ZOOLOOK

The extreme popularization of Jean Michel Guard hair flirte since always with "popularization". No French musical artist was never also universal and like moreover, Jean Michel Jarre never wanted to fix limits at the size of his gigantic show theatrical, he was logically and quickly scorned by a good part of the pathetic French people which see probably there a new variation mondialisatrice... However, it is too often forgotten, JMJ is one of the largest musical precursors of last century. Since 1976, with mythical Oxygen, it exceeds with a facility all the largest artists magnet of the 70' S like Mike Oldfield or Tangerine Dream for example. Zoolook leaves in 1984, after its the first three albums studio and its first concerts in the open air already impressive at the time... An evolution towards a format plus rock'n'roll is undeniable for half of the pieces of the album which thus appears completely transitional. For these 4 famous titles, JMJ called upon prestigious guests: the guitarist Adrian Belew de King Crimson and the brilliant bass player Marcus Miller and his slap déchainé. The remainder of the album approaches more of the first albums, without being able however to be categorized ambient. It is especially in this point that the music of JMJ is quite higher than that of its most direct rivals: it is never lowered really with the background music... Initial "the Ethnicolor" east can be the largest title of JMJ or at least more inspired. It synthesizes with him only the transitional aspect of the album, beginning calmly with superb sound tablecloths enriched with the typical vocal multiples samples by JMJ (in 25 different languages) before déchainer with what one could call of true riffs vocal decorated of a slap contained and effective of Marcus Miller. This pieces remains one of strangest and attractive century... "Diva" is built on the same model but of inspiration much more Asian, which was reconnait in the vocal samples used and the secondary rythmée part. Useless to say that the Cantonese melody of JMJ associated with slap with Marcus Miller gives a clashing mixture... "Zoolook" is when with him a wonder of magnet funk carried out with excellence by duet JMJ - Marcus Miller, at the point where one can wonder why association did not last more than one album... The rate/rhythm mainly reinforced by the vocal samples gives really with dimensions single to the music of JMJ and the contribution of Marcus Miller gives really with dimensions single to this album in the discography of JMJ... "Wooloomooloo" slackens then a little the atmosphere before the very futuristic one and rythmé "Zoolookologie" which announces the future symphonic JMJ while remaining well encrusted in sonorities 80' S and which remains representative of the extreme maitrise sound acquired then by JMJ... "Blah-Blah Cafe" is as for him can be slightly lower than the other titles by its too with dimensions entêtant but not than the point to waste the pleasure of the informed music lover. "Ethnicolor II" completes this multidimensional voyage by true and calms vocal symphony... Here thus for what remains one of the most beautiful successes of Jean Michel Jarre. Zoolook in addition aged twenty years very well later and due: it is timeless.