Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[Richard-Eastham]

Just checked the 2nd half of the concert. There's not much difference UNTIL I saw Stardust. The climax of the song has been completely re-edited. Lots of total shots of the fireworks and lots of different shots are used. Same goes for Time Machine.

Oh, and the video drop-out at Equinoxe 4 has been erased obviously

Haha! Just posted my thoughts on the Stardust edit and then scrolled up to read this!

[Richard-Eastham]

It loses its meaning to remove the main speech on the Blu-ray. We lose the context.

Agree. I was surprised how much Starmus branding there is on the packaging, but then I thought that's a good thing really, especially as Brain May was a co-founder of the festival. So to take out that opening speech - ".... here in the heart of Europe ... it's in our hands really ... what the earth is telling us, to where technology is leading us, where education and knowledge can guide us ... this is the spirit of Starmus Earth" - seems a shame and as you say, removes the context.

And we all wanted Jean-Paul Jarre to remain too

[Richard-Eastham]

That's good to hear, although my usual glass half-empty feeling kicks in: if they were able to edit Stardust why not fix fireworks The Opening and (I presume) RV2? I'll be a broken record here, but to me the fireworks surprise during The Opening was one of the concert's strongest moments (esp. after witnessing the dress rehearsal) and I was sooo hoping to be able to relive it.

Agree, that The Opening was a breathtaking moment. And at that point, the UFO tower got a shimmering, strobe lighting effect and I thought here we are again, after all these years – a free, outdoor concert, with fireworks, lasers and a show design that incorporates surrounding architecture and environment. Never thought we’d witness this again, but we did.

[Richard-Eastham]

Got my box today. Probably not going to actually "use" it anytime soon - no CD player ATM, no Blu-Ray player, no record player - so I hope someone rips the "Bridge to the future" track. I also just realized it might be a while until I see how the video turned out (I'll also probably have to wait for a rip...)

The photos look spectacular, so I'll definitely be using this book to show people "what was it like".

Minor nitpicks (besides the major nitpick, ie. sound quality) - in the booklet the title of "The Architect" is printed with smaller font; in the "people who sent their pictures" credits some people are listed twice (like "Kamil Ratajsky, Kamil Ratajsky") - probably because they used two pictures that he sent in (Richard is also listed twice, but since it's "Richard Eastham" and "Richard & Natasha" it's excusable ) For a €100 product there should be better quality control, but I guess this is the world we live in.

The photos are amazing, and I think the book is probably the best element of the whole package. I only bought the collector’s box for this, really. Like you, I have no turntable, Blu-Ray or CD player – it was the book I was really after and it’s great.

I uploaded a few photos to the website in the weeks after the show, and you are right about why the multiple credits: the one of me and my daughter I tagged as Richard & Natasha and the photos of the newspapers, beer and coffee the morning after were tagged as Richard Eastham.

Natasha absolutely nailed her best "what am I doing here" Gen Z teenage face in that picture. I showed her the picture in the book when it arrived. She gave it a shrug and a cool whatever but couldn't help but break into a big smile. She’s secretly very pleased

[Kanta]

[Dr_Jones]

Are the images of the flying drone posted on social media included in Time Machine?

Some of the footage is used.

[Richard-Eastham]

Putting it out there ... like others, I'd really appreciate a vinyl rip of "Bridge From The Future" if anybody has a fancy turntable that can create MP3 files

[Richard-Eastham]

I’ve now listened to the album, and I am somewhat disappointed.

I cannot comment on sound quality, mixing and the technical aspects of the production as my ears are simply not good enough to tell the differences. Either my ears never were good enough, or a childhood in the 1980s and 1990s relentlessly listening to cassettes on my megabass-enabled Sony Walkman (Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, Pet Shop Boys, New Order and Jean-Michel Jarre – in that order) has left me with early onset hearing decline.

My disappointment is about it being a concert shorn of all context. This show in Bratislava was the opening concert for the Starmus festival week, and for me, it makes no sense to remove the speeches and other small references here and there that place this show into that context.

JMJ’s opening speech, about “… that little blue dot in space” was definitely worth keeping, as was his bit before Rendezvous 4 “… a celebration of a relentless quest to conquer the sky and the universe in search for a better understanding maybe of our own planet” which was a perfect fit with the Starmus spirit.

And I don’t like Exit at all, but on this occasion, it was a great fit for ESET Digital Security, the concert’s main sponsor. Who probably want to get some of their money back with this release. JMJ even adapted his opening remarks about Edward Snowden to align with the ESET slogan – “… the protection of our private data, freedom of speech and digital security” which I thought was a very on-brand thing to do and made me laugh.

Other JMJ live albums had a certain distinctiveness to place them in context. Concerts in China had stadium announcers, some “found sound” and radio broadcasts; Houston/Lyon was the best with that high tempo Oxygene 5 opener, all bass beneath the TV news montage, which sets up the rest of the album brilliantly. Even Jarre Live had a great opener, the Revolutions remix and some speeches in there “… nothing will stop us now!” and “… this is not wet, this is England!”

If the reason for cutting the speeches and not adding snippets from Bratislava radio, TV or Starmus voices or sources to give better context was running time, then simply drop Web Spinner, Falling Down and/or Zero Gravity.

One thing I do like, is they have left in the final (and rather awkward) didgeridoo blast from Adiescar on Azimuth. I am absolutely sure it was a bum note, and she looked suitably embarrassed afterwards. At least there is no debate about didgeridoo playback – all live!

[czt]

Anytime would be pleased by an awkward didgeridoo (or guitar, or violin) blast from Adiescar.

[Robi83]

Anytime would be pleased by an awkward didgeridoo (or guitar, or violin) blast from Adiescar.

However, the '25 version of Oxy 2 intro with Hydrasynth was Way better than violin and flute version.

[thesynthesist]

The choir coming in too fast on RV2 is bugging me a lot arrangement itself is nice tho for sure maybe they also got quite excited / hyped up lol

[Richard-Eastham]

My post earlier about the context being stripped out of the Bratislava release, begs a question about what the strategy is behind the recent JMJ releases, if indeed there is a strategy.

- Welcome To The Other Side (2021)
- Versailles 400 (2024)
- Live In Bratislava (2025)

All three have very similar track listings; yet all three have almost no bespoke audio content that places each concert release into context. Yet all three instances were really quite interesting and specific projects worthy of greater attention – a bold (and successful) attempt at a VR show in the heart of world landmark undergoing restoration after a fire, and after a year of pandemic lockdowns, this really was a triumph; a curious mixed-media show in the Hall of Mirrors, another world landmark; and a free outdoor mega-concert to kick off a week long festival of arts and science.

These are three distinctive events, each with a unique approach and in their own way, each was up there alongside Houston, Docklands and La Défense as bold, ambitious and artistic projects. Yet the subsequent releases are almost identical. If you asked somebody new to JMJ to listen to each album in turn, I doubt they could tell you much, or anything, about the context of what they had just heard. And they’d probably say they’d felt like they’d heard the same thing three times – there are of course, things like Le Château and Cosmic Guitar Solo but do these make much sense without a framework around them?

Dunno, I am just feeling that these last five years have been super productive for JMJ, he's been involved in some great projects and he's continuing to push boundaries and so I think it is a shame that the 'souvenir' releases for these three project are lacking.

[dzoolook]

I’ve been comparing the audio quality of the Slovak TV broadcast, and it’s clearly superior to the official version. You can check it out on my YouTube channel:



Also, some friends have sent me snapshots of the photos inside the book, and my face appears in at least two of them, so I’m considering buying it again (since I canceled my purchase a few days ago).

I have a blue and orange jacket

[shadow]

That article also links to an in depth analysis of the album and bluray:
https://magicvinyldigital.net/2025/09/0 ... streaming/

So... Rip the blu-ray 5.1 mix and just use the L and R channels for a good time... Gotta love this!

[Dr_Jones]

I wouldn't drop Web Spinner; this is the only physical release that features this track.

Azimuth has grown on me, btw. I found myself playing the song in my head most of the day.