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review by Dene Bebbington Fans of classic J.M.Jarre and Vangelis are in for an unusual treat with Sidologie. I say unusual because this album is a montage of those artists music remixed on an old Commodore 64 microcomputer - I kid you not! Marcel obviously has a good sense of humour judging by the cover, it's a take on the repeating image artwork of Equinoxe but with a picture of Marcel holding up a Commodore 64 keyboard. Also demonstrating the fun nature of this work are the track names that are based on computer games. There's some fun to be had identifying which pieces by Jarre or Vangelis are being referenced in each track, and it's often the case that a track will have multiple references. The album starts off very Jarre-like with an opening few seconds from the start of Zoolook. Into the second track "Rambo Loader" things begin sounding like the early spacey parts of Oxygene (and also Rendezvous, I think) but then big synth refrains come in to remind one of mid/late 1970s Vangelis. Sometimes a track is put together well and is quite listenable on its own terms. "Lightforce" is the first track on the album that got my full attention; after some strange voice effects it bursts into life with a bright melodic sequence and then builds up to include very synthetic kind of drum sounds and a Jarresque melody line. Anyone who loves "Oxygene part 4" will easily spot the connection in "Bombo". Marcel's version uses some of the sonic motifs of the classic song in a lite homespun version which is quaint listening. A few of Jarre's albums came to a close with a Rhumba style piece, so it's not surprising that Marcel has opted to do the same. The eleventh and final track "Rambo High Score" has a Latin mid-tempo rhythm over which Oxygene style synths deliver a pleasant melody up to the denouement of breaking waves and seagull cries. I don't think Sidologie is likely to appeal to a wide audience, if only because most tracks are simply not coherent enough as too many aspects of the original music is being blended together. Those people who enjoyed the music from Jarre's and Vangelis's heyday may like it for the nostalgia value. |
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