Destination Docklands
This one happens to be one of my favourite, favourite Jarre concerts and albums. Not because I attended it, sadly, but because this, and La Defense,
were my first brush with the greatness that is Jean Michel Jarre. Enough back story, on to the review.
Artwork
As you can see, the album's cover art has changed colour from the frankly dull black/yellow/red/white of the original release (not counting Jarre Live! obviously) to a more British-themed colour scheme, which I personally prefer. The CD is no where near as awesome as that of Houston Lyon though.
Interesting to see that the album now says "The London Concerts" rather than "Concert".
The booklet contains the usual stuff of a blurb about the concert and some pictures. Sadly, the listed playback times on the back of the CD and in the booklet aren't accurate, for example Computer Weekend is listed as 5'18, whereas the actual track is 5'08. I cannot understand or forgive such a mistake if I'm honest.
Sound Quality
As is the case with Houston Lyon, this release is LOUD. Again, the tracks peak at 0.9996 dB, with a disappointing Dynamic Range of just 6. The original CD isn't all that better mind, with a DR of 9, but it is much quieter.
I would have loved to say that this release is as engaging as Houston Lyon, but sadly it isn't. It would appear that all that's happened is that someone has cranked up the overall gain of the original CD, upped the bass and treble, and hit record.
Some extra subtle reverb seems present too, and stereo separation has been increased, but this has come to the detriment of some tracks. For example, Industrial Revolution Part 1 has some very weird left/right panning that, on VERY careful listening to the original CD, is present. Because of the enhanced stereo separation on the remaster, it becomes quite obvious and quite annoying.
The most annoying thing about the album is the lack of consistency. The remastering tweaks have actually benefited some tracks (Magnetic Fields 2, London Kid, Rendez-Vous 4) adding some extra punchiness to the music, and I think the reason behind that is that the live percussion is pronounced on these tracks, and the remaster brings the quality of that out.
However, tracks like Oxygene IV, Rendez-Vous 2, and the whole Industrial Revolution suite sadly aren't as lucky. The boosted low/high frequencies leaves the mid ranges very low, weak, and a bit pathetic. Take Oxygene IV, the bass line is over-exaggerated but the actual main tune feels like it's being played from a concert next door to the main one. It's worsened buy the fact that the "pssssssssss" left/right effect during the song is so boosted that it kinda fatigues to listen to. Oxygene IV on the original CD is a much more pleasurable experience.
I really, really wanted to like this release. I listened to it 4 times using a variety of headphones, including some Shure SE846 IEMs and, if anything, they made matters worse buy really bringing out many of the album's deficiencies. I even had a listen in the car, but don't even get me started on that disaster.
Overall, unless you're a massive fan of the tracks that have live percussion, then I'd stick with the original CD here. Sadly.
