Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[Finaero]

Do you have any other rare or unique things in your Jarre collection?

I think the other quite rare item in my collection is the 2008 briefly-official DVD release of the Concerts in China concert video. The Korean edition of the Chronologie LP and the blue extended 12" maxi-single of Equinoxe 4 also sort of count (moreso when it comes to the availability these days, the prices are interestingly in the same numeral range as when I got them) -- in the case of the latter it goes for crazy prices these days if it's in mint condition without the blatant ring-wear on the sleeve.

In my most active record collecting period (2007-2015) I did try to go for other rare ones like the Chronologie 8 CD single and the German white vinyl special edition of Oxygene among others, but always got outbid or had just missed the auction.

And to add onto the talk about eBay prices, there's a photobook that I'm eyeing up at the moment going for €171! I'm not sure if his photobooks are considered rarer than his LPs, but it's still a pretty wild selling price nonetheless:



Then again, I've seen listings of $250+ for books like Concert pour le Pape and Concert d'Images, so maybe the pricetag on this one is justified...

Oh yeah, the concert books have gotten quite rare and expensive these days (even the PLD one, which is somewhat common, seems to have been sold in the 60-80 € range recently on eBay), and I don't think I've seen the Lyon book on eBay in over 10 years

[Dr_Jones]

Do you have any other rare or unique things in your Jarre collection?

The rarest items I have are probably the 1972 Deserted Palace LP, the original La Cage 7", Oxygene Drager LP (white vinyl), the Interior Music CD (got that for free from B&O), Chronologie CD with the Mont Saint Michel cover, Monaco photobook.

[Aqanique]

I think the other quite rare item in my collection is the 2008 briefly-official DVD release of the Concerts in China concert video. The Korean edition of the Chronologie LP and the blue extended 12" maxi-single of Equinoxe 4 also sort of count (moreso when it comes to the availability these days, the prices are interestingly in the same numeral range as when I got them) -- in the case of the latter it goes for crazy prices these days if it's in mint condition without the blatant ring-wear on the sleeve.

Woah, sounds like you have quite the collection! Makes me a little jealous that I'm in my early days of collecting and don't have half of the cool stuff you've got...

First of all, I had no idea that Concerts in China even had a DVD release to begin with, so thanks for bringing that to my attention! I'm a little sad that it was forcibly removed from distribution though. I know that a DVD release of Rendez-Vous Houston had a similar issue, I read about it on the Jarrefan Brazil blog waaay back in August last year, but I can't remember a lot of the details around it, just that it was cancelled last minute to the disappointment of fans.

Secondly, I didn't even know that the extended 12" maxi-single of Equinoxe 4 was considered rare. I've never gotten around to checking out Jarre's singles and their rarities, since when I finally started collecting I was originally intending to only get the books and concert programmes.

On the topic of books, I actually kicked off my collection properly with the 1987 English translation of his biography, it's an amazing read with stunning images which I'd never actually seen before, it gives a ton of insight and information about his concerts from Place de la Concorde to Rendez-Vous Lyon and I highly recommend you get yourself a copy if you haven't already! I got mine for around €28 back in December, so you can get them for pretty cheap.

As for the Lyon book and the more obscure items, I tend to look them up on Google and go into the 'images' tab to find listings on different sites, usually they're on places like Leboncoin for pretty cheap, but the only way you can get them shipped internationally is if you use a third-party site that gives you an address in France to get your package sent to before they send the package to you.

If you're using that method though, you have to be quick to purchase — buyers on there swoop down like eagles compared to people on eBay!

[Aqanique]

The rarest items I have are probably the 1972 Deserted Palace LP, the original La Cage 7", Oxygene Drager LP (white vinyl), the Interior Music CD (got that for free from B&O), Chronologie CD with the Mont Saint Michel cover, Monaco photobook.

A Deserted Palace LP is definitely something that I want to add to my collection in the future, the cover looks so cool in my opinion.

You seem to know a lot about Jarre's LPs and stuff, so I was wondering if you could tell me anything about this version of DP that got released maybe a month or two after the main one? He put something about it up on his story when it was available for pre-order, but apart from the cover I have no idea what the differences are between the two:

https://transversales.bandcamp.com/albu ... ry-edition

Also, you have the Monaco photobook?! I thought only one copy was ever made of it for one of Jarre's close friends, are you referring to the one below or a different public release?



I guess with it's rarity, if there really is only one copy, it could be considered the "Music for Supermarkets" of photobooks!

[Dr_Jones]

A Deserted Palace LP is definitely something that I want to add to my collection in the future, the cover looks so cool in my opinion.

It does, doesn't it? The person who made that cover also made the cover of Christophe's Les Paradis Perdus.

Jean-Michel was involved in the making of that album too, mainly for writing lyrics. Dominique Perrier and Roger Rizzitelli were involved too, playing in Christophe's band at that time.

You seem to know a lot about Jarre's LPs and stuff, so I was wondering if you could tell me anything about this version of DP that got released maybe a month or two after the main one? He put something about it up on his story when it was available for pre-order, but apart from the cover I have no idea what the differences are between the two:

https://transversales.bandcamp.com/albu ... ry-edition

The recent release (which I just got today) is a replica of the first release of Deserted Palace on the Sam Fox label in the USA, back in 1972. The purple sleeve release was released later in France. There's not really a difference between those two records.

For the recent re-releases, things are a bit more complicated. I haven't checked if the errors which were on the 2025 re-release (the "purple sleeve") are still on the "golden sleeve" release (see the Deserted Palace re-release topic about the errors on that vinyl release: viewtopic.php?p=215774#p215774

This recent release (the "golden sleeve") has a replica of the cue sheet that was added to the album, a piece of paper which specifies the genres of music for each track. I've made a photo of it here:
viewtopic.php?p=218381#p218381

The original sheet was printed on thermal paper (used in those old fax machines for example). This is plain paper.

Also, you have the Monaco photobook?! I thought only one copy was ever made of it for one of Jarre's close friends, are you referring to the one below or a different public release?



I guess with it's rarity, if there really is only one copy, it could be considered the "Music for Supermarkets" of photobooks!

Yes, that's the one. There were a handful of copies printed. I must say: it's not really that good, I guess they decided not to release it because it's just not up to the standards of the previous photobooks. Concert for Tolerance is still my favourite, with its sketches and all.

[Aqanique]

It does, doesn't it? The person who made that cover also made the cover of Christophe's Les Paradis Perdus.

It's a very beautifully styled cover, I personally haven't really seen many with that kind of "sketched painting" style with more recent album releases from various artists, but maybe that's a good thing since there's a certain... unique elegance to them that makes the style stand out. In a way, the cover reminds me of Gérard Lenorman's "Nostalgies", coincidentally another musician Jarre worked with in the early days of his career as a lyricist!



Lenorman and Jarre's relationship to one another is something which I personally find really interesting, seeing as "La Belle et la Bête" and "La Mort du cygne" were later used by him for the bases of second and third rendez-vous. I've been trying to dig up interviews where they may mention one another or talk about their time working together, but so far I've not found anything apart from the fact that Lenorman follows Jarre on Instagram. The man makes really good songs though, even if I don't understand what the lyrics are saying in French, I can definitely feel the different emotions behind the words, my favourite album of his has to be "Heureux qui communique", but his best work is without a doubt "...d'amour!" from 1981.

This recent release (the "golden sleeve") has a replica of the cue sheet that was added to the album, a piece of paper which specifies the genres of music for each track. I've made a photo of it here:
viewtopic.php?p=218381#p218381

The original sheet was printed on thermal paper (used in those old fax machines for example). This is plain paper.

So was this cue sheet used by television show editors to determine what context the music should be used in within their shows? (I'm taking a stab in the dark with my guess here, just making an assumption since it says "For television..." at the top of the "golden sleeve" version.) Or was it only used to specify the track genres themselves? Nevertheless, it's a nice edition to have with the reissue that's for sure!

Yes, that's the one. There were a handful of copies printed. I must say: it's not really that good, I guess they decided not to release it because it's just not up to the standards of the previous photobooks.

If you don't mind me asking, how'd you get your hands on a copy? Were they available on Jarre's website for a limited time, or did you just purchase it online? I'd love to see or know what the inside has to offer, is it just photos of the concert with a few interviews scattered throughout like the La Défense book, or is it purely just photos from the concert?

Also, the Tolerance photobook is a great pick. It was floating around on eBay for a bit, but it ended up being bought by someone else before I had the chance to get it myself. My personal favourite has to be the Europe in Concert photobook, the photos inside look amazing from the previews I've seen, and I'm hoping to get it in April to add to my collection.

[Chrono93]

I don't think I've seen anyone said anything about this so I'll ask here since it seems like the place, I know Oxygene 10 has a different intro (not sure what else to call it) on the original vinyl but did Oxygene 9 have a different ending or did it simply fade out?
Also my best bargain find for me was getting the Waiting For Cousteau vinyl for 50p in a second hand shop (the staff thought it was a 12 inch single and not an album) and the Rendez-Vous 4 12 inch single again for 50p in a different second hand shop. The 90s were great for vinyl bargains unlike today.

[Finaero]

I don't think I've seen anyone said anything about this so I'll ask here since it seems like the place, I know Oxygene 10 has a different intro (not sure what else to call it) on the original vinyl but did Oxygene 9 have a different ending or did it simply fade out?

Yeah, Oxygene 9 just fades out.