|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Nov 4, 2020 - 5:42 AM
|
|
|
By: |
Totoro
(Member)
|
Jean Michel Jarre is more a technician than a real musician,he can't stand one seconde before his father Maurice As a composer, yes. As a keyboard expert, no. Maurice Jarre was not a keyboardist. He was a percussionist. But he knew very well electronic instruments since he knew Maurice Martenot and composed for his instrument in the 50s. His most interesting electronic score for me is The Year of Living Dangerously, influenced by the organ music of Olivier Messiaen, who also used Balinese music in his works. Witness is great too, especially his reference to Bach and Honegger. Maurice Jarre was also one of the very rare composers who used the Electronic Valve Instrument in his scores. Nice to know. Nevertheless, I still found his keybord based score awuful with very few exceptions, sorry. His orchestral scores are wonderful, even the mediocre ones. That's where his talent resides. But it is just my opinion. Cheers!
|
|
|
|
|
Indeed, these are just our subjective opinions, and mine lies somewhere in the middle, regarding Maurice Jarre's use of elctronics. I both love and hate some of his electronic and orchestra/synth hybrid scores. Don't forget, some are 'electronic ensemble'* scores, wherein Jarre and 3-7 other performers would develop and create the music. WITNESS is my favourite and works, both supporting the film and as a standalone listen, perfectly for me. It gives the film an almost 'fevered dream-like' quality. Whereas something like DREAMSCAPE is unlistenable to me. It hurts my ears. I really enjoy ENEMY MINE and although I favour the more symphonic moments, the synth stuff is always interesting to me also. I never really cared for JACOB'S LADDER, but playing that linked Love Theme (of sorts) above made me think again. It sounded very good to me this time, and maybe the score in the new 'user friendly' presentation from Quartet will benefit as a standalone listen, when compared to the lengthy suites format originally released. So for me, there is no Black or White, only Jarre's more interesting Grey. *James Horner also did a lot of these type efforts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Nov 4, 2020 - 6:07 AM
|
|
|
By: |
Totoro
(Member)
|
Indeed, these are just our subjective opinions, and mine lies somewhere in the middle, regarding Maurice Jarre's use of elctronics. I both love and hate some of his electronic and orchestra/synth hybrid scores. Don't forget, some are 'electronic ensemble'* scores, wherein Jarre and 3-7 other performers would develop and create the music. WITNESS is my favourite and works, both supporting the film and as a standalone listen, perfectly for me. It gives the film an almost 'fevered dream-like' quality. Whereas something like DREAMSCAPE is unlistenable to me. It hurts my ears. I really enjoy ENEMY MINE and although I favour the more symphonic moments, the synth stuff is always interesting to me also. I never really cared for JACOB'S LADDER, but playing that linked Love Theme (of sorts) above made me think again. It sounded very good to me this time, and maybe the score in the new 'user friendly' presentation from Quartet will benefit as a standalone listen, when compared to the lengthy suites format originally released. So for me, there is no Black or White, only Jarre's more interesting Grey. *James Horner also did a lot of these type efforts. Indeed, friend. The same here. I think Witness has some very nice tunes, but the timbres they choose sounds really tacky and dated even at its time to my ears. I like the saxophone theme in Dreamscape, but the suspense and action cues are headeach indulcing - somenthing I can say about almost all of his synth scores I admit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jean Michel Jarre is more a technician than a real musician,he can't stand one seconde before his father Maurice What nonsense. He's a proper pioneer of contemporary electronic music, like Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield etc. In my opinion, he's the greatest electronic composer of all time! I wish he and his father were on better terms when Maurice experimented with synths, because he might have picked up a few useful tips from his son. With the exception of JACOB'S LADDER and arguably THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, Jarre sr.'s synth excursions were mostly embarassing (as with Goldsmith from the 80s onwards). His strength was as a symphonic/acoustic composer. I persiste about Maurice Jarre is infinitly more talented than his son,most of elecronic of Jean Michel are very very dated now,Maurice electronic still a pleasure to listen,not pleased with what i say Thor? Don't care about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Nov 4, 2020 - 6:25 AM
|
|
|
By: |
adilson
(Member)
|
Sounded like Jarre was really inspired and knew what he was doing whith the keyboards for the first time! Dead Poets Society strongly objects! So does ENEMY MINE! ‘85-‘90 is an embarrassment of electronic Jarre riches. Where does this bad rap come from given such high quality of work? Is it the fact he was one of the most decorated orchestral film composers for so long before making such a huge change? Or simply that he was using a common film scoring style which, unfortunately, his son was more famous for using? Mosquito Coast, Fatal Attraction, Ghost, Dead Poets Society, After Dark My Sweet, Jacob’s Ladder, etc... how many classic electronic scores does a feller have to drop in such a short space of time? Only Jacob's Ladder has some nice timbres of electronic. The other scores you mentioned are just awful. Jean Michel Jarre is a god when compared with his father on the keyboards. I think you should have use "in my opinion" because your statement not represent the truth of the world, I believe that like me many other people thinks different of you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Nov 4, 2020 - 6:28 AM
|
|
|
By: |
Thor
(Member)
|
I persiste about Maurice Jarre is infinitly more talented than his son,most of elecronic of Jean Michel are very very dated now,Maurice electronic still a pleasure to listen,not pleased with what i say Thor? Don't care about it. You're free to your opinion, but there's no reason to downplay his role in history just because you don't like it (with statements such as 'he's a technician, not a musician' earlier). I mean, I hate the music of Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, but I'm well aware of their significance and influence in contemporary country music. As for the relative talents of Maurice and Jean Michel, we'll have to agree to disagree. Maurice was (obviously) a better orchestral composer than his son, just as his son is (obviously) a better electronic composer than his dad. Apples and oranges. Personally, Jean Michel's music gives me endlessly more pleasure than Maurice's.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I persiste about Maurice Jarre is infinitly more talented than his son,most of elecronic of Jean Michel are very very dated now,Maurice electronic still a pleasure to listen,not pleased with what i say Thor? Don't care about it. You're free to your opinion, but there's no reason to downplay his role in history just because you don't like it (with statements such as 'he's a technician, not a musician' earlier). I mean, I hate the music of Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, but I'm well aware of their significance and influence in contemporary country music. As for the relative talents of Maurice and Jean Michel, we'll have to agree to disagree. Maurice was (obviously) a better orchestral composer than his son, just as his son is (obviously) a better electronic composer than his dad. Apples and oranges. Personally, Jean Michel's music gives me endlessly more pleasure than Maurice's. You have perfectly the right to have very bad taste
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My copy arrived yesterday. I think the c&c version on the second disc plays surprisingly well. Usually with scores like this, dominated by really short cues, suites and album presentations play better as a listening experience, but I really enjoyed this. Some of the noisier, darker sections are more isolated and the score works better as an episodic experience. And the funny thing is, I'm feeling surprisingly nostalgic regards that old synth 'sound' of that electronic ensemble Jarre used in his scores. It felt old-fashioned and quaint at the time, but even more so now, which oddly in my mind works in its favour.
|
|
|
|
|
Finally got around to comparing this fantastic score to the music used in the film and made some interesting discoveries. Many cues are actually unused, tracked or shortened with some alternate unreleased versions being heard in the film. The track "Burning Pictures" is almost certainly mistitled and actually consist of two separate cues. The first one may have been recorded for the burning pictures scene, but it seems too horrific and too long for that scene. The second one fits the subsequent chiro flashback scene perfectly, only that the film features an alternate version. The opening stinger is the same though. Here's a complete rundown of the music in the film compared to what's on disc 2 of the new Quartet Records release: 1. Copter's In 2. Convulsions / Stomach Ache 3. Train Trauma (shortened in film, the first 29 seconds also seem to be a separate cue) 4. Baby Pictures 5. Burning Pictures (unused, instead: Surveillance) (unused 0:00-0:27 of the CD version seems much too harsh and too long for that scene, I suspect that "Surveillance" is the actual "Burning Pictures") 6. Chiro Flashback (unreleased film version, using Jarre's opening stinger, rest comes from David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir: "Hearing Solar Winds, Part 3: Arc Descents") (unused alternate: 0:27 – end of "Burning Pictures") 7. Car Attack (unreleased film version with long piercing synth sound, perhaps not by Jarre, before a shortened version of the possibly mistitled "Who Are You?") 8. No File (unused, instead we hear an edited version of "Leaving Haiti" from Brad Fiedel's "The Serpent and the Rainbow" - that's track 11 on the Varèse release, just mistitled) 9. Doctor's Dead 10. Not Human 11. Ice Cold (film version fades in at around 0:47) 12. Fever's Gone 13. Am I Dead? (unused, instead: Floor Play) 14. Who Are You? (unreleased film version) 15. I See 'em Too 16. Car Attack (unused, instead we hear an excerpt from "Convulsions") 17. Funeral 18. Spilled Beer 19. Surveillance (unused, instead used earlier as "Burning Pictures") 20. All Alone (excerpt from "Fever's Gone") 21. We've Been Watching You (unused, instead we hear "Antidote", but only the drone without the additional instruments) 22. What X-Ray? 23. You Okay? (unused, instead: Floor Play) 24. Walk Again 25. Memorabilia 26. The Mirror 27. Aggressive Tendencies Pt. 1 (unused, instead beginning of "Fever's Gone") 28. Aggressive Tendencies Pt. 2 (unused, instead excerpt from "Fever's Gone" with additional unreleased drum overlay) 29. Antidote (deleted scene) 30. Pleasant Dreams (deleted scene) 31. Demons (deleted scene) 32. Demons Are Gone (deleted scene) 33. Floor Play (either deleted scene or meant for Jacob's return home, in the film "Happy Memories" is used instead) 34. Transformation (deleted scene) 35. Happy Memories (only first half in film) 36. Gabe Leads the Way 37. Sonny Boy (End Credits) (alternate unreleased piano solo mix, followed by "Fever's Gone") It's a pity that the deleted scenes on the DVD don't feature Jarre's score which would have fit perfectly. There's even another Brad Fiedel track from "The Serpent and the Rainbow" during the "Demons" scene. For those who are interested in how the original album was compiled, here's what it consists of (many tracks being mixed differently and some slightly edited): 1. Jacob's Ladder: Copter's In / Convulsions / Stomach Ache / Not Human / Doctor's Dead 2. High Fever: Ice Cold / Fever's Gone / Walk Again / Am I Dead? / Funeral 3. Descent to Inferno: What X-Ray? / Baby Pictures / Transformation / The Mirror / Memorabilia / Demons 4. Sarah: Aggressive Tendencies / Floor Play / Pleasant Dreams / Happy Memories / Train Trauma 5. The Ladder: I See 'em Too / You Okay? / Demons Are Gone / Antidote / Car Attack / Gabe Leads the Way
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SilentWitness, that's a very informative post, thank you for that, most appreciated. My pleasure :-) Just learned that the film version of what I call "Chiro Flashback" consists mostly of David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir: "Hearing Solar Winds, Part 3: Arc Descents". Ammended my post accordingly. On average, percentage wise, how much of this score is pleasant, dreamy stuff with the John Barry like tragic theme, and harsh stingers and electronic scare music/sound design? It's mostly moody sound design. The dreamy stuff featuring Jarre's tragic theme is all present on the original album. The pleasant, melancholy stuff amounts to perhaps 11-16 minutes on disc 2, maybe 20 minutes, depending on your definition of pleasant and dreamy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|