*********************************** AM/FM ***********************************  "CHRONOLOGIE" - Jean Michel Jarre Total playing time: 41'13 Produced by: J M Jarre Reviewed by: Paul Draaisma (a somewhat bias) AM/FM RATING: 9½ It's been a while since "Waiting for Cousteau", about three years actually, but now it's here - the new CD from Jean Michel Jarre! Need I say more? No, but, Bjørn probably won't agree with me... So, here we go! I won't bother you with a history on Jarre's career and CDs since a VERY precise and thorough discography was published in some issue of AM/FM (help me out here Bjørn - which issue was it?) It was in Magazine Disk #2. [-Ed].  I bought this one (like all other Jarre CDs) without listening to it first and without any hesitation. If it says "Jarre" on the cover, then that's enough! OK, eight tracks (called Chronologie part 1 through 8, the guy has a real talent for song titles... :-), 41'13 (actually 42'06) of Jarreism - YUMMI, YUMMI! When I first took a look on the CD and saw that the first track was 10'51 long I expected the song to be something like "Waiting for Cousteau" on the CD with the same name (47 minutes of an experimental melting pot of sounds) and the CD to be another "ZOOLOOK" project. (<-Now that's what I call a lean mean sentence 8-). I was wrong - totally wrong. The CD turned out to be more like "Musik aus Zeit und Raum", "Revolutions" and "Rendez-vous", but, oh so much better (in my opinion that is and with a reservation for "Musik aus Zeit und Raum" since it is very good) and with features of that experimental stuff. The tracks haven't got that powerful easily recognizable melody like the songs on the "Musik aus Zeit und Raum"-CD and whether that's positive or not, well, that's up to you, personally I like it. In short you could say that Chronologie is a blend of all the stuff he has made since 1976. I just have to say a few things about some individual tracks: C pt 3 A mellow piece filled with wonderful harmonies. It really reaches out to you, grabbs hold of your heart - and squeezes. A favorite, just C pt 4 beats it. C pt 4 When I heard this I could swear that it was Jesters music - A mean disco beat. For me a true fan of synth-disco I fell for it immediately and so it's my personal favorite on the CD. To bad it's just 3'59 long - but hey, turn your CD-player in repeat mode and you'll have a two-hour (at least) ultra have-I-died-and-gone-to-Heaven smash hit! C pt 8 It opens with an organ chorale, changes to a style that resembles the one from the Revolutions CD. A nice choir enters and then after 1'07 it goes into a kind of techno/hiphop/synth mix - well what should I call it then? Then that experimental stuff is added (here the sound of a typewriter pling and a dot matrix printer!) It's differnt and a nice contrast to the other tracks (even though he keeps a lot of his synth style) A funny thing struck me; You'd expect a CD from the Master of Synth to be a DDD one, but, it's actually an AAD CD! I wonder why... Summary: You've probably guessed that I'm absolutely thrilled by Chronologie, but I think I'm entitled. So, should you buy it? Well, for the Jarre-fan, this is a CD that is a must. If you're not a Jarre-fan (how is that possible?) you've just got to convert right now and become a true believer! This is maybe his best CD ever. No disappointments, no flaws, nothing to complain about.. well maybe C pt 7 which I find kind of boring. I mean, it's just a 2'17 piece of transportation to C pt 8. However, it's not bad, it's just nothing you remember after hearing it. So, what's the verdict? If it hadn't been for the fact that the CD is just 41'13 long (and the somewhat boring track 7), I would've given it a full 10, but, as is...  Jean Michel Jarre "Chronologie" - AM/FM RATING: 9½  *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************