Jean Michel Jarre
Aero

 Do you need to test your Hi-Fi system? Are you audiophiles obsessed with sound quality? Do you like Anne Parillaud, particularly her eyes? Do you like Jean Michel Jarre's music or are you curious but have no idea what it is?

AERO from 2004 is for you. In my opinion, a clever tech-commercial stunt artfully placed that feels almost self-congratulatory. Nothing new, just refreshed and slightly revised past. The beautiful companion of Jean wasn't particularly active in cinema (the Nikita, remember? Her iconic film), so she's placed for 75 minutes in front of an HD Cam in direct take without editing with the music of AERO.

The result is the uninterrupted vision of her beautiful cobalt blue eyes with a Crawford-esque left beauty mark, reacting with minimal movements based on the emotional reactions to the music in Dolby 5.1. Jean placed her there at the center of the sound spectrum and started recording. Your LCD will become a neo-futuristic piece that can serve as a great backdrop for a party, ball, or reception. I would have preferred an occasional 3/4 shot Nanni Moretti style with her in a white dressing gown... but nothing... sigh!! Jarre seems to want to justify this work by giving explanations that smell of New Age, involving Parillaud in the project who, in my opinion, had just returned from shopping and didn't ask too many questions. I imagine her dressed in a black leather jacket, blue skirt, white stockings, and beige suede boots. Hair tied back. A bit upset with the phone ringing and Jean gesturing not to answer.

In reality, it's partly a way to relaunch an album collection "revisited" as new, while also making profits by tasting new audio and synth technologies.

I wasn't ultimately disappointed because the tracks are written black on white on the back of the box. It doesn't deceive the buyer, leaving them unsure. Ahò, there's also a CD!! Yes, indeed, you'll find a CD to take in the car and a DVD to fully experience home Dolby 5.1. The DVD is a bit longer, purposely containing semi-PinkFloydian mini-tracks of pure ambient effects. All at a reasonable price.

There are new AERO "tracks", one taken from Metamorphoses. Four in total. Nice but not very spacey. All the tracks revisited are great classics of Jarre's repertoire and have ultimately gained something. Libidinous Oxygene 2, fresher Oxygene 4, Magnetic Fields 1 even improved although it's just an excerpt. The others are listened to for electronic timpani delight but still interesting. The Frenchman's electronic music  reaches its pinnacle with this AERO, with arrangements full of life but colored by Jean's class in using his big keyboards. It is very fun to catch the sound environment and all the audio knick-knacks, but it doesn't deliver anything if you don't have a system above decency. Car included. If you love delighting yourself with 360-degree sound, get it.

New technology over old music, but updated like this, it doesn't seem old. Dedicated to long-time fans, it winks at the newcomers.  Treat yourself to it if you like this good-looking man as an artist and already know everything, who remains unique despite the recent flops he's produced that I won't name out of courtesy. An amazing sound in this AERO that seems to want to blow the speakers. THX-like dynamics in multiplex. In some aspects, he's always ahead.