Jean Michel Jarre reviews: Oxygène, Équinoxe, and the fine art of making synths popular

Jean Michel Jarre

Musical Group or Musician

Forlisteners curious about classic melodic electronic music, synth-pop history, and fans comparing jarre’s acclaimed 70s–80s peak to his later experiments.
12 Reviews 8 Definitions 2 Charts

The Profile

Jean-Michel Jarre is a French electronic musician and composer, widely associated with melodic, synth-driven instrumental music and large-scale, “spectacular” presentations.

Publicly known for pioneering popular, melodic electronic music albums such as Oxygène (1976) and Équinoxe (1978), and for prominent large-scale outdoor concerts.

Across 12 DeBaser reviews, Jarre is framed as a key figure who helped bring electronic/synth music to a mass audience via melodic, catchy, spectacular instrumentals. Classic-era staples like Oxygène, Équinoxe and Magnetic Fields are praised for sound design and memorable themes, while later works split opinions. Some reviews celebrate bold pivots (Zoolook) or curated live grandeur (Les Concerts en Chine), while others slam releases like Sessions 2000 or a particular live DVD.

Notable Quotes

❝ When it comes to electronic music, Jean Michel Jarre must be considered an authentic milestone.

❝ "Oxygene" is a beautiful album, it flows well, creates continuous tensions, and paints frescoes of alien landscapes and earthly nature with a masterful harmony of visual-acoustics.