Jean Michel Jarre Essentials & Rarities (2011)

The Concerts in China is a live album by Jean Michel Jarre, recorded in 1981 and released in 1982 on Disques Dreyfus. It was recorded during Jarre's Concerts in China tour of Autumn 1981, which consisted of five Beijing and Shanghai concerts in China; this was the first time a Western pop artist performed in China after the Cultural Revolution. The album is a balance of previously released tracks by Jarre, new compositions inspired by Chinese culture, and one rearranged traditional Chinese track ("Fishing Junks at Sunset"). The album consists mainly of live material, plus ambient sound recordings and one new studio track "Souvenir of China". Other new compositions recorded live include "Night in Shanghai", "Laser Harp", "Arpegiator" and "Orient Express". "Fishing Junks at Sunset" is a new arrangement of a very old traditional Chinese song known as the "Fisherman's Chant at Dusk", which was performed and recorded with The Peking Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra and is often wrongly attributed as being composed by Jean Michel Jarre, misled by the album inlay.

Digitally remastered edition of this 1986 album from the French composer, performer and music producer. Jean Michel, the son of acclaimed film composer Maurice Jarre, is a pioneer in the Electronic, Ambient and New Age genres. Apart from his recorded output, Jean Michel Jarre is also fondly known as an organizer of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks. Jean Michel has gone on to sell well over 80 million albums in the course of 40 years.

En Concert is an energetic live album with half the tracks played in front of Houston, TX, and the other half played to a crowd in Lyon, France. Jarre ignites the crowd in both cities, letting loose on a multitude of synthesizers and sequencers while playing his classics like "Oxygene V," "Magnetic Fields I," and "Equinoxe V." His sonic display in front of the French crowd is the more spirited of the two, since Europe is where his fan base is the largest. Jarre kept many of his slower mood pieces off of this album, which is rightly so. His quicker, more robust pieces seem to gain momentum as he dazzles the audience with his electronic sweeps and sharp stabs of brilliant synth…

Destination Docklands was an event consisting of two concerts by musician Jean Michel Jarre on the Royal Victoria Docks, Docklands, London on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9 October 1988, to coincide with the release of Jarre's new album Revolutions. The concerts were attended by 100,000 people on each night. Accompanied by fireworks and a light show, the concert also featured The Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin who joined Jarre on the tracks "London Kid" and "Fourth Rendez-Vous". The Saturday performance was broadcast on BBC Radio One. The Sunday show, during which it rained heavily, was recorded for a live album and VHS released in 1989. The Sunday show was also recorded for TV and shown on C4 some weeks or months later.

Digitally remastered edition of this 1993 album from the French composer, performer and music producer. Jean Michel, the son of acclaimed film composer Maurice Jarre, is a pioneer in the Electronic, Ambient and New Age genres. Apart from his recorded output, Jean Michel Jarre is also fondly known as an organizer of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks. Jean Michel has gone on to sell well over 80 million albums in the course of 40 years.

5 Classic albums in mini LP-style card sleeves; Magnetic Fields (1981), Zoolook (1984), Rendez-Vous (1986), Revolutions (1988) & Waiting for Cousteau (1990).

Essential: A masterpiece of progressive rock music.
The most perfect Jarre release for me, "Equinoxe" defines Jarre's classic sound extremely well, maybe even better than the previous "Oxygene" album.