I deliberately ignored The Symohonic Jean Michel Jarre upon it's release, thinking to myself, "I like synthesisers - why would I want to hear any other version?" How wrong I was.
Quite recently, I was in the kitchen, and heard some familiar notes drifting in from the TV in the lounge. The "Revolutions" suite was being used on a documentary - yet I soon realised that this epic score was NOT Jarre's clanky original, but a fully orchestrated version, that sent a shiver down the spine. That brief excerpt sold it to me without hesitation.
The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra take the lead on thus double album of orchestral interpretations of a wide range of Jarre tracks, from the classic "Oxygene 4" to "Acropolis", a track not even yet released by Jarre himself! And while Jean Michel doesn't appear on the album, the project was given his full support and endorsement, making it at least feel valid and official.
Jarre's love of classical music and his father's cinematic influence clearly come together here, with several songs perhaps sounding as Jarre one day hoped they would, reaching their epic potential. Although the futuristic and bombastic synthesiser sounds gave been replaced by warmer, more emotive strings and woodwind, the impact if the music is equal to the originals, if not greater in places. Only "Oxygene 4" doesn't really work, and "Rendez-vous 2" doesn't quite have the expected impact, sadly. However the opening "Chronologie" suite sounds fantastic, and pieces such as "Souvenir de Chine" and the "Magnetic Fields" tracks are taken into a new dimension, but it really is the "Industrial Revolutions" tracks that stand out for me - they're absolutely magnificent.
Whilst it obviously misses the electronic "Jarreness" of the originals, The Symohonic Jean Michel Jarre is a wonderful listen, sounding like a long lost classical masterpiece or the best movie soundtrack you've never heard.