Waiting For Cousteau - Jean-Michel Jarre

Jarre dedicated Waiting for Cousteau to Jacques-Yves Cousteau, whose 80th birthday coincided with the release of the album. Early promos had the title track named "Cousteau on the Beach", but it was later renamed because of Cousteau's belief that beaches were an environmental disaster. The opening track, Calypso, is one of the most uncharacteristic JMJ tracks ever - a lively Caribbean flavoured track filled with steel drum samples, which leaves the listener feeling slightly awkward. The remaining two Calypso pieces are slightly darker and play out more towards the brilliant ambient title track, which is the main focus of the album at just over 45 ...  Read the complete review

Waiting for Cousteau. It's been jokingly refered to by some fans as "the underwater album" and "music for deep sea divers" (an in-joke that only Jarre fans who own "Supermarkets" will get, sorry). It's a complete departure from the albums Jean-Michel had previously produced and has a very big Caribbean influence with lots of steel drum backing (played very well across the entire album by The Amoco Renegades) and track one will sort the fans from the philistines as only REAL fans will hear the samples from Moon Machine and the riff from Deserted Palace. Go back and listen to track 1 real carefully and if you've heard ...  Read the complete review

Well, I've been a fan of Jarre basically since 1976 when Oxygene first came out, and have always liked what Jean-Michel came up with each time. On this album released in 1990, it has a very carribean feel to it, but with the trademark Jarre synths. The intro track Calypso I is the main moving track on this one. Great 8 minutes of synth from Jarre I've heard in a long time. It's very much a sort of party track on this one, either giving you a lift, or making you wanna dance (if you're that way inclined). Calypso II is in contrast more moody, very much as if the setting was underwater and you're exploring reefs, very much ...  Read the complete review