EN ATTENDANT COUSTEAU [AKA: WAITING FOR COUSTEAU]

When I hear the name Jean Michel Jarre I will always associate it with Oxygene, a childhoodmemory to me, a true sensation too in 1976. But this man's carreer continued for many years before he came to making this album Waiting for Cousteau. I don't know everything about Jacques Cousteau, I occasionally watch his journeys with the Calypso on TV where he teaches us things about islands and countries all over the world. He is more or less legendary for doing this for many years and he probably inspired JMJ to writing music.

Is it right to keep comparing new works by JMJ with Oxygene ? Yes and no I would like to say . Yes because with Oxygene JMJ proved what he was capable of and to me that is a hell of a lot. But even his successor Equinoxe was somewhat less than the great debut so I'm afraid JMJ could be one of those artists who will keep trying to keep up with the very high standard he set for himself but will maybe struggling because of that. And there is also a No because every album is different and maybe an artist wants to evolve and change all the time and then it's probably not fair to keep comparing everything to one's debutalbum.

So I will leave that conclusion to the readers but if I like it or not, this question will influence me for the judgement of this album. Waiting for Cousteau is not very spectacular to me but that doesn't mean we are dealing with poor or disappointing music here. I believe this is less enchanting and compelling than Oxygene but it still is the true one and only Jean Michel Jarre. I was impressed when I saw the tracktime of the title track (46 min.) and in fact it proved to be what I already expected: it is a very steady track with a quiet build up. It's not the kind of track you will have to sit down for to have an intense listen to. Because not too much is happening but still I like it in a way. If you're in the mood for music like that then this is excellent. I myself for instance am not always in the mood for complicated music that attracts all your attention all the time. And then this is very suitable. The first three tracks are with more impact but also they are less impressive than his debut to me.

So here I am doing it, comparing a JMJ album to his legendary debut of 1976. Fair or not, it's what I obviously have to do without doing it intentionally. But no worry, this is still good enough for 3 stars to me.