Jean-Michel Jarre - Images: The Best of Jean Michel Jarre

Images CD

This music works well for specific workouts. That was the intent for the puchase. May 7, 2007

jean michel jarre - best of best

The cd is among one of my best purchases of music over the years: made me wonder why I have not bought it earlier. My opinion is - if music makes you feel happier do not spare the resources to get. And that is exactly how my husband and me have been feeling - happy - since repeatedly listening to Jarre's collection. It mentally transfers us to the years of our youth - the fabulous eighties. A great buy totally worth the money if you are into cosmic, electronic, computer music. August 2, 2005

3.5 Stars.... There is a much better compilation

Jean-Michel Jarre was an immediate superstar in Europe with the release of his debut album "Oxygene" in 1977. Since then he has made a lot of albums, some great, some not so.

"Images" (20 tracks; 78 min., released in 1997) is what I would call a "politically correct" overview of his work. It covers all the phases of his work, and that is the drawback for me. Too many tracks of his later not-so-relevant CDs are included. There are only 6 tracks of his earliest, most famous and beloved albums on here. Beware, it does not have any tracks from Jarre's great "come-back" album "Oxygene 7-13", which came out shortly after "Images".

A much better compilation is "The Essential Jean-Michel Jarre" (14 tracks, 50 min., released in 1983 (and out of print), not to be confused with the similar titled 2005 release), which I had as a vinyl when it came out in 83 and which I stumbled upon the other day at the used bin of my local independent CD store. I couldn't believe my luck! It has the best tracks of his then 3 albums to date (Oxygene, Equinoxe, The China Concerts) and it is candy to the ears from beginning to the end. Check it out. If you see it by chance, grab it! I rate this 4.5 stars. July 8, 2005

The Best of Jarre

This compilation spans across 7 studio albums and 1 live recording made during the period of 1976-1991. Obviously, it's next to impossible to pick a dozen of "best of" tracks from that much material, so that everyone would agree upon the choice. However, "Images" does a nearly perfect job of giving a taste of each of Jarre's albums made in the first 15 years of his working, presenting a couple of tracks off each of them. As such, it is a good place to start getting into Jarre's music, and a good compilation to choose which album is worth buying. Jarre's music is normally meant to be listened to for the duration of the whole album. This fact shows these individual pieces' compositional strength, as they stand quite good on their own, being separated from their respective album's concept.

The compilation also includes 3 previously unreleased tracks. Normally I hate such inclusions, because, frankly, they are nothing more than an attractor to force people who already own every studio album to buy the compilation. Also, such tracks are normally sub par to the "best of" material. But with "Images" these new pieces don't fall out of context. Especially "Globe Trotter" is good, with its cautios staccatto synths and a chilling melody.

With its drawbacks, "Images" is a very good compilation. If you're hesitant where to start with Jean-Michel Jarre, you are advised to buy it. April 18, 2005

A Medley of the Skies

Images is the second album I owned, after Jarre Live. I have since purchased every major Jarre album and I still do not regret owning Images. While the version I own has 17 tracks, Jarre remixes several of them and includes transitional sound effects and music "to create a continuous one hour [program]" (as translated from his liner notes). Indeed, listening to Images is more like listening to a medley, with each track blending well into the other tracks, or fading out to create phases. On one hand, Jarre cuts many of his tracks in half or in thirds, while on the other hand he has created a 62 minute electronic smorgasbord of his popular works.

Opinions on the remixes vary. While I haven't sat down and noted every difference, I can say off the top of my head that I prefer the somewhat frightening intro to Oxygene 2 on Images. The particles of music here sound fuller. Jarre adds thunder and rain effects to L'Orchestre sous la pluie, making it a fanciful delight to listen to, with atmosphere to boot!

Calypso 3 has some extraneous music (fifteen seconds or so) removed from the middle and actually tightens the track up quite nicely (with headphones you can hear the splice). Since this is what I became used to, after purchasing En Attendant Cousteau, I realized he did the right thing on Images.

And Rendez-Vous 2 has an awesome chorus singing with power throughout this track, rather than the weak synth vibe that is on the original album. Bravo!

A pleasant surprise awaits you when you open the insert booklet, too. A nice note (in French) handwritten by Mr. Jarre himself, dedicating the music to the listener. I thought it was a nice touch. I can't wait for Aero to be released (the American version) as it has some fantastic sounding remixes on it as well.

One note: I noticed at a store years ago that they re-released Images with a slightly different hue to the cover. Also, they added Wooloomooloo (from Zoolook). A reviewer here mentions Blah Blah Café (also from Zoolook) on the 24-bit remaster version. Expect to receive a disc that slightly varies on tracklisting than is posted here. March 10, 2005

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