Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[Finaero]

POPULAR VOTE
Equinoxe - 1983 West German CD MATRIX 01 - Discogs

My picks (of the album editions I own) here.

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I think it'd be interesting to catalogue down what the truly best versions of JMJ albums really are (expecting MFSL LP versions of Oxygene and Equinoxe to be on the lead, I wasn't impressed by the CD ones).

What's the 'best' versions of these albums and where do I get them?

So here's the topic, I think it's time to seriously think of the best JMJ album editions available.

As we know, the albums are:

Oxygene -
Equinoxe -
Magnetic Fields -
Concerts in China -
Zoolook -
Rendez-Vous -
In Concert Houston/Lyon -
Revolutions -
Waiting for Cousteau -
Chronologie -
Oxygene 7-13 -

Didn't include the compilation albums (e.g. Images), the remix albums (i.e. Jarremix), Hong Kong, and the albums from Metamorphoses onwards due to their lack of vinyl or even other significantly alternate editions. You may list those if you want to!

[EDIT] I made a more extensive analysis on the JMJ records I own in this post, so the following text in this post is somewhat superfluous now.

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Honestly, I'm still one of those people without really anything to complain about the 1997 remasters (especially RV2 @ Cities in Concert, yes I've mentioned it thousands of times ), so I'd really like to know.

Refraining from including the 1997 remasters, however, I guess of the JMJ albums I own these might be the best?

Oxygene - MFSL LP
Equinoxe - MFSL LP
Chronologie - 1993 LP
Oxygene 7-13 - 1997 LP

To be honest, I do have most of his albums on vinyl as well but most of them don't really impress me much... or the vinyls have been quite used and/or my equipment just sucks, but even the MFSL LPs strike out as the best. Oh well.

[Dr_Jones]

Usually the Japanese LPs are the best.

[Domestos]

Thanks

The MFSL versions are comically expensive on eBay so I guess they're out for me.

[Velodynamic]

I think the DVD 5.1 version of the Oxygene album from 2009 is very neat. A "must have" if you ask me.
I have the MFSL Equinoxe vinyl though to be very honest I can't hear that much of a difference compared with my regular LP's.
It is heavier vinyl for sure making it absolutely 99 % flat (or as flat as a vinyl can get) and dead steady to listen to. Other then that minor differences.
A bit "cleaner" sound although still as warm and harmonic. Yet it is vinyl and it can "pop" some static dust particle now and then, no matter how expensive they are.
Got to love the folded cover though.
I've grown up listen to the Polydor LP's of all the JMJ albums from Oxygene to Waiting For Costeau (exept music for supermarkets). They'll always have a special place in my heart.
What sounds best is a personal question I think. Or you might like one album better then an other only because of the sleeve or cover. Estetics are important too.

[Finaero]

Quick question, do I need to get a new vinyl player or are the vinyl records I have just in a cruddy condition?

For example, here's what Oxygene 1 (MFSL) sounds like. I think it's pretty good, and the record was unplayed. (Recorded in 2007)

Whereas I'm quite sure I used the same needle on Chronologie, but it really sounds a bit tin canny.

Would be cool to know if I could just fix the latter somehow or if I should just record them like that since they'd still be better than the 1997 and later remasters

[1906]

Whereas I'm quite sure I used the same needle on Chronologie, but it really sounds a bit tin canny.

Would be cool to know if I could just fix the latter somehow or if I should just record them like that since they'd still be better than the 1997 and later remasters

All Chronologie mixes sound "tin canny".. Also on CD. My Chronologie recordings sound the same as yours.

I could not resist to perraufy your chronologie 8 sample a bit:

https://instaud.io/4IJ

[Velodynamic]

OMG'sh 1906 It's ringing in my head after listening to that...

This is exactly why I've always had such a hard time with the Chronologie album.
It sounds harsh and I don't know if it had to do with the recording technique, mixing, mastering or by the fact that the instruments were different. Everything went more digital during the 1990's.

What you could do Finaero is connecting your turntable through a pre-amplifier with tubes like for example the pro-ject tube box. A bit expensive but it should warm things up quite a bit. It made a huge difference for my tuntable with a Grado Gold cartrige.

[Finaero]

Thanks, 1906! Great to know! :]

And man, even that Perraufied sample still sounds better than the 2015 remaster ;]

[1906]

Thanks, 1906! Great to know! :]

And man, even that Perraufied sample still sounds better than the 2015 remaster ;]

thanks

And remember...as Dr_Jones already mentioned above: you should definitely try to find some Japanese vinyl. The secrets there: heay, high-grade and shiny virgin vinyl (not recycled), rice inner sleeves are the norm.

[Finaero]

@Velodynamic: Yes, I've been thinking of getting equipment like that for better recordings et al, but I never have enough time to truly focus on the subject. Oy!

@1906: Yeah, the few Japanese LPs I have (notably Vangelis - Antarctica) are just great, I think I'll be on a look-out for the Japanese LP version of Zoolook (possibly even CiC) in mint condition.

Already got the MFSL LPs of Oxygene and Equinoxe and the French LP version of Magnetic Fields (which I'm actually recording on my computer as we speak) sounds pretty damn great as well and I don't really care much for Side B of that album...

To be absolutely honest, from Rendez-Vous onwards I think the vinyl versions have lost their "analog edge" (i.e. much more digital synths) and CD versions might even be preferable, so I don't really find the 1997 remasters that bothersome in that regard. Oxygene 7-13 is a true gem on vinyl though (a shame that after 7+ years of just being in my collection seems to have created a few skips on Oxygene 8 for some reason :\).

[Finaero]

Simply put (as of Mar 18th 2017), when it comes to the album editions that I own, I guess the best-sounding ones would be:

Oxygene - 1995 MFSL LP
Equinoxe - 1995 MFSL LP
Magnetic Fields - 1981 French LP
Concerts in China - 1982 German LP
Zoolook - 1984 Japan LP
Rendez-Vous - 1997 Sony Remaster/1986 German LP
In Concert Houston/Lyon - 1997 Cities in Concert CD (Sony Remaster)
Revolutions - 1988 German LP
Waiting for Cousteau - 1990 European CD
Chronologie - 1993 Korean LP
Oxygene 7-13 - 1997 Complete Oxygene European CD

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And here's some extensive boring rambling on the subject:

Converted a few of my LPs yesterday into my new JMJ FLAC collection and listened to some of the records as well.

Judging by the editions I have, only Oxygene, Equinoxe and Concerts in China really benefit from the vinyl records' "analog bonus" that makes them sound warm and simply just damn excellent (as a major non-Jarre example, the original German version of Kraftwerk's Trans Europa Express is just a damn pleasure for my ears - even if the 2009 Catalogue version is also very good, but the original one is just way way way better!). Then again, Magnetic Fields Part 1 also counts, IMO.

Perhaps it's only due to the vinyl versions that I have or maybe I should really put some effort into getting better equipment, but side B of Magnetic Fields, Zoolook, Rendez-Vous, Revolutions, WFC and Chronologie do sound nice on vinyl but they don't really have any kind of an edge over the CD versions made at the time, to be honest. Perhaps it's due to the usage of digital synths, perhaps due to differences in mixing. And as a special note in WFC's case, due to the shortened title track.

Oxygene 7-13 probably sounds a bit nicer due to all the analogue stuff that's going on, but since vinyl records lose their frequencies the closer you get to the center, Oxygene 9 ends up sounding rather flat (as a comparison, Equinoxe 7 still sounds damn great on the MFSL edition at least even if you can hear the sound quality weakening... but also, the vinyl version of Ethnicolor I doesn't have the same kind of warmness in the Blade Runnerish Ethnicolor 1 Part 2 as the 1997 remaster does, which is interesting) and the fade-out is very tacky too, so I think even with that one I wouldn't really prefer the vinyl version (it's a damn nice collectable though, and I still can't believe I managed to find my second copy of it for 4 € in 2008).

[Finaero]

But still, keep on sharing your choices for the best-sounding album editions!

(Perhaps even provide some samples? )

[Velodynamic]

Probably off topic here, but there are ofcource those different versions of some tracks on the compilation LP's i.e.
"The Essential Jean Michel Jarre" U.K Polydor 817 003-1 / 1983 or
"Musik Aus Zeit Und Raum" German Polydor 815 686-1 / Polystar 46 286 1 / 1983

The "different" versions are Equinoxe part 5 and Magnetic Fields part 2.
Better or not they have some weird stereo panning going on, some extra reverb or mixed and/or even maybe played in a different way.

[Dr_Jones]

1997 Sony Remaster of Zoolook is bodged. Ethnicolor 1 transition between slow and fast part is wrong. Left and right channels are swapped.

[Finaero]

Well, I couldn't get rest over this issue (for some reason) so I ordered an ostensibly unplayed copy of Zoolook's Japanese vinyl edition for 60 bux (including shipping).

Here's hoping it will do the trick