Jean Michel Jarre - Magnetic Fields 1981 [Remastered] (2014)

Le Chantes Magnetiques (Magnetic Fields) was really Jarre fifth or so album, not third, since he released a couple albums before Oxygene in the early '70s (for example, Deserted Palace in 1972), and singles as far back as 1970 ("La Cage"). But since most people never heard anything he's done before Oxygene (because those albums are so hard to come by), most simply regard Oxygene as his debut. Magnetic Fields continues more or less in the same vein as Oxygene and Equinox, except now more emphases is put on rhythm. He also got himself some new digital equipment, in this case a Fairlight, which was the first digital sampler.

Made in Australia, and introduced in 1979, it was basically a keyboard with a computer-type monitor and a light pen. The rest of the synthesizers on this album are actually analog (like then-state-of-the-art polyphonic, as well as his old stuff from the '70s), as the first true digital synthesizer wouldn't appear until 1983 with the infamous Yamaha DX-7 (which Jarre happily used starting with Zoolook). Aside from the Fairlight and polyphonic synths, he was still using his ARP 2600 and EMS synths, although he seemed to cut back on his Eminent (an organ-like instrument with the sound of a string synth, as heard on Oxygene). The album starts off with "Part 1". This was the very first time he ever did a side-length cut, and this piece succeeds. It's kinda strange that he'll be doing that in an era where many other acts, both electronic, and the few prog rock bands that survived to the 1980s, had pretty much given up on side-length cuts (in favor of more pop-oriented material).

The classic Jarre sound is still there, with lots of emphasis on rhythm. "Part 2" gets bogged down by annoying electronic handclap sounds, while "Part 3" features some kalimba-like sounds (presumably from the Fairlight itself) while at the same time harkening back to the likes of Oxygene with the Eminent. But I always felt "Part 5 (The Last Rhumba)" was the album's real low-point. He seems to always fall flat when he tries to explore world music with his electronic style (for example the Caribbean steel-drum laced calypso influence of the first three cuts on En Attendant Cousteau aka Waiting For Cousteau). Here, of course, he's going for Latin music, Jarre style, that means entirely on electronic equipment, synthesizers and drum machines. Aside from the final cut, it's nice to see Jarre entering the new decade (the 1980s) without much problems. To me, this is his best '80s, but for those new to Jarre, start with Oxygene and Equinoxe.

Tracklist:

01. Magnetic Fields Part 1 (17:59)
02. Magnetic Fields Part 2 (3:59)
03. Magnetic Fields Part 3 (4:11)
04. Magnetic Fields Part 4 (6:25)
05. Magnetic Fields Part 5 (3:31)