I almost think I like it even better than Oxygene. - Reviewed on 2008-09-07
The title pretty much says it all. After listening to some audio clips of Equinoxe I decided I wanted to add it to my CD collection along with Oxygene. So far it's been the best $21.96 I've ever spent. Each of these two CD's has its own theme. Whereas I often think of Oxygene as a journey from an old world in search of a new one, I think of Equinoxe as telling the story of life on the new world. From the grand, I would even say triumphant opening of Equinoxe part 1 to the end, this album will take you places barely even imagined. My personal favorite is Equinoxe part 3, which puts me in mind of early spring and the urgency of flowers just waiting to bloom. It's the sort of music that will definitely shape your dreams if you fall asleep while listening to it. I had such an experience while listening to Oxygene and Equinoxe shows promise of being even better. True I have a track or two that I like less than the others but none that I actually dislike. Every track on this album gets equal listening. It sounds best either on a diskman with a good set of headphones or, in my case, on my sixty-disk stereo at home. Jarre did another excellent job on this album, which features a much more rhythmic element than Oxygene. Quite apart from the almost waltzy rhythm of Equinoxe 3, other tracks have a more upbeat rhythm. They're all fitting to the album's theme, however. As another reviewer commented, Oxygene was the tune of air, but Equinoxe is the tune of water. So now, let's go through the tracks, shall we?
The album opens with Equinoxe part 1, which begins quietly bt quickly grows into a triumphant crescendo, perhaps symbolizing a snrise on a new day. It's probably one of my favorite tracks.
Track 2, Equinoxe 2, is much qieter, the early part of the morning just after the sunrise, perhaps with a gentle rain falling. Much like Oxygene, Equinoxe features Theremins, though perhaps not as extensively as the prior album. Equinoxe 2 features one later in the track.
Next comes Equinoxe 3, which is probably one of my favorites. This oe has an almost waltzy rhythm as I said earlier, and features the high-pitched electronic tones that will subsequently represent water on Jarre's later albums. It also has a bright, cheery yet urgent melody that puts one in mind of either flowers blooming or birds in flight.
Track 4 is much more uptempo and features another cool melody that, in its own way is just as cheery as Equinoxe 3. The best way I can think of to describe it is running through a forest with the wind at your back.
Equinoxe 5 starts with the crash of thunder but continues the same cheery trend started back in Equinoxe 3. Like part 4 it features synthetic percussion which gives it its catchy rhythm.
Track 6 picks up where 5 left off and is, in my opinion, jst as danceable as the prior track.
Track seven is a bit quieter but the thunder heard through out the last few tracks is still present. The melody is also cool.
Unlike Oxygene, which still closed on a rather uptempo note, Equinoe ends much more quietly, with the sound of rain overlaying first a tiny bit of French folk, then a reflective piece that seems to symbolize the surrenity of a summer sunset after the storm abates. It's short but still excellent.
All in all this is an excellent album that, despite having two more tracks than Oxygene somehow manages to come up a minute or two shorter. But the quality remains excellent. My recommendation is simple. If you haven't yet heard either Oxygene or Equinoxe, you might just do yourself a favor by giving them both a good listen. As I said in my review of Oxygene, I'm no fan of electronica, but Jean Michel Jarre's earlier works are definitely an exception to that rule. Next on my list of albums to own? Les Chants Magnetiques Magnetic Fields, Revolutions, Rendez-Vous, Oxygene 7-13 and Chronologie.
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