-digest@lists.xmission.com (jarre-digest) To: jarre-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: jarre-digest V2 #81 Reply-To: jarre-digest Sender: owner-jarre-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-jarre-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes jarre-digest Friday, February 11 2000 Volume 02 : Number 081 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 10:55:53 +0000 (WET) From: New Age dude Subject: (jarre) Metamorphoses My opinion on the new album is unfavourable I'm afraid. Jarre's sound is muffled by too much bass and too many stereotyped sounds. Overall the album is very poor with only a couple of tracks that are to me of some interest like Silhouette or Je me Souviens. Most of the tracks are pleasant to hear, but it's not Jarre. It's just an utterly banale array of drumloops filthy sounds typical of the dance floor. Sorry to seem like a party pooper but I think this is probably Jarre's worst album since Revolutions. - -- "Being a scientist is like being a musician. You do need some talent, but you have a great advantage over the musician. You can get 99% of the notes wrong, and then get one right and be wildly applauded." * Dudley Herschbach, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986 * Nuno A. G. Bandeira - CHEMISTRY undergraduate, IST Lisbon Website - http://New.Age.dude.tripod.com/ - -- # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info jarre" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email jarre@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 13:07:32 +0100 From: Peter Korsten Subject: Re: (jarre) Metamorphoses New Age dude shared with us: > > My opinion on the new album is unfavourable I'm afraid. > Jarre's sound is muffled by too much bass and too many > stereotyped sounds. Overall the album is very poor with only > a couple of tracks that are to me of some interest like Silhouette or > Je me Souviens. Most of the tracks are pleasant to hear, but it's not > Jarre. It's just an utterly banale array of drumloops filthy sounds > typical of the dance floor. > > Sorry to seem like a party pooper but I think this is probably Jarre's > worst album since Revolutions. I don't think it's Jarre's best, or at least not the one closest to my taste. But it's great, really, great, that he went into a totally different direction. He dared to innovate. If I look at, for instance, Vangelis, that one has been making the samle soulless junk for the last couple of years. It *is* Jarre. If I wanted to listen to the same kind of music over twenty years, there are plenty of artists who do just that. - - Peter # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info jarre" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email jarre@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 16:22:25 +0000 (WET) From: New Age dude Subject: Re: (jarre) Metamorphoses On Tue, 8 Feb 2000, Peter Korsten wrote: > I don't think it's Jarre's best, or at least not the one closest > to my taste. But it's great, really, great, that he went into a > totally different direction. He dared to innovate. If I look at, > for instance, Vangelis, that one has been making the samle soulless > junk for the last couple of years. Soulless ? I hardly think so. El Greco is probably one of the most innovative works he's done for quite some time and Oceanic wasn't bad at all, well not bad enough to call it soulless. If you know Vangelis you'll know what he's capable of, but don't blame him for the mismanagement his record companies impose. > It *is* Jarre. If I wanted to listen to the same kind of music over > twenty years, there are plenty of artists who do just that. *That* Jarre I can listen in any House/Trance compilation and probably with better production. Sorry to bring this to extremes but this is what I think the soundscapes he now uses come down to. - -- "Being a scientist is like being a musician. You do need some talent, but you have a great advantage over the musician. You can get 99% of the notes wrong, and then get one right and be wildly applauded." * Dudley Herschbach, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986 * Nuno A. G. Bandeira - CHEMISTRY undergraduate, IST Lisbon Website - http://New.Age.dude.tripod.com/ - -- # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info jarre" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email jarre@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 09:40:08 -0700 From: "m.tj" Subject: (jarre) Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 16:39:31 -0000 There seems to be a lot of divided opinion on the new album!!! Well...... here's my threepenneth.... It seems to me that JMJ went retro with Oxy 7-13 and has now gone even more retro with Metamorphoses, albeit with very strong hints of Zoolook in places. As I understand it most of his work pre Oxygene was in the form of songs with lyrics. I feel that the new songs are very cleverly written. For example, "Give Me A Sign" is almost pure disco with definite hints of "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer. And yet despite the happy, up tempo feel the lyric is terribly sad. In my opinion the contrast of the happy tune juxtaposed against the sad lyrics is striking to say the least. My personal high point on the album. "Hey Gagarin" very effective use of a standard Jarre tactic, a catchy melody painted with rich, sonic colours - but the colour this time is a vocoded voice, not a straight synth timbre. In this instance is this song so very different from his previous material? "Gloria, Lonely Boy" - very odd lyric with gay (?) connotations.... I can't figure this one. And the real oddball in the pack, "Tout Est Blue". Forgive me for saying this but is he taking the p*ss out of boy bands with this one? I get that feeling! So.... a mixed bag, some amazing things in it, some indifference. An innovative new direction? I think so, and I agree with Peter Korsten that it's great he is prepared to take that risk rather than become stereotypical in his outlook. And the Vangelis issue? He's not boring but he's not always interesting. But that's only my opinion, if a performer doesn't hit the spot for everyone it doesn't mean he's "junk"....... Martin Frankcom. # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info jarre" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email jarre@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 12:54:03 +0100 From: "Christiaan" Subject: Re: (jarre) Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 16:39:31 -0000 Howdy. Yup, a mixture of al tastes. Overall feeling: well done. My personal favorite is "Millions of Stars" Take Care, Christiaan - ----- Original Message ----- From: "m.tj" To: Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2000 5:40 PM Subject: (jarre) Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 16:39:31 -0000 > > There seems to be a lot of divided opinion on the new album!!! > > Well...... here's my threepenneth.... [deleted] > > So.... a mixed bag, some amazing things in it, some indifference. An > innovative new direction? I think so, and I agree with Peter Korsten that > it's great he is prepared to take that risk rather than become stereotypical > in his outlook. > > And the Vangelis issue? He's not boring but he's not always interesting. But > that's only my opinion, if a performer doesn't hit the spot for everyone it > doesn't mean he's "junk"....... > > Martin Frankcom. # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info jarre" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email jarre@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ End of jarre-digest V2 #81 **************************