JARRE LIVE

A recording of a Jarre concert in the London docklands. This is effectively the 'Revolutions' tour, so the playlist divides fairly equally into material from the new album and old favourites. This was one of the first Jarre recordings I owned, and as a result it somewhat coloured my perception of the "classics". Case in point: "Chants Magnetiques 2". This is still my favourite version of CM2. The tune itself is enhanced with a sort of upward synth slide at various points (which I believe is also used on the 'Images' compilation album), but to cap it all at the end the lead synth (JMJ, I presume) flies off into a wonderful fugue. For years I assumed CM2 was meant to sound like this, and when I finally bought the original album it sounded so flat by comparison. Also worthy of note: Hank Marvin turns up in person to play the guitar on "London Kid", but sticks around to jam over the end of "Rendez-Vous 4" - and it sounds fantastic!

For the rest, there's a much abridged "Industrial Revolution" (cut nearly in half!), an energetic "Revolutions" culminating in a half-time firework display, and the "Oxygene 4" and "Rendez-Vous 2" you'd expect. Very good, even if they won't make you sit up and stare. If you grit your teeth through the more abominable tracks from 'Revolutions', this is an uplifting live set. Not something to stick at the top of your "to do" list, but CM2 and RV4 make it worth tracking down later on - best to appreciate the album versions first, I suspect.

In my opinion, this is Jarre's weakest live album. Don't get me wrong, the performance is solid and many of the tracks are very good. However, "September" and "Emigrant" are among my least favorite Jarre tunes, and they're no better on this album than they are on Revolutions. Another bummer is that this album does not feature material from Equinoxe and Zoolook, and some of the audience sound are just sampled in the mix (you can clearly hear it sometimes!). But the rest of the album is excellent, though it's not up to pair with his other live albums.

Highlights: Industrial Revolutions and Rendez-Vous 2.

For Jarre fans only! 3/5