Famous for his musical and entertainment records and unusual challenges, widely celebrated for his pharaonic shows featuring tons of strange instruments, Jean-Michel Jarre is the most recent incarnation of the French grandeur, the heir of the Belle-époque science heroes like Jules Verne or the Lumière brothers (he's from Lyon too, after all). But he also happens to be a great musician and a highly creative composer. The "Chronologie" album, in particular, is a brilliant piece of symphonic music as this "Part 2" proves perfectly well.
Jarre & his best friends...
The majestic sounds and the bombastic keyboard riffs are arranged in a series of breathtaking crescendos and breaks, making up an almost visual kind of music, an enthralling, powerful wall of sound. The live version of this track, included in the "Hong Kong" album (1995), is even better, with a whole (prog) band playing like hell. That's why I daresay that Jarre's flaws also are his strength. By the way, let's draw a veil over his recent love affair with DJ music... it may be great, but it's not my cup of tea.
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