Oxygène

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A classic

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6/10

It was fine.

#4 was the best one and reminded me of Pink Floyd when they were in between Syd Barret and Dark Side of the Moon.

What stood out to me was how early this album was made compared to its electronic counterparts on this list. It wasn't particularly exciting, but it wasn't bad by any means and interesting in how it helped lay the groundwork for electronic moving forward.

I actually fuck with this more than I thought. Feels very mood dependent and not something I could just throw on any time but I had fun with this. Also thought of how crazy this must have sounded in 1976 when it came out. Cool shit.

Dreamy

Another one that was a little hard to judge for me. It was atmospheric and I enjoyed having it on in the background while I was working, but I don't remember a single moment from the album

Spacy!

Feels like a cheesy 80's synth space pirate movie soundtrack in a good way

At first it was like if the 2001 movie soundtrack and the Clockwork Orange movie soundtrack merged to become one and was produced by Brian Eno. But then they added in the Halloween soundtrack. Then the Knight Rider theme. And some Steve Miller's Time Keeps on Ticking for good measure.

3 - weird but good

Excelentes sonidos sintetizados.

Seltsam. So seltsam. Aber irgendwie auch gut. Als Soundtrack für einen Film wäre es super. Ich bin mal großzügig.

I think it was really good, probably a 3.5. It was trending towards a 4-star, but it got a little elevator-ish at the end. I liked it, and based on the year it was made, it was very influential and I think it holds up well. It's just that I've heard too much soundtrack music that sounds just like this to really justify a 4 star review.

...

This is how I learn that the song from Limmy's Adventure Call sketches isn't an original... Good. Enjoyed it.

less 'music' more playing with sound

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. 1001 album worthy: yes - 79/143

Beep boop

Jag vet inte riktigt varför jag gillade detta som ung. Det är 5/5 som electronicapionjär. Men upplevelsen att lyssna på idag är mer medelmåttig

Kind of fun. This guy sounds like he was either listening to Kansas or the same stuff Kerry Livgren was in the late 70s. Part V sounds like it was pulled out of Song for America.

Definitely different from my usual listening, but I did enjoy it even if I don't love the style all that much. This is another album that I'd probably never have picked on my own, so I am glad it came up on here. I felt like it would be good to have on in very specific settings, such as while doing meditation or with fog machines and lasers in an art space. I can't say it is something I'd just put on and listen to, but strangely enough I really dug it. I liked the way it flowed and worked as a whole. The negatives are that it does seem a bit niche and replay-ability isn't high for me. I'm not sure I'd call it great, but it was definitely good. Overall: 3.4/5

I'm sure this was groundbreaking at the time, but it's not exciting any more...

Sygt. Kender part 4...Måske er det Tetris? 🤷 Det var en dronen omgang.

Almost like a jazz/lounge album masquerading as ‘electronic’. Not as proggy as tubular bells. I didn’t hate it but didn’t love it either.

This record was very atmospherically fitting while riding the Sydney Harbour ferry during a chilly, rainy evening; particularly the final track with the high-pitched bird-like sounds.

Busier and more attention grabbbing than other ambient albums and less hypnotically driving and psych than Krautrock, this is is a bright and poppy super melodic take on spacey synth electronica.

It's alright ambiant music, it reminds me of a soundtrack in some ways and it totally could be for a space-y movie of some kind. Most tracks faded a bit into the background (as intended I guess) but a few of them had bits that kept my interest Standouts Oxygène (Part II) Oxygène (Part V) 3/5

This is our third electronic album in a row. The last two were 90s electronic duds. This one was still pretty slow but it was more spacey and I appreciate how it was made. It feels more layered than the 90s ones. The synths in this one feel nicer on my brain too. Still not anything mindblowing for me but I definitely like this one better.

Wouldn't exactly describe this as my cup of tea, but I did find it interesting and unique. Very spacey and drawn out. I like how its a slow burns and builds and then crashes. Kind of weird nerdy sounds. This feels more organic than some of the other early electronic albums.

Honestly, this isn't as much fun as I remember it. Part 4 is the memorable one, with Part 2 also being pretty good. There are listenable bits of the others but either repetition, or plain dullness get in the way. Yes, it was groundbreaking on release and I accept it has earned its place here more than some but it'll be a while before I seek it out again.

Intersting album that was quite nice instrumental background reading 7/10

I have no doubt that this album was way ahead of its time. It sounds like something that came from 1986, not 1976. For that alone, Oxygene deserves its props. Beyond just being an innovative synth album, there are moments throughout the project that still sound massive and impactful by today’s standards - I think that can be attributed to a tasteful balance of quiet passages or near-silent moments. I also have no doubt that there are moments on this record that have locked its sonic aesthetics in a time capsule. “Part 2” was a song I liked a lot, cool synth arp at the beginning. Then some laser sfx throughout that reminded me of the ones on “Superheroes” by Daft Punk. I loved the phased out chords on “Oart 4”. Pretty indistinguishable from an Air track, really impressive. The first 3 minutes of “Part 5” soften things up with those delicate, twinkly suspended chords. Feels like the very stereotypical introduction of the love interest in a sci-fi movie song. But it kinda breaks away from that into something more progressive with some white noise hits that sound kinda chiptuney. This album is SO French-electronica, and “Part 6” probably did a whole lot to lay the groundwork for the region and subgenre as a whole. It’s got a beachy, waiting-room drum machine loop. It’s got swells of white noise and synth pads heavily rinsed in a phaser/flanger effect again. I may not have been around for the advent of the cassette player or the giant laser disk, but I know the quintessential synth wave / electronica sounds when I hear them. This was a really good way to end the album. Good music to put on in the background at night while doing something mellow. 3/5.

Okish. Sometimes it sounded like a video game soundtrack.

Soothing and quite pleasant

It was decent. Not sure why it is on the list.

This would be a cool space video game soundtrack. Other than that, I was relatively bored with this album. It's cool sounding, but not much else to me. It gets a bonus point for being released as early as it was. This album could be made by some hobbyist today on a 10 year old laptop, but doing this in 1976 is pretty cool.

3* 78%

It was alright. Pt4 was the best track, which would the most known track. Very of it’s time.

Oxygène 4 was the soundtrack to my childhood…

So experimental for the time, kinda giving video game but much cleaner for the time haha. Got sick of it in the auto play queue afterwards but it was the perfect length !

For the time that it was made, it sounds futuristic in its approach. It would seem to be that using electronic synths adds to the subtle ambient sound nicely. Interesting listen and sounds like the wake of computer related music.

Despite the freaky album art, Oxygène is a pretty light and airy instrumental synth album. It sounds like it's soundtracking something, I don't know exactly what, but something. I can't say it engaged me all the way through but I can definitely say it's a very forward-thinking album by 1976 standards. Key tracks: Oxygène Part IV

i bet this would've blown peoples domes off 50 years ago. to me it sounds like garage band

I enjoyed it for about half the album. Too much at once, but would listen again

Okay. I can see for it's time it was very ground breaking, but it's just not my jam

In my mind I see blue skies with a Concorde being tracked through it a dazzling vision of a near-future France. This is the soundtrack to that vision.

Pink floydish space noises

A good album this, enjoyed it. I imagine was pretty cutting edge for its time and can hear the influence it had on so much modern electronic music. However, just don’t know how often I’d reach to put it back on.

The approach to naming songs is lazy af. I know it’s venerated because it was groundbreaking, but really it’s just standard sci-fi OST stuff these days.

Good for what it is, probably wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it but a good album

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would but tended to zone out of a lot of it. Still good though

I like it, very scifi and sounds a lot more recent than the date it was released

Good noises. A high 3.

Surprisingly enjoyable, and I like the story of how this hi-fi album was recorded in such a low-fi way. It sounded like the background music to 80s-era "Miami Vice."

Yet another album on this list that I might throw on as background music. Impressive though that was made nearly 50 years ago.

soothing and exotic. very relaxing and enjoyable.

Funky but decent

The Good: JMJ! The Bad: Only old farts like me know who JMJ is… The Ugly: The younger folk will think JMJ stands for Jimmy Jam… or maybe only the old farts like me know know that one too… I had a slight grin on my face when this album presented itself this morning, as it reminded me of my first CD purchase. Back in the mid ‘80s, when slowly but surely the Compact Disc was starting to enter the mainstream, I visited a record store with a friend of mine. Though my intention was to purchase a record (vinyl), he pointed out to me that digital was were it was at… I forget which record I was going to buy, but I recall finding it in the CD section and proudly carrying it towards the counter so that I could spend some of my hard saved currency, and that was when my friend stopped me and asked to see the case. Turns out that not all CD’s are the same, and that there was this secret code on the back of the CD which would let you know how digital—read: special—the damn thing would be. You see, on one of the bottom corners, on the back of the CD case, you could find a sequence of three letters which was build-up by either D or A, my carefully selected CD was showing AAD, and that, for you who are still reading this, meant that my CD might as well have been a cassette tape as the first A told us the recording was Analog, the second A told us the mixing was Analog, and the last D meant that the mastering was done Digitally. I believe this was called the SPARS code, you can search it online. So what does this have to do with the album we are reviewing today? Well, while I went back to search for a better CD, and ended up purchasing Ship of Fools by Erasure, my friend was proudly holding up his copy of Oxygene by JMJ with the perfect classification of DDD! It wasn’t till the mid ‘90s that I started listening to Oxygene (part 4 mainly, sorry) and was able to appreciate the sonic experience that JMJ. JMJ was the artist who introduced me to ambient music, who made me appreciate works from people like Philip Glass, Enigma, St. Germain, and anything digital really. With time, one can easily accept the fact that this album does not age well, in the sense that you’d need to have an understanding of early electronic music, to appreciate what you are listening to. However, would I rate this album high? I am going to be straight down the middle on this one and stick to the 3*

70s synth instrumentals. Very spacey and innocuous. Easy enough to listen to. I think I would be hard-pressed to distinguish one song from another after one listen. I read somewhere that this was his first album not written specifically for a movie. But some songs ended up in some movie soundtracks so I not sure he met his goal from a practical standpoint.

Meh. Not really my thing. Was pretty interesting though.

Early electronic albums are hard to rate, because while the technological achievements are impressive, they inherently don’t sound impressive in the rearview. Being inventive means you should sound dated pretty soon after you invent something. The best early electronic albums are either rearrangements of other compositions using modern instrumentation [e.g. Clara Rockmore, Wendy Carlos] or so singularly committed to an aesthetic that they could not be replicated exactly again [e.g. Kraftwerk, Pauline Oliveros, Brian Eno]. Beyond that, modern listeners only really want to revisit these early electronic albums if they’re movie scores [again, Wendy Carlos, Delia Derbyshire] or kitsch novelty that was well-made enough to make the gimmick hold up after all these years [e.g. Plantasia]. Oxygène is strange, because it’s none of the above, but it’s also not unlistenable by today’s standards. It’s just…fine. Arguably, I enjoyed it. It never felt like the synth tones sounded so old that they turned into nails in my eardrums, and the sequencing doesn’t feel particularly stiff. I caught myself vibing out to it a lot more than I thought I would. I don’t 100% get the ✨technological advancements✨ going on behind the scenes here, but I can appreciate the value and impact of using both analog and digital synths to make this. It’s clearly well made, and I’m sure it’s compositionally impressive, which makes it valuable. It just doesn’t have any It Factor™️ whatsoever. Nothing here catches my ear; nothing here sticks out. It lacks any hooks or earworms, and it also lacks anything so mind-blowingly technically impressive that you’re left in shock, like a flashy solo or insane tidal wave of beeps and boops. What little aesthetic it does have is pretty basic, unassuming, and even uninteresting. Learning that this sold incredibly well is throwing me for a fucking loop, too! Especially considering that there’s a lot more interesting early electronic albums by women that people still revisit that aren’t on this list, and I feel like sales numbers might be a reason here. It just leaves me a bit grossed out. Jarre does his thing, sure, but I don’t know if that thing is worth revisiting now after he already pushed the medium forward behind the scenes and was able to get his bag and credit at the time. Not that this album sounds bad, but it does sound less than in comparison.

first listen i understand the historical significance here, but i'd happily take interesting synth music like Tomita over this any day

It's ok but not much to see here!

Oxygène lies somewhere between Tangerine Dream's atmospherics and Karftwerk's danceable electronics.

Pretty crazy that an electronic album like this came out in 1976. It was alright. Could be better if listened to in the proper setting

I remember when this came out and people went gaga over it. The spectacle and the light shows and the electronica. And I was totally underwhelmed. Sure - the snappily titled oxygene no 4 Is recognisable and sounds like popcorn in a saucepan. Number six sounds like a contemporary version of Ravel’s Bolero But it’s all pretty insipid. I think at the time I was more bowled over That he was married to Charlotte Rampling. I used to wonder if she was as bored by his songs as I was. She seemed to deserve a bit more excitement.

My thoughts on this evolved as it played, though my star rating didn't. At first, this was like modern art... I can't understand what separates this from the endless hours of ethereal quasi-orchestral ambient compositions that exist. Why is this better than the rest? But as it played as I worked at my desk, it absolutely made that time better, more enjoyable, slightly transformed. And that's pretty powerful. But did I love it? Would I be able to differentiate it from any other similar record? Maybe. Probably not. Like Vangelis (I do like his work a lot), multiple listens will reveal more and make me able to distinguish Jarré's work. But for now, I can't get past the 3.

Yeah, sure. It's pleasant enough. Hard to really have strong feelings either way.

Generally I'm not a great lover of pure electronic music. I don't dislike synths and the like but prefer them with analogue instruments and voice. However this album seems to have been around all my life and just about every track is recognisable either because it was a hit or used for TV programming or adverts. It is also one of the first albums of its genre and certainly made a mark and was a great leap forward in 1976. Even more remarkable is that 1976 was peak punk and at that time this album could have been considered proggy and everything that punk was rebelling against. Luckily JMJ is French a nation who do not follow and which explains why and how this album was ever made in the first place. So for all that this album is an album which I do rate. However as time went on and this genre of music shed its Prog clothes and went on to produce countless duplications of this albums formula, I soon tired of it. In fact the reason why I don't enjoy electronic music is because of the sheer ubiquity of records like this. If this was the only JMJ album ever recorded then it would be an extremely coveted classic and my rating reflects that conclusion. 3/5 5/12/24

I think there wasn't much electronic music in the 70s, so people must have thought that, to sound futuristic, you should have star wars sounds. Nevertheless, if you think that this record is from 1976, it is actually revolutionary. It bored me, unlike some of his later work, but I have to appreciate the creativity involved for those times.

This is basically one long electronic/synth track. Impressive for the time when synthesizers were starting to become a focal point in the music industry, and even more impressive given the makeshift home recording studio used to create this album. Very atmospheric and probably requires multiple listens to fully appreciate (or fully hate depending on the crowd). Music that you hear when you think of space and the great beyond.

Eletrônico da década de 70. Interessante.

I am having a nice relaxing morning listening to laser pew pew sounds in Oxygene Pt 2. Oxygene Pt 5 sounded a lot like a videogame soundtrack in the back half. This album blended into one long electronic song. I liked it but no part really stood out to me. It was enjoyable background music but nothing for me to get excited about. 6/10 The album cover is really sick, I give it an A.

3.0 The more the album went on the more I got into some of the melodies and grooves. The beep-bob synth noises are definitely starting to age but 1976 what do you expect. I will give it another go at some point

Great background music, the album ended and something else started without me even realizing.

There is a word 'Retrofuturistic' which refers to something designed to look futuristic from the perspective of the past based on what was considered futuristic at that time. That's the gambit of trying to be futuristic, if you predict correct, you're a visionary, but if you predict wrong it can come off as horribly tacky. This album does that. It sounds great for the 70s it's super clean and clear. It's calming and soothing but ultimately it's not the sound that most Electronic music fans are into. This sounds like video game music, or nature documentary music, or minecraft youtuber music. It's not bad but it's so squeaky clean it feels like an AI could have made it. I think the album is impressive for the time, but it comes off as generic and boring in {Current Year}.

This sounds like the background music when something weird happens in Are You Afraid of the Dark. Pretty chill.

Didn’t enjoy as much as I expected

I'm staring at the year of this album in utter disbelief

Strange and kind of creepy. But I liked it

Soundtrack to either an alien abduction or a day at the aquarium. Either way, Oxygen is an appropriate title for these songs.

I like on song on here, but the only reason is nostalgia. The rest of it is like fake cheese...the tube variety.

Soothing, ambient music that belongs more in a new age spa than my music collection. But reading about what a heck of a guy the composer is inspires me to round this up from a 2 to a 3. That is my act of humanitarianism for the day. You’re welcome.

It's fine. Sounds like a movie soundtrack. Good background music, I suppose?

Taking into account that this is an album released in 1976, it is revolutionary and pioneer. If I was to rate the record at its release it would probably be a 5-star. I can't give it that much now, as there is a lot better electronica out there. I love the ambient parts and that makes me rate the record highly. But the sound of the melodies let me down a bit. This album synthesizes (yes, it's on purpose) a dream of mine, which is having analog Moogs and experimenting with them.

Elektronische Musik, Synthesizer Oxygene 4 ist ziemlich bekannt

Good vibe

Oxygen Part III is too slow but I almost like the rest of the album

Honestly, super relaxing.

Easy listen Nice Pleasant Great background Low 3

Nice surprise.

This album was ground breaking at the time, and a massive influence on modern electronic music. Trance music in particular has a large debt to pay for the ambient sounds Jean Michel brought to the world. However, it's also a bit dull and the main themes are overplayed. I enjoyed it a lot, but I can't give it more than 3 stars.

The start of something great?

The rest of my listening group didn't like this much but I put it on while I was working and it was awesome 'background' noise. It is spacey and fluid but also still musical and not just droning noise.

I was traumatised by the penguins in Part IV's video, I saw it too often. Better than I remembered

One review warned not to be a dummy like them, listen to this at night, not day. It's a night album. I was a dummy. I'll give it another go some night. I really liked Pt. 3, and there were other moments throughout where I'd start to get into it a but more, but I didn't love the album. I respect the influence it has had, though.

To me, there are two aesthetics to this album: An old sci-fi movie soundtrack and songs that I would play in the background in my '70s futuristic city apartment tricked out with all the weird impractical furniture they had back then that we now put in modern art museums. The music mostly consists of individual notes played on a synth along with all the "space" sound effects they could come up with. So it's not that interesting, but it is definitely a vibe.Also, why are all the French albums here some kind of ambient or otherwise fringe genre?

This was alright to be fair! Rather enjoyable ambient electronic music!

French Ambiance? What is this, the Olympics? If only this had come out a few weeks ago, but either way I can't pass up an ambient album. Especially one with a skull over the earth. Unfortunately, the songs do tend to blend together, both by design and sonically. I went to random portions of each song and they all had the same tunes at times. An eerie haunted house type vibe which I dug! But it still leans towards repetitive if you're focused on it. As background music it was great.

Weird but cool

Yay for synths. Very soothing. Not terribly exciting.

Pretty futuristic dude! I actually enjoyed this reasonably well. I had a bunch of boring data entry to do and this was fun background music for it. Not something I'd really put on in a normal setting but pretty chill and solid bg music.

Wow, no album has ever made me feel like I’m in line for Space Mountain quite like this one

Early electronic kinda cool vibes.

Meh.

This was...different... Lots of alien abduction vibes. Would pair well with a light show at a planetarium.

Ihan nautinnollinen ambient-platta, mut ei ihan neloseen yllä.

This is much more like it - some weirdo French synth-botherer producing an eccentric piece of instrumental electronica. To say I loved it would be an exaggeration, but it's on the right path. Jarre shacked up with Charlotte Rampling and Isabelle Adjani, took the maiden ride in the first flying car, and staged his lights 'n' lasers extravaganza for a couple of million people in Moscow. Some boy!

Ground breaking and incredibly influential but so lame in retrospect. It’s hard to appraise this in a modern era where it’s just repetitive sounds when it was such a leap when it came out.

Has kind of a Stranger Things vibe to it which made it more interesting than it otherwise would have been. This would probably be a five if you smoked a joint, threw on some headphones and sat in the dark, but unfortunately, I am experiencing this at 8:30 in the morning with caffeine being the only drug in my system.

I can't give this a bad review after I just said I wanted less of the standard english rock band. So 3 stars for giving me something different

All electronic/synth. Interesting and enjoyed some parts. Interestingly, when I first turned this on and went for a walk, like usual throughout this 1001 journey, teh style just wasnt hitting well at all, so I pivoted to something else and came back to this and enjoyed it more than expected. Recognized a song, or at least a part of it.

Interesting one for sure. I can imagine myself being blown away in 1976 throwing this on the record player with a nice set of headphones, but in 2024 it doesn't hit quite the same. I imagine it laid a great foundation for a new genre but I don't think it's stood the test of time the same way. Cover art is sick tho.

Pretty good and notable for being an early example of synth based music more ambitious in composition but it doesn't hold up well compared to modern artists working in the genre.

solid electronica record with a couple parts that veered towards greatness but i felt never really got there

Honestly, even today it sounds weird. I can only imagine how it felt when it was released. Cool Oh, I've heard part 4 before

Good for the background. Pretty clean.

Decent. 3/5

star wars audiobook

I was indifferent until reading the blurb, and then I thought oh cool This was made in a home studio in the 70’s. it’s got something,although I don’t think I’ll ever listen again

Can't get beyond falcon hoof. But I imagine having a big hifi and dark room this might be better.

Very atmospheric, lots of interesting sounds.

I... didn't know electronic music was.. so old! OK, so it's not the "beat" EDM type stuff from more modern times, or the DJ type stuff from my X days. It tries to be more ambient.

"Oxygène" is the third studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. He recorded the album in his Paris apartment using a variety of analog and digital synthesizers and other electronic instruments and effects. The listed genres, which are appropriate, include electronic, ambient, synth-pop, space music, new age and electropop. The album titled, "Oxygène," was named after a water-colored painting of the same name by Michael Granger. The painting was used with a modified background as the album cover and depicts Jarre's theme of damage being done to the planet. Commercially, it was a breakthrough, reaching #1 on the French charts, #4 in the UK, #78 in the US and, in 2016, had sold an estimated 18 million copies worldwide. Initially, the album actually received negative reviews especially in the UK but, in retrospective, is considered a major work in the development of electronic music. The album is divided into six parts. "Oxygène (Part I)" begins with layered echoing and spiraling synth noises which is followed by what sounds like a female opera singer with synth pings in the background. It then changes to darker and deeper synth keys layered with lighter ones. The layering and synth key changes seems to be Jarre's song recipe throughout the album. The second single "Oxygène (Part II)" adds lasers and a beating noise to the repetitive synth keys. Loud synth keys strike up the melody which changes to a slight lower octave. Synth wave sounds, sonar echoing and a fast beat begin the first single "Oxygène (Part IV)." A Kraftwerk-esque sounding syth comes in for the melody. This is catchy. A bass beat and more synths are layered in. The album ends with "Oxygène (Part VI)" and its rhumba/bossa nova beat. There's thunder, ocean and seagull sounds. Dual, simulateneous synth melodies are layered over a long droning sound. This album is ambient, soothing, repetitive and hypnotic. I have to be honest; I struggled to keep focus throughout and found it much better as background music. I did appreciate Jarre trying to create a different atmospheric vibe in each song and his building of layered synth noises and melodies. I can definitely see it's influence in the electronic and ambient musical areas. If you're a fan of those, this album is worth checking out.

This album like some kind of outdated sci-fi film score from the 60s or 70s trying to be cutting edge. Similarities to Wendy Carlos and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, with a bit of John Carpenter thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed this, but it was not at all what I was expecting.

Spacey electronic goodness.

Synths & space... kind of dig it, not sure I'd listen too often though.

Enjoyable! Pt. 2 in particular was engaging.

A sci-fi movie with no dialogue.

Entire album is trippy sounds. I feel like they have some pink floyd influences. Definitely that vibe. wasn't bad to listen to. 3 stars

This is some trippy synth sounds! I do really like that one effect they use with it that sounds like the end of Fly Like an Eagle. 2 has a One of These Days bassline. This started off well for me but just kinda became a soundscape while I was working. Still pleasant. High 3.

Ok, this was actually pretty cool sounding.

Interesting. Seems like it should be a soundtrack for a David Lynch movie or something

Great

It's fine but not overly spectacular. Cool spooky electro-synth vibe, and apparently a pioneering album for synth. Ok, but still just okay in my opinion. Part 2 was my favorite track, with some different beats about 100s in; not sure what all the fuss was about with Part 4 (the "big" single). Kind of reminded me of that Mike Oldfield album, and others too I guess since Jarre has been dubbed the French Oldfield. Seems justified to give the albums the same rating.

Heavy Tangerine Dream vibes. Incredibly entrancing.

Some good sounding sci-fi ambient music. I have no strong opinions one way or the other about this album really, it's just chill background music.

I dont get it. Makes a lot of sense that it’s by a French dude. It sounds cool I guess, think I’d really like this as the soundtrack for a movie. 7/10

Jarre is a pioneer of… background music? 5.5/10

Not the type of electronic/ambient that I'd usually listen to but still not bad 6/10

Jean-Michel Jarre shows here, for me, that being a pioneer doesn't automatically means that the music will be really good. I was a fan of this type of music in the 80's - my earliest memories are from Kraftwerk, Der Plan, Tubular Bells and Jarre - which made its way into more synthesizer music during my life. Jean-Michel Jarre certainly uses warm analog synth sounds here and even organs, but the music keeps falling between ambient and emptiness, where he plays with new sounds on this new found musical instruments. But I'll be honest: the first 3 parts I found almost grating, where after Oxygène 4, but especially 5, the album picks itself up a bit. I remembered this more fondly than this re-discovery was able to give me, I'm afraid

Bit boring, but +1 star because I recognized a song from GTA4 and nostalgia is powerful.

Good for working

Awesome. Dystopian and fun. Felt like I should be hunting down Toecutter.

69/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

Claw machine song????

Good album.

A lot better than I expected for experimental

Early French proggy electronica. Split into 6 movements it is uplifting and is a bit of a Scifi soundtrack.

I'm not really sure. I put it on as background music while I'm working and all of a sudden the album ended and we were on to Radiohead. It's good at not grabbing your attention. I may go back and listen to it when I want to hear what it's about, but as background it works.

Didn’t love but I also don’t think it’s my kind of music. I always like when an album has an instrumental track to contrast the rest but it starts to feel a bit jumbled when every song is like that. I think my favourite track was #5, the beginning sounded a bit like a lullaby

6/10 nice but mid

I generally listen to the album of the day during my morning commute. I am not a morning person. DO NOT listen to this album during a morning commute if you are not a morning person. That said, I appreciate the influence this album had on the use of synthesizers. It’s decent for ambient sound.

I know this one. This is a mixed bag. Some scary ghost music in there. But also the famous, well known track which is good. Generally though this does not get going at all

Jean-Michel Jarre's Oxygene is one of the very influential albums of early electronic music. This is Jarre's third album, and was an enormous commercial success. Jarre combined catchy, classically inspired melody lines with ethereal sounding echo effects, to create a sound that is definitively "new age." The songs are pleasant, but lack range - they all seem to be cut from the same ethereal cloth.

ambient trippy, I dig, was good bubbly sounds, I enjoyed but didn’t feel particularly special within that genre

Trippy! Good trip jam

Not too long and quite enjoyable, if nothing to write home about. I appreciate that they didn’t feel the need to name the different instrumental pieces anything other than parts 1, 2, etc.

Toyed with the idea of giving this a 2, but actually think there was enough here that I would listen again if I needed something instrumental to concentrate to. Simpsons: No

First track dragged but it felt like an intro to the music so maybe I can forgive it. Recognised Part IV for some reason. It grew on me as the album went on in all honesty. The Album Artwork is great too

I always enjoy listening to earlier albums in this genre. I suppose that's true of any genre for me, really. I love discovering how music styles and genres develop and evolve. Interconnectedness, influences, patterns, etc., always appear, and that's usually in very interesting and innovative ways. Album art here is pretty cool, too. Reminds me a little of Yes album covers.

I like it. Good background

Listening to this reminded me of the TV show Friends when Ross was doing his ridiculous keyboard music, but I weirdly enjoyed it.

All B-movie and low-rent TV action and sci-fi soundtracks owe a debt of gratitude to this disc. I don’t see the “electronic Oldfield” comparisons. I’d suggest that this is what Bach would sound like behind a synthesizer.

Genre: Electronic ambient, synth-pop, space music, new-age, electropop 1976 Back in 1976 this was something special and unique, today.... well... Oxygene Part IV is classic though. 3.5

Good album.

if brian eno made music underwater

Hmm, the opening (very 1st song) was so mysterious, so the theme of this album immediately captivated me! As if I was listening to the other following songs, some "prehistoric ages" feelings of electronic music kicked in!... I can say it was an exciting and eargasmic experience to listen to this album!

Meh

Mag ich.

For what it is, this is fine.

Þetta var allt í lagi í áhlustun. Mér fannst þetta sem sagt ekkert leiðinlegt en mér fannst þetta heldur ekki beint skemmtilegt. Ólíklegt að ég muni hlusta á þetta aftur.

Al principio pensaba que era algo único e innovador, pero razonándolo bien, en la música instrumental clásica se lograban piezas mas complicadas y más emocionantes. Es indudable que son las bases del EDM, pero para mi gusto le falta argumentos y emoción para pasar de ser piezas ambientales o piezas estilo soundtrack a música con la que te puedas identificar y vivir.

Plenty of depth and repetition as goes with the genre at the time. Fine to have it sweep around but not something to seek out.

I'm waiting in line at Tomorrowland. Also, the inspiration for all the other vaporwave/synthwave/deep space music that gets me through my workday. 3/5

I feel like i’m in a spaceship :D Probably not something i would listen to normally or maybe when i’m trying to fall asleep. But it’s kinda cool that you can create a whole new world with just music and without any (real) instruments.

No songs downloaded.

couldn't even tell when the album ended and went into suggested songs. The music itself isn't bad, its just really boring which makes it a lot harder to enjoy. idk what it is this morning though but im like totally vibing with it. maybe i was just having a grumpy morning yesterday...

Toen ook al niet baanbrekend. Maar het heeft toch iets dat goed samenhing met waar ik toen was

Sightly more stressful gameshow music. With that said, it's fine.

I'm not really a big fan of electronic music. This is one of the best electronic music albums I've listened to, though. The repetition gives comfort, and the slight variations in the melody or adding/removing a channel (is that the right word?) becomes really noticeable and impactful.

Who r u

Interesting ambient album. Spacey vibes

3 - 3.5

Good music to focus to

Felt like I was walking a street in Blade Runner.....not bad as far as electronic goes

Some banger main menu music.

Have you ever wondered how alien jazz sounded like? If so, your answer is here. With songs that move from the ethereal to the intriguing, Jean Michel Jarre presents a futuristic -for 70s standards- album. These 6 tracks use a range of exotic instruments and intricate temps to entertain the listeners. If you let yourself go with the flow, you’ll find your convienes in a state of trance by track 4. Not a typical album to play during your thanksgiving dinner.

It's cool but I feel I'm listening to an indie game's OST, so it doesn't feel anything special. The album finished and transitioned to indie OSTs bc yt music does that, I didn't notice until 7 songs in

I didn't hate it. It was dramatic and interesting. Not something I would listen to other than through this project.

Bien. Conocía Oxygene, Pt. 4. Soy más de Mike Olfield. Aunque, en general, está bien el músico éste.

Cool, spacey, sometimes creepy synth instrumentals. Mostly I felt like this was a movie score missing a movie. But depending on the track, I vibed with it. Moments that stood out: - 1:42 on Pt. 2 when the high-pitched synths make a dramatic entrance. - Pt. 4. I like the bouncing rhythm and the way the synths fit into it. - The new drum beat that comes in around 5:25 of Pt. 5. Sounds ahead of its time. Almost like a techno or hip-hip beat.

It's one of those spacey records that unfolds, twists, evolves, enveloping our senses through a never ending passage of time. It attempts to take you to another dimension, but I'm not sure that I quite made it. Perhaps the destination was just a mirage. Where the end is the beginning, and the beginning is the end. Or maybe I'm talking complete and utter rubbish!

Quite an achievement to sound both futuristic and dated at the same time, ! I understand iits iconic status but it still doesn't exactly set my world on fire

I would argue that whilst it flows nicely as an album, it is ALL ethereal keys and noises, and that's too much for a whole album. I listened in 2 sittings and it was lovely hearing this mix in straight after some Indian music. They are lovely pieces but it doesn't work as an album for me.

Sounds like a scifi soundtrack from the 70s. Seems kinda relaxing

Didn't think I was going to enjoy this judging by the album summary... In fact I didn't mind it at all. Quite mellow and atmospheric, good to have on in the background. Not sure it really warrants being on this list but yeah not bad.... Saying that I just noticed it was 1976, which tbf it does not sound like it's from so fair play Possibly the Frenchest name ever? 3

My dad bought me a synthesizer when I was 12. I think he wanted me to become JMJ. We watched one of his Live shows from Hollywood on the tele where he played lasers. Did he really play lasers? Did he fuck he just stick his hands under some lights. Anyway, I'm sure this blew the minds of the prog kids like my dad in '76, I was 1 I don't remember. This was a nostalgia trip, a bit dull in places. But I like the drum machine in part 6.

Felt groundbreaking in the 70s. Now? <gallic shrug>

This is new to me but somehow seems familiar. I really enjoyed it.

3.3/5 Best track: Oxygene, Pt. 5

interesting precursor electronic sound - reminds me of the 70's sound overall.

A nice ambient album with some great synth, but I wonder if there are better ambient albums to be found to be included on this list...

Kinda stream of consciousness. Would listen to again in the right mood

synths will always be cool

Atmospheric/spacey electronic. Decent background, but not too interesting

Ambient which was nice. Ultimately bloodless.

Favourite track was probably oxygene

Enjoyed this on the whole; it manages to wring a few distinct moods out of a fairly limited musical palette. France definitely has a strong lineage of electronic music innovators. It’s more bad news for my opinion of early 90s dance acts, though. Seems to me that some of them built a whole career on sticking a breakbeat over the top of Oxygène, Pt. 1.

Very modern-sounding for 1976, which is a great sign of how innovative it was at the time. Its nice, chill, ambient electronic music, not particularly adventurous, but decent nonetheless.

stranger things ass music 7/10

Wonderful throwback to my disco days.

It's like if Daft Punk did the soundtrack for the original Tron. Usually not a huge fan of ambient music but it wasn't bad

Really cool album. Whole things kinda of plays as one long idea but it doesn't get boring. Listened on a plane. Incredible soundtrack to have moving through the clouds.

Weird synth-y music - good for background. Spacy

3.5/5. I thought I was not going to like this, but it actually was decent. Lots of synths and very sci-fi feeling. This would be a cool album to own, as it provides some pretty good background music.

7/10, missing some more action. I got Aphex Twin feelings at the start but was wrong in an ok way :)

An early example of ambient music and the potential of stereo recording. It's also a great homage to the pioneering early French avant garde electronic musicians like Pierre Henry. Ultimately it's great backroom music, as any ambient album should be.

With the exception of Pt. 4 (the hit single), it's just muzak.

bonne musique d'ambiance. impressed pour les années 7/10

Une musique narrative, parfois épique

Probably the first time that Synths Just Happening happened in a manner like this, which is notable, but as someone familiar with the Synths Just Happening genre it didn’t *especially* stand out from the pack. Some cool use of stereo though

Ok, but I think I enjoy saying his name more than listening to his music.

"Oxygène (Part IV)" !

Very much a “variations on a theme” feel to this album. Some tracks sound like the soundtrack to a sci-fi B movie, and not in a bad way. Others sound like they could’ve been lifted from some motorik album by Neu! or Harmonia. And then there are the ones that could easily pass as new tracks by some synthwave outfit. Interesting enough, but I doubt I’ll come back to it.

Unfavorable comparisons to virtuously-organic forms of kosmische are sadly too appropriate, and happily balanced by the blistering attention paid to the production and presentation. So when you reach the end of Oxygène, hopefully with a kind of wash attitude, the composition of the thing can unfold as nothing less than uneasy. How to fairly analyze a piece of work which appears now as a bridge between two banks now well-baked? Not sure, but I harbor the doubts about Jarre's approach with regard to ambient music, I can look at this record as one not quite in any camp, but emerging from a single locale, growing.

It's nice music for doing other stuff. I could definitely have this on in the background all day and get stuff done. It's a bit like Pink Floyd but without the substance. 3 stars.

Nice sounds, but but repetitive

Some nice atmospheric songs

I found this to be much more pleasant than expected, based on the descriptions in the Wikipedia article. Still, pleasant as it was, this could never be more than absolutely forgettable background music in my book.

I fucked with this. Never heard of em before, but it was dope. Just wish it was longer. But I’m gonna come back to this forsure.

Interesting early electronic music. I can hear some influences on later act like daft punk. It would probably be classified as ambient music now, kind of slow, not really danceable. Overall not bad to listen to

Good focus

Prog

I'm super impressed by this collection of songs. For 1976, this is really impressive. But this is not an "album". And probably should not be on this list. It's definitely an audio collection of note. But should not be here.

Sounds like something you'd do when you get your hands on a fresh new audio sampler. 3/5

Not the motivational soundtrack I needed for this Monday morning - wish I’d listened on Saturday night when the heat was preventing satisfactory sleep and a chill out was much in need.

Not my kind of thing, but I can hear its influence in loads of stuff. Instrumentals with only electronic sounds get very repetitive very fast. 3 ⭐

After part one was finished, I felt it had been nice and relaxing. The album certainly seems influential, what with being mostly synthesisers. However, I prefer interesting instrumentals, pieces that convey moods, images, and intrigue the listener due to their complexities and technical difficulty (I find that these requirements usually only apply to classical music, and I am aware how snobby this makes me look). This was not that; thus, it sounded fairly similar throughout. Nevertheless, the album wasn't bad (if you like instrumental popular music, you'll love this) and the aforementioned influence is important, so I shall give Jarre 5/10.

Way more space-y than Spacemen 3 (the album generated the day before this one) despite this album being released 13 years before the Spacemen 3 album.

Cool

Oxygène is the third album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre and it is considered his breakthrough album for being immensely popular worldwide. It is an electronic, ambient, synth-pop album that revolutionized the sounds of synthesizers throughout the end of the 70's and remains one of the best-selling French electronic & instrumental albums in history. Certified platinum in the UK & France, this album influenced forthcoming electronic artists like Moby. Incredibly, the entire album was recorded by Jarre in 4 months from within the makeshift studio in his apartment using synthesizers, drum machines, and a keyboard. Critical reviews at release were negative as people had grown accustomed to the popular punk rock music at the time and had no care for electronic music. However, this album has gone on to be an important piece in the foundation of electronic music and is praised in retrospective reviews. I liked this album and its sci-fi melodic themes that both soothe and move the listener. You can dance to these tracks or just relax and let your mind wander. This is a wonderful album that shouldn't fall to the wayside to other more popular albums. Give it a try!

From the opening track, "Oxygène Part I," to the final track, "Oxygène Part VI," the listener is taken on a sonic journey that mesmerizes and captivates but sometimes loses your full attention at dragged out parts of the record. Oxygène is creater in a way in which Jarre uses electronic sounds to create a sense of atmosphere and mood. Each track is carefully crafted to evoke a specific emotion, and the use of synths, sequencers, and other electronic instruments creates a sound that is both futuristic and otherworldly. The fact that this album was released in 1976 is actually pretty insane considering how modern it sounds. Oxygene is definitely a groundbreaking album with it’s electronic, ambient sound and whilst it drags on at times it’s still a record that i recommend for some relaxation.

better than brian eno part 3, part 6

Elcetrónica del ¡¡'76!! Muy bueno lo que se escucha. Por ahí tiene vaches grandes y se vuelve música de documental.

Needs a relisten

Bruh. When track 4 started my jaw dropped so far open you'd think I just found out my mom died. I recognized the song immediately and I started freaking out, it's the fucking claw machine song. If you've played a lot of them you probably know what I'm talking about. I can't believe it's actually from something and I found out what it is through this list. Well anyways, the album is pretty good. Ethereal early synth soundtrack-esque music. Feels like a predecessor to stuff like metroid and 80s film scores. Wasn't in love with the last 2 tracks however and they take up a lot of the runtime. A silly little mouse is running around on part 6 and no one is trying to catch him. You can picture a dude sitting in his room fucking around with the synthesizer as you listen, but not in a bad way. It's quite endearing. Score: 70. Album art: 90 - it kicks ass

Early synth with a lot of pew pew space lasers. A chill ambient soundtrack that's not really a soundtrack, but you can use your imagination and fit it into many things. It feels familiar and I enjoyed that it was one collective project split into 6 parts. It can be a little sleepy, but doesn't outstay it's welcome.

Jean-Michel Jarre s'aventure ici sur le terrain des Chemical Brothers et fait bien pâle figure quand on sait que les deux frères ont été générés la veille. En quarante minutes, Jarre sera incapable de nous donner la formule chimique de l'élément-titre de son album. Pitoyable.

I know this isn't a movie soundtrack because wikipedia told me so. But you could have fooled me. If it looks like a duck, etc. That said, it was interesting background music for getting ready for work at least. Not interesting enough to be distracting but also not annoying at any point, it just flew under the radar from start to finish.

Pretty hit or miss for me. Maybe two or three pretty decent songs and then the others are just too atmospheric/ambient or don’t develop enough of an idea to make them interesting. 6/10

Obviously influential to electronic music, but feels outdated and empty compared to current EM. Some great parts to it, but also a bit dull at times. 3.5/5.

Scifi background music. Enjoyable enough.

I enjoyed the 70s future-nostalgia vibe of this. Didn't realise this was where Limmy took the Falconhoof backing music from (which made it a little hard to take that bit seriously)

Best: Oxygène, Pt. 4 Worst: Oxygène, Pt. 3 twas chill I was doing work to it

I dig that it was made in 76 and sounds so good but it’s fucking boring

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: I actually did, wasn’t expecting too as much because instrumentals haven’t been my particular taste for a while but this is quite good! Favourite song: Track 2 - Oxygene, Pt.2

Interestesting 70's electronica. The album has a lot of atmosphere. Not certain if I'd listen again.

Rating: 6/10

funny noises

Cool but kind of sounded the same the whole time 6/10

I was into the spacey sounds at first but as it went on it got a lot more grating. 6/10

Dah dunnah dah

It is the distant future. The year TWO THOUSAND. Jean Michell Jarre has invited you to a strange alien landscape. He invites you to sit awhile, while strange noises and themes come at you. They come slowly, and deliberately, allowing you to explore them at your leisure. There's probably some weird alien fauna surrounding you. It's blue, and the sky is yellow, and there's a strange alien breeze whisping about your feet and running over your toes. Somewhere you hear a distant shore. You're calm and laid back, exploring this world in no real hurry. JMJ is taking his time. He's exploring the space himself, just like you. A look of serenity is on his face. He looks over at you and nods approvingly. Am I in a dream right now? Am I dead? Why am I surrounded by purple clouds? Have we transcended into another spiritual realm? No. It's all over now. That was interesting, and I've enjoyed this moment in time.

I actually have this record on vinyl but never listened to it. It was nice to throw on some good headphones and get lost in the music. This is some good early electronic music with some ambient tracks as well. Pretty trippy. Solid record overall, good but not amazing.

Psychedelic Synth

It is wild to think about just how far out into the future it would be before an album like this was taken for granted in the musical mainstream. Kudos to Jean-Michel for setting those wheels into motion!

Half uur durende lsd trip van een fransoos met een synthesizer onder zijn vingers

decent synth-heavy.

I listened to this on my air pods at work. It was soothing and sounded good. Not very exciting but it was okay.

experimental instrumental -- like swimming without needing air

Found this an interesting album different and impressive this came out in the 70’s clearly ahead of its time and influential on electronic music.

About as chill as it gets. Great background music

Best Song: Ethereal and bloopy, while still being short enough to be a traditional song. Worst Song: Can't say there is one... the label barely applies here. Overall: Nice easy listening. Very clearly "proto-" electronic, but it feels interesting listen to where the genre came from, in contrast to the places it's gone since.

This one feels like a clear, definite journey. Quite forward moving, at different rates of acceleration. The craft you’re in dives from the clear sky and plunges into the sea, where you turn on the floodlights and lay bare the mysteries of the deep. The ascent from the sea is not merely a return to the atmosphere but beyond into naked space.

Sometimes I've struggled to appreciate Electronica, often there aren't traditional "songs", more of a stream of background music. This sounds like this could be a soundtrack to a futuristic sci-fi film, that kind of goes on and on and ...For the most part, I enjoyed it, it's sort of cool in a weird way, but after a while I was waiting for it to end or at least for the imaginary movie in my mind to be over.

Iconic and mellow.

I'd never heard of this guy (and yet he has the largest ever attended concert in history!?) and I always am sceptical of electronic music on this list, but this was okay. Not amazing, but not the worst thing. It has good production made for something in the 70s though. 3.5/5

Surprisingly dope. Feels like I'm shooting lasers in a cyberpunk disco 3

Electrónica

Nice ambient stuff, it makes for good listening and clearly impressive for its time but nothing too exciting going on

Revolutionary but a bit boring. Futuristic but very dated.

p367. 1976. 3 stars Primeval trippy electro music from the 70s, and hence a high degree of musical wankage. Outstays its welcome on most of the tracks, and oh my, didn't someone have fun passing those synth sounds from speaker to speaker? Vangelis did this kind of thing much better IMHO. Perfectly acceptable of its kind, but it's all a bit pompous and sterile.

Cool. 6/10

Decent background music

Still not really my thing, and it probably never will be, but I can appreciate it as quality regardless. I’d just personally never choose to listen to it. C

Well that was some crystal-gripping gear. My kids felt like they were in space. I enjoyed the review "when I saw every track was call oxygen I knew it would be shit"

I was going to say, this sounds like the Gallipoli soundtrack. Oxygene Pt 2 IS on the Gallipoli soundtrack. I have heard this song about 200 times and never knew who it was.

Wasn't quite what I was expecting. Not bad, but not what I was expecting.

I hated this stuff in my youth. These days it's tolerable but I never reach for it.

Boring for me.

3/5. Classic early electronica.

Extremely soundtracky… nice to have on in the background, but nothing I’d ever buy!

Makes me think of background music for a movie about space

Bien. Conocía Oxygene, Pt. 4. Soy más de Mike Olfield. Aunque, en general, está bien el músico éste.

De va swag!