OXYGÈNE

This was the third album for Jean-Michel Jarre. Most people think it is his first due to it's popularity. I think this is a great album. I haven't heard the first two, but I enjoy this more than anything he did after it. What JMJ does here is take what Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze were doing and make it more melodic and catchy. The end result is one of the best electronic albums of the 1970s.

Jarre uses a variety of synthesizers and organs on this album. Additionally, there is drum machines and Mellotron. No vocals. The whole album feels like one piece. I never pay attention to which part is what, but I will for this review. Pt. 1 has a great bass synth sound that starts around 4 1/2 minutes. Pt. 2 has a nice melody. The music is based around hypnotic rhythmic parts. Pt. 3 almost sounds like music you would hear in a horror movie.

Pt. 4 was a single and is one of the most well known electronic pieces from the '70s. It's probably no coincidence that it is also the best part of Oxygene. This part has great melodies. The drum machine programming is good also but now sounds a bit dated. I just love the sequencers at the end. It reminds me of lava coming down a volcano. This part must have seemed so futuristic to people who heard it in the late '70s. They would have had very little to compare it to.

Pt. 5 starts out on the more mellow end of things. Then there is some more of that great bass synth sound. Some sequencers and a nice synth solo. Pt. 6 starts with the sounds of birds and ocean waves. A drum machine pattern. Some really atmospheric string-synths later. The melodies on synths are great.

The sound and production is fantastic. The choice of keyboards and effects to modify them is really good. Nothing extremely original here but this album is more consistent than most electronic albums from this era. Highly recommended. 4 stars.