Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[Kanta]

Zoolook (40th Anniversary - new mastering)
Jean-Michel Jarre
2024
8 songs, 40 min 59 sec

Source:

[Finaero]

Man, that audio choking at the first "wooo" in Moon Machine

The weird "did someone just blow air at a mic?" sound at 10:26 of Ethnicolor, though... as much as "lawlz loudness war xD" is a valid thing, I absolutely can't recommend this release to anyone who wouldn't mind that kind of stuff due to that kind of sloppiness in, what I still consider, JMJ's best track. : \

(Observations based on the Spotify version)

[Domestos]

Deary me. It's worse than we were expecting!

Just pure contempt for you audience, this.

[Jote]

What an absolutely DISGRACEFUL way to treat a 40th anniversary release.

Ethnicolor glitch 09-59.m4a

Ethnicolor glitch 10-25.m4a

"personally remastered by JMJ" - if you're going to lie about this at least make sure it doesn't sound like a random person did it and couldn't be bothered to listen to it carefully

[shadow]

Jarre really just went: "Here's a FOURTY YEAR OLD 'new' track tagged onto an album to which it has no connection whatsoever other than it being the same sampler.

Code: Select all

DR         Peak           RMS       Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR7       -0.29 dBFS   -10.56 dBFS     11:41 01-Ethnicolor  (new mastering)
DR8       -0.29 dBFS   -11.08 dBFS      7:31 02-Diva  (new mastering)
DR7       -0.29 dBFS    -8.31 dBFS      3:53 03-Zoolook  (new mastering)
DR9       -0.29 dBFS   -12.33 dBFS      3:19 04-Wooloomooloo  (new mastering)
DR7       -0.29 dBFS    -8.63 dBFS      4:21 05-Zoolookologie  (new mastering)
DR7       -0.29 dBFS    -8.45 dBFS      3:22 06-Blah Blah Cafe  (new mastering)
DR8       -0.29 dBFS   -11.15 dBFS      3:54 07-Ethnicolor II  (new mastering)
DR8       -0.29 dBFS    -8.80 dBFS      2:59 08-Moon Machine  (Bonus Track new mastering)

VS 30th Anniversary:

Code: Select all

DR         Peak           RMS       Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR7       -1.20 dBFS   -11.75 dBFS     11:47 01-Ethnicolor  (Remastered)
DR8       -1.20 dBFS   -12.18 dBFS      7:22 02-Diva  (Remastered)
DR7       -1.20 dBFS    -8.69 dBFS      3:53 03-Zoolook  (Remastered)
DR8       -1.20 dBFS   -12.15 dBFS      3:18 04-Wooloomooloo  (Remastered)
DR7       -1.20 dBFS    -9.12 dBFS      4:21 05-Zoolookologie
DR7       -1.20 dBFS    -9.19 dBFS      3:21 06-Blah Blah Cafe
DR9       -1.20 dBFS   -13.40 dBFS      3:52 07-Ethnicolor II  (Remastered)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VS Original '84 CD release:

Code: Select all

DR         Peak           RMS       Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR12      -0.79 dBFS   -17.21 dBFS     11:42 01-Ethnicolor
DR14      -0.25 dBFS   -18.51 dBFS      7:32 02-Diva
DR14      -0.12 dBFS   -16.26 dBFS      3:52 03-Zoolook
DR12      -2.61 dBFS   -18.35 dBFS      3:19 04-Wooloomooloo
DR14      -0.68 dBFS   -17.05 dBFS      4:21 05-Zoolookologie
DR12      -2.04 dBFS   -15.43 dBFS      3:21 06-Blah-Blah Cafe
DR13      -2.37 dBFS   -19.58 dBFS      3:54 07-Ethnicolor II
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First quick observations and going by just Ethnicolor: I will give the new remaster the props where it deserves, it has removed the ridiculous amount of noise reduction from the previous remaster which was audible within the three seconds where the first wailing sound suddenly gained volume because the filter figured out that that sound was not supposed to be filtered out. If you don't remember, listen back to that version, within three seconds, the volume audibly suddenly jumps up a notch. It was a hilariously awful remaster all in all, but that was a perfect sign of what was to come back then.
Now onto the new one: Well, loudness is still absolutely an issue, but that's the state of Jarre these days unfortunately. But... Uhmmm... Can anyone tell me why the bloody hell I heard my first AUDIBLE ERROR WITHING THIRTY SECONDS and TWO MORE WITHIN FIVE MORE SECONDS?! And they keep on coming throughout the entire bloody first part! Those sounds have [never been there[/i] so where do they suddenly come from? And that's ignoring the insane whatever the hell happens in the second part with the audio... I just... I can't with this guy!

[Robi83]

Perhaps he's getting slightly deaf...?

[Jote]

Jarre really just went: "Here's a FOURTY YEAR OLD 'new' track tagged onto an album to which it has no connection whatsoever other than it being the same sampler.

I'm pretty sure Moon Machine is a rejected Zoolook track.

By the way, there are more glitches in Ethnicolor, although not as audible. 09:19, 09:29.

Here are the glitches in the first part that you mentioned (high frequency clicks)

Ethnicolor glitches 00-29.m4a

[Jote]

Perhaps he's getting slightly deaf...?

I don't think he even touched those tracks. The "personally remastered by JMJ" is likely just a marketing gimmick.

[Finaero]

Curious to hear what the vinyl version will be like, considering how they've at least been better regarding loudness in general, but these random noises are very easy to retain in that format as well.

The only positive for me about this is that I feel slightly better about my own wishy-washy mixing (shameless plug) - and of course I don't even have proper studio headphones

[Dr_Jones]

This is the 2nd part of Ethnicolor I:

ethnicolor1.png

At least the cross-mixing between the two Ethnicolor I parts is fixed now.

And looks like the dr14 analysis is slightly better in DR than the 2015 master with some tracks.

[Dr_Jones]

What an absolutely DISGRACEFUL way to treat a 40th anniversary release.

Ethnicolor glitch 09-59.m4a

Ethnicolor glitch 10-25.m4a

"personally remastered by JMJ" - if you're going to lie about this at least make sure it doesn't sound like a random person did it and couldn't be bothered to listen to it carefully

Oh, I was just going to ask if there was something wrong with my version (Amazon), but more people have it... amazing.

[Jote]

What an absolutely DISGRACEFUL way to treat a 40th anniversary release.

Ethnicolor glitch 09-59.m4a

Ethnicolor glitch 10-25.m4a

"personally remastered by JMJ" - if you're going to lie about this at least make sure it doesn't sound like a random person did it and couldn't be bothered to listen to it carefully

Oh, I was just going to ask if there was something wrong with my version (Amazon), but more people have it... amazing.

Nope. It sounds like the source material they used is faulty. Doesn't sound like a mastering process glitch or encoder glitch.

This is the 2nd part of Ethnicolor I:

It's the 4th part actually

[Dr_Jones]

Zoolookologie 1984 vs. 2024

Obviously the volume has been upped a lot (loudness war), but the new version has a lot more high. But then there's the distortion with the bassdrum...

zoolookologie84.mp3

zoolookologie24.mp3

[Dr_Jones]

Quants pointed me to this error on Moon Machine:

The 1986 vinyl rip:

mm1984.mp3

The 2024 remaster:

mm2024.mp3

And as a bonus: the 1991 Images version, 1 second into the track (most of the RV4 "noise" has faded):

mm1991.mp3

On the 1986 vinyl version, the melody starts at 10:00, the Images version at 9:00 and on this 2024 master at 8:00. That's because they cut 1 second of the RV4 "breath" from the Images version.

[Kanta]