I just pulled out my vinyl copy of this album (which I admittedly never really played because I didn't like the sound quality and the lack of treble) and it was here that I learned about the original mix of part 5. Didn't know it even existed until today and it confused the hell out of me. Gotta say I prefer the remixed version but now that you've pointed out the doubling up effect during the transition I'm never going to be able to unhear it.
Quants0 wrote: Fri Sep 05, 2025 6:03 pm
but now that you've pointed out the doubling up effect during the transition I'm never going to be able to unhear it.
Quants0 wrote: Fri Sep 05, 2025 6:03 pm
I just pulled out my vinyl copy of this album (which I admittedly never really played because I didn't like the sound quality and the lack of treble) and it was here that I learned about the original mix of part 5. Didn't know it even existed until today and it confused the hell out of me. Gotta say I prefer the remixed version but now that you've pointed out the doubling up effect during the transition I'm never going to be able to unhear it.
Funny how I never paid much attention to it for 25-30 years or so. I was so used to it that perhaps I even considered it a "feature" and not a "bug". Until one day out of a sudden I figured out the probable reason why it was there - I then checked the original release to confirm that it *wasn't* on it and that was the ultimate confirmation.
Yeah, even though I can't really remember paying too much attention to that part before, I probably thought "Ooh, some nice chorus/flanger effects there" or something
I noticed at ISRC info of 2014 CD reissue tracks 1, 2 , 5, 6, 8 marked 1978 year, but the rest: 3, 4, 7 marked 2011. Does it mean those are another versions than original?
Also, I did end up geting a Blue Face CD as well while at it - does anyone else who owns the CD have a copy where the edges of the disc seem "scratchy" and/or not smoothly cut?
Perhaps someone thought this was a good idea with my disc. I mean, it hasn't affected the sound, but still
The blue face (5blue.mp3) sounds quite similar to the 1978 second-edition French LP (5vinyl.mp3), though my vinyl-to-digital recording sounds a bit too bass'y compared to the CD one, which is kinda interesting. The blue face version definitely has the "doubled sound" part at the end of Part 5 as well, now that it's easier to spot
And yeah, "shaving CDs"... the music data on a CD is still just ones and zeros and you can't "uncover" more sound quality binary data by cutting the edges
But yeah, you can see a bit of the scratchiness/weird cut on the lower left part of the disc (also, there's some damage a bit above it). Considering the state of the booklet, I guess it was just stored in a wet bucket or whatever (the front cover also has a piece missing) - but at least the disc plays good
opop wrote: Tue Dec 30, 2025 6:26 pm
I came across this on YouTube; it seems the thunderstorm sounds on Equinoxe were sourced from a 1964 sound‑effects record. I didn’t know that.
On Equinoxe Day, here’s my take on the thunderstorm sound effects:
Of course, I always knew these sounds would be taken from a sound library of some sort, but below is the romantic version that I always had in mind. It’s mid-1978, and the recording of the album is almost done. JMJ is working with the limitations of vinyl and cassette and needing to split the eight parts in two, with parts 1- 4 on side one and then parts 5 – 8 on side two.
He’s had the idea for a while of a thunderclap to start the up tempo Equinoxe Pt 5 and wanting a true, organic feel to the album, wants real thunder. He’s been keeping an eye on the weather forecast. Those long, hot summer days are going to break soon, and it’ll be torrential.
In his new Croissy Studio, part of the large family home he’s recently moved into with Charlotte, Emily, Barnaby and David, is a small transistor radio. He tunes in and listens to the weather forecast; storms are predicted for later in the week.
The day arrives, gone are the bright blue skies and cloud hangs low over Paris. He grabs the portable Grundig tape recorder, the one his grandfather gave him, still in working order. And the microphone, the one he used to dangle from the balcony in Lyon to record the sounds of the street when staying with his grandparents. This time, there will be no playing the tape backwards and thinking aliens are talking to him.
He puts both in his backpack, together with some headphones, grabs his bicycle and sets off through the city streets, heading for Montmartre. He needs to cross the Seine twice to get into the centre of the city. He sees the tall buildings of La Défense (that just 12 years later he will transform), rides past the Moulin-Rouge, and up through the cobbled streets (later used in the route of the 2024 Olympic Games cycling road race, where he will be a star turn in the closing ceremony) and arrives outside the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur, the air charged with that static energy you can feel just before a storm breaks.
He plugs in the microphone and sets the tape rolling. He holds the mic above his head, getting strange looks from passers-by, who are already racing for the safety of nearby cafés and bars to escape the impending downpour.
And then it happens: a flash! Lighting, and then thunder, the sound rolls across the skies, and is caught forever on tape. The rain starts to fall, big heavy drops and he dashes across to the nearest café. Plugging in his headphones, he plays the tape back to listen to what he’s recorded.
There it is: The start of Equinoxe Pt 5.
A smartly dressed waiter taps him on the shoulder, trying to get his attention. “Monsieur Jarre. Your order?”
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01.09.93 Manchester / 07.06.97 Manchester / 30.03.08 London / 22.05.09 London / 10.10.10 London / 01.07.11 Monaco / 04.05.16 London / 23.07.16 Macclesfield / 06.10.16 Brighton / 07.10.16 London / 12.05.24 Bratislava / 14.07.24 La Rochelle / 01.07.25 Brussels / 21.10.26 Amsterdam.
