- Audio CD
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: dreyfus
- ASIN: B000001ZS8
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 631,578 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential,
By
This review is from: Zoolook (Audio CD)
Together with Oxygene and Equinoxe, this is one of the three Jean Michel Jarre albums that any serious music fan should own.
Putting this album on today makes you realise just what an amazing and overlooked piece of work this was. The first thing you notice is the epic production, with an almost unbelievable dynamic range. Played loudly enough this album shakes windows and floors in some places with chest-thumping bass. The centrepiece is the sprawling Ethnicolor, lasting nearly twelve minutes. For the first seven minutes or so, the pace is almost stately, reminiscent of whalesong with a keening quality. The second section of the piece however is much more driven, with some thumping drumming, fliud, organic basslines and an ending which sounds pretty damn near to orgasmic. This, I think, is possibly the single greatest piece of music JMJ has ever (or will ever have) written. Of the rest, both Zoolook and Zoolookolgie are interestingly dancey variants, definitely influenced by working in New York, with the electro culture there growing as it was. Blah Blah Cafe is fun and bouncy, while Wooloomooloo and Ethnicolor II are short, minor pieces, verging on filler. It is also interesting to note that Blah Blah cafe, Diva (without the Laurie Anderson vocal) and much of the soundscape of Ethnicolor II appeared on Jarre's now infamous Music For Supermarkets album recorded the previous year, at about the same time as artists like Yello, Peter Gabriel and the Art Of Noise were also beginning to use the same technology. This makes this album not only musically experimental but technologically pioneering too. Perhaps that's why it performed so unusually poorly on release in the UK on release, barely scraping the Top 50. Looking back from here however, it's possible to see this work as maybe Jean Michel Jarre's greatest achievement of all.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece from the 20th Century.,
By
This review is from: Zoolook (Audio CD)
I first heard Zoolook way back in March 1987. Two years after it was originally released. I was 15 years old and unsure of what to expect. It totally changed my taste in music for the rest of my life. From then on I became a dedicated fan of Jean-Michel Jarre and deciple to synthesizers and electronic music. As soon as you play Zoolook you notice the quality of the production. It is astounding for 1985 and still sounds fresh two decades later. Jean-Michel travelled the world recording samples of the human voice spoken in various languages. He then manipulated these voices to great effect and used them throughout the CD. They can act as instruments in their own right, as backing sequences or as atmospheric effects. Ethnicolor Part 1 is without doubt the best track on the CD. It is an epic peice of music. It begins with erie like whale song that rises and rises until it breaks into a fairlight driven choir sequence. As it progresses voices and effects fade in and out, and can invoke a mixed bag of emotions. The piece transforms from erie to orchestral, to amazingly emotional and then eventually breaks into a powerful finale thanks to simple, yet beefy, drums and prominent bass line courtesy of the fine talents of Marcus Miller. Laurie Anderson's vocals also help to add a unique feel to Diva, the second track on the CD, which again conjures an erie atmosphere, and in some places can make you feel quite cold. Once again the finale of the track is more upbeat and Andersons vocals bring you back from a strange sense of lonliness. The shorter tracks Zoolook, Zoolookologie are upbeat tracks, both good in their own right, but feeling rather like cheesy Europop. However the quality of the effects and production do make up for this. Wooloomooloo is a wonderful haunting track. Even Blah Blah Cafe has appeal. Finally we come to Ethnicolor Part 2, no way near the emotional rollercoaster as Part 1, but nicely concludes a great CD. Even if you are not a fan of electronic music this could still be a great listen, thanks to the mix of synthesizers, vocals, acoustic drums, guitars and bass. I dont think I have ever experienced such a wide range of emotions in just one track, let alone the entire CD. Despite the countless releases in the electronic music arena since 1985 this CD still is my favourite because of its innovative production, fantastic music and originality. Its worth the money 1000 times over, purely for Ethnicolor Part 1. Definately a MUST have.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blah Blah....,
This review is from: Zoolook (Audio CD)
I remembering listening to this for the first time and being blown away (admittedly this was almost 19 years ago...!). That said, this album holds up as one of Jarre's more interesting pieces of work in that it is genuinely innovative through the sampling of various human voices and somehow turning them into some decent songs with the backing of more traditional instruments than on previous albums. It also strikes me that this album has dated quite well. "Ethnicolor" builds up to a crushing climax while tracks like "Zoolook" and "Zoolookologie" are infectious synth pop tracks without being too naff. "Ethnicolor II" is a good track to end the album - rather eery and quite poignant. If you only bought one album by Jarre you would not be disappointed with this one.
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