LES GRANGES BRÛLÉES (OST)

I am stunned.

This is Jean-Michel Jarre?

What happened?

This is just fantastic!

Beautiful melodies, spacey sounds that still sound futuristic (if a little bit Delia Derbyshire), creating superb atmospherics, and an album that grips you from beginning to end with its continual procession of short pastiches on a theme. It's kind of like a Tangerine Dream album that's been condensed into a box of chocolates - you could dip in anywhere and pick up a tasty treat, but you could also listen all the way through and get the feel of a continuing journey, allowing for the breaks between the tracks and the somewhat poor edits.

OK, it's not really rock music, but it's certainly inherently progressive, telling its own nostalgic story, with hints of classical melodies shining through - it really makes me want to see the film, even though I just know it'll be one of those boring artsy films in which nothing happens for ages except a whole bunch of exchanged glances and people furtively going about their various business and you make your own mind up about where the stories are.

Some of the upper register synth sounds are a bit on the painful side, especially in their incessant constancy, but none of the pieces are anything less than compelling, except, maybe Zig-Zag, a rather jaunty affair and one I could certainly live without ever hearing again - although it's a bit like Seamus on Meddle, or Givin My Luv To You on Angel's Egg, I suppose, and probably works better in the film.

After a few listens, maybe it all gets a bit too familiar, as the continual re-use of thematic material in its original form gives rise to a kind of repetitive feel - and the whole album is all in the same kind of vein, so you don't get a huge amount of variety. I suppose there isn't much variety on Rainbow Dome Musick - or the average Tangerine Dream album either, though - so let's get this in context.

I wouldn't say that this is an essential - but I really enjoyed it - and I don't like JMJ's later stuff at all, in fact, before hearing this, the only thing I'd give JMJ credit for was making electronic music popular with Oxygene and Equinoxe. I wonder why this didn't bring him fame and glory in the same way.

Recommended for fans of electronic music who see JMJ as gateway material only - superb!

(Although I'd stop short of recommending it to everyone - there are only so many people that would truly appreciate this sort of thing).

JM is walking on the footsteps of his father (Maurice Jarre) who is famous for having composed some exceptional soundtracks of which "Laurence Of Arabia", "Doctor Jivago", "Passage To India" and "Gorillas In The Mist" are the best known ones.

One cannot say though that he was under his immediate influence since he left his wife and child while JM was only five years old. They will reconcile much, much later (some fifty years later).

The popularity of the movie "Les Granges Brulées" can't be compared with the ones I have mentioned before but one has to know that it was headed by two major French actors: Simone Signoret and Alain Delon. Both superstars and well known in French speaking countries.

The music is less experimental than during his debut album, but there are still some links to do ("Reconstitution", "Descente Au Village"). It holds some very nice melodies like "Rose" and the main theme and title track which is precursory of better things to come and which is taken over in "Générique".

The best known number (at least over here) is "Zig-Zag". It is a funny and upbeat song which contrasts with the overall darkness of this album (but the movie was not really to crease with laughter).

This work is not essential but comforts JM into the electronic prog artists sphere. Five out of ten for this (very) short soundtrack. Rounded down to two stars.