Les Chants Magnétiques

For Jean Michel Jarre the turn of the 1980's was a very busy time. Equinoxe was a huge worldwide hit and he had just played his first mage concert at the Place de la Concorde in Paris to a million ecstatic fans on Bastille Day 1979.

The following year was the one where the next album's planning began and the neotiations began for the historic tour of China in late summer of 1981. China would see a fair amount of new material released to the public, including much of this album, released just a couple of months before.

Following his massive success, JMJ was targeted by Fairlight and, along with Peter Gabriel, was one of the first to use their equipment in anger. It's perhaps why this album feels a little unfinished in some places; there had not been enough time to explore the capabilities of the kit fully, only scratching the surface. It probably isn't until the legendary Music for Supermarkets and the magisterially good Zoolook that the full fruits of working with the Fairlight would be seen and heard.

This is not to say the album is bad: far from it. It is something of a pioneering work and has echoes of Jarre's past in Musique Concrète. The original album and cassette divied into two parts: the first was Magnetic Fields Part 1, which took up the whole of side 1; the second was the remainder. On a CD this division sort of disappears and changes the flow just a little.

Part 1 feels like several ideas stiched together. Some of them are stronger than others, particularly the urgent pulse of the opening section. Perhaps the most famous piece of all is Part 2, with its bright melody line and handclaps. It finishes with the background noise of trains, which ties this to both MFS and Zoolook a little as a recurrent theme. Part 3 is somewhat forgettable, Part 4 is a rather nice mid-tempo shuffle with hints of the aurora flickering in and out of life, punctuated by a solid pulsing bassline. The album finishes with Part 5, a rather melancholic rumba.

After what had gone before some have said that this album sounds a little sterile in comparison to the organic warmth of Oxygène and Zoolook. They do have something of a point to be honest, though Part 2 is really quite wonderful and is up there with the very best of his work (it's pretty much what tipped me into giving the album 4 stars). It's an album that perhaps is more to be admired than loved.

If you've heard Jarre's 1st album (I don't mean Oxygene, his 2nd album)then take the feel of some of the tracks off that.
This is a short album 36 minutes approx. It is atmospheric BUT not in the same way as Oxygene & Equinoxe. Those 2 were very "earthy" and "airy" (both 5 star recordings) but this is very electronic. Possibly somewhat dated now (I can't judge that because I've loved this album for 20 years). So different to any other Jarre album, not as arty as Zoolook (his next release and again a 5star album).
This is a very listenable album but for me I always miss off the Last Rumba. For me it is out off place on this album.

The one track that stands out for me is part 4. Some great sequencing here (these current "virtual" versions of classic synthesisers are all very well, but you can't beat having the actual "tactile" instruments (with real sliders and knobs!) in front of you) and a great, simple melody to go with it. The ending of this track played LOUDLY on my HiFi used to make my guests jump......:-)

There are a few too many JMJ cliches here (and an AWFUL last track) and this has dated this album somewhat in my view. The production though seems very "clean" and open.

Well worth a listen and one of the last electronic albums of the "analogue synth plus sequencer" era.....