Jean Michel Jarre: Equinoxe

Following the breakthrough success of this French composer's previous album, 'Oxygene,' which is reviewed here, Jarre's 1978 followup continues stylistically where his last album left off. While the ripples sent through the musical world with his previous release are not echoed in this album, which comes at a time in which the synthesiser was becoming increasingly mainstream, Jarre's second major album presents an even more impressive portfolio than the composer's previous album.

The album itself contains a total of eight tracks which are, like 'Oxygene,' labelled as 'Part 1,' 'Part 2' and so forth but other than this and Jarre's style of writing, that is where the comparisons end. For one, 'Equinoxe' presents a wider sonic palette from Jarre and the album presents a more immediate progression between tracks, constructing a much clearer musical journey than the album's predecessor.

Among the highlights are parts 2 and 3, which constitute the majority of the albums A Side. In these tracks, there is a notable development from Jarre in his use of sequencing, with the bassline in part 3 being particularly interesting. Part 4 also introduces one of the most memorable musical material from the album and was released as the second single from this album.

The first single to be released was part 5 which, while it presents a highly exciting track, remains relegated by some as puerile for its composition style. The album concludes with a melancholy track, part 8, which exhibits typical writing for street organs which Jarre incorporates which playing live.

Overall, this album presents a significant development for Jarre and remains some of his finest work.

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Brian Eno: Music For Airports

The landmark 1978 Eno album 'Music For Airports' is the first acknowledged ambient work, after Eno himself coined the term in the album's liner notes. Interestingly given this albums landmark status as an ambient work, this is actually Eno's 6th studio album after his 1974 debut.

The album is considered fairly experimental for its day, consisting of four tracks labelled '1/1,' '1/2,' '2/1' and '2/2' using only tape loops, a synthesiser and a piano to create the 48 minute total runtime. Brian Eno himself noted that this album was conceived to provide a musical backdrop which could be as interesting to the listener when both listening intently and when the music plays purely in the background.

'1/1' begins the album with a piano and synthesiser based piece. The composer noted that this piece was constructed from two tape loops of separate piano melodies which interact well together utilising the effect of phasing which is used throughout. Here, phrasing refers to the interaction between two tape loops of unequal length that will when played simultaneously go in and out of phase with one another.

'1/2' is constructed in a similar manner as the first track but uses phasing between tapes of sustained vocal notes. The phasing effect in this effect creates at points, lush harmonies, and at others, dissonances. This is possibly the most cited track of the album and also the most familiar to a contemporary ambient composer given today's primary use of electronic sound sources.

The vocal loops remain present in '2/2,' which adds a piano to the instrumentation, before the work's finale, '2/2.' This final track is perhaps the most experimental due to its use of harmony and reedy synthesiser instrumentation. Overall however, the variety and progression between tracks certainly enhance this album.

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