Aero [CD + DVD] [CD+DVD] [Enhanced]

Anthology - this is a collection of Jarre's 'greatest tracks', with some questionable inclusions and some huge tracks overlooked (e.g. Equinoxe 5, Magnetic Fields 2, Chronologie 4, etc.) Maybe Jarre felt the tracks featured give some consistency to the flow of the album, which is probably true for the first two-thirds of it, until it loses it's way somewhat during the last third. The scenes that link tracks are a highlight; however these were produced by Joachim Garraud (Jarre's right hand man for Metamorphoses).

Exaggerated - greatly, recomposed note for note? The tracks have been re-worked (with Jarre's hand forced) and a number of Jarre's classics that have been included do not sound up-to-scratch (I let you decide which ones). As for the new tracks, they are nothing to write home about it, and yet again we have "Jarre the Environmentalist", with yet another track from the much under-rated (and superb) Metamorphoses, have you noticed it yet?

Redone - some of the tracks selected do not sound up-to scratch, with a poor choice of sounds (presets, and bad presets at that), and he seems to be obsessed to have effects for the 5.1 mix and it does distract from the listening experience. Listen to the original albums for how the tracks should sound, or even live concert recordings (pre-2000).

Over-rated - despite great sales, the album is very much over-rated. For Jarre to state this is the first 5.1 album, well he must not heard of The Altogether by Orbital. There are some good elements to Aero, but considering this is meant as both a compilation and a new experience, it disappoints considerably and could have been so much better in so many ways.

As for the DVD, there is no DVD-A track (despite assurances there would be) and the video content can be best described as minimalist. Fine for a cocktail party with cheese on sticks, but not something you can intently watch for over one hour.

Hence I can only give the album 3 stars, it is the best thing to see light of day since Metamorphoses, but it does not even come to close to Jarre's last studio album in terms of compositions, diversity and production level. I hope to be surprised in the positive sense when a new 'real' studio album is released in the future.

It features a regular music CD along with a DVD which plays in your home theatre system.

The CD & DVD contain the same musical content, although the DVD is the main focus of this review. It is basically the result of Jean Michel Jarre re-recording some of his classic tracks in 5.1 surround sound. For the Jarre purist out there, the tracks are re-creations of the originals, using the same electronic sounds and effects of the original album pieces (give or take a few updated drum beats and added effects) and thankfully not total remixes.

Tracks included here are from his early albums, including Oxygene, Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, Souvenir of China, Zoolook along with 3 new tracks, all of which make maximum use of the 5.1 sound space.

Instead of the usual music DVDs in the past, in which the content is basically dressed-up audio-visual recordings of live concerts where you hear audience noise and some ambience of the concert behind you, this DVD has been recorded note-for-note in 5.1, placing each instrument and melody line at different positions around the listener which creates an effective illusion of actually being 'inside' the music.

Jarre uses surround sound to great effect, enveloping the listener inside a sonic landscape, and not just resorting to cheap surround tricks which was the case in the early days of stereo albums. Hearing Oxygene 4 swirling round your head really cannot be described without listening to it.

Along with the music on the DVD, there is a video 'track' which is eerily just the eyes of an actress recorded in high definition, reacting in response to her listening live to the DVD. I found this to be distracting from the overall effect, and ended up just turning my TV off and enjoying the music for what it was worth.

As I said earlier, you also get a CD version of the album, which is great when you don't have a home theatre system, or just want to listen in the car.

I ordered a disk in the US, without thinking about the usual region coding limits. Thankfully, the disk is region free and plays on my NTSC TV, even though the box says PAL.

Also, kudos go to Amazon.Co.uk for getting it to me here in the USA in just 3 DAYS!!!

5 out of 5!!!