[Digital Earth] -- Earlier this week, NASA’s Artemis II mission took to the skies for "the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years" [nasa.gov]. And 40 years ago this week, Jean-Michel Jarre and Lee Ritenour each released albums that were filled with synths and digital instrumentation, but one aimed for the cosmos while the other was a bit more rooted (though no less futuristic in aim). Jarre's album, his eighth, was a floaty and spacey entry in his catalog. Ritenour's album, his fifteenth, is a solid but more earthborn piece of smooth jazz-fusion, noted for featuring a SynthAxe, an audio controller, first available in 1985, that had two sets of strings, one of which fretted like a standard guitar.
Rendez-Vous – First up, we have the second of two records that facilitated my introduction to Jean-Michel Jarre's catalog. The first was his 1984 release, Zoolook, which I previously featured on this very blog. Just like with Zoolook, I did not know about Rendez-Vous upon its April 1, 1986, release. I learned of Jarre's music through a resident assistant at PSU. He was a huge Jarre fan, and he was happy to share his record collection with anyone who might likewise take a shining to this pioneer of electronic and ambient music. The compositions are multi-layered, and run the gamut from happy, to sad, and then grief-stricken.
The grief comes from the fact that astronaut Ron McNair was supposed to play his saxophone for the album's final track, "Dernier Rendez-Vous (Ron's Piece)" (or "Last Rendez-Vous"), while he was aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. This would have been the first piece of music recorded in space [connollyco.com]. However, on January 28, 1986, McNair and the entire Challenger crew were lost in the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. Jarre ultimately recorded the track with French jazz reedist Pierre Gossez and dedicated it to McNair and his crewmates.
Rendez-Vous reached #9 in the UK charts and #52 on the US Billboard 200. It also earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Age Album in 1987. Should have won, too.
Earth Run – Lee Ritenour's fifteenth studio album, Earth Run, came out quite possibly on the same day as Jean-Michel Jarre's Rendez-Vous, but most citations for its release date indicate only the month and year: April 1986. According to AllMusic, Ritenour dedicated this album to the First Earth Run, in which runners carried the torch of peace around the globe for 86 days. But the album is best known for Ritenour's use of a SynthAxe, and for featuring it so prominently on the album cover. The SynthAxe looks like a cross between a guitar and a video game console. It makes no sound on its own; it is solely used as a MIDI controller for various synthesizers.
Music critic Richard S. Ginell wrote that Ritenour's use of the SynthAxe lent a "peculiarly fuzzy, futuristic sound" to the album. Of course, Ritenour also played acoustic guitar, electric guitars, and electric classical guitar throughout the recording sessions. Earth Run is an overall smooth and accessible production, a pleasant background listening experience that presents little to no challenge for your attention, but can perhaps reward you with a lightened mood. I suppose that is why this album peaked at #10 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Earth Run was nominated for, but did not win, a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental. And the album's title track got nominated for Best Instrumental Composition.
Now, on to the music. 🎶
Flashback: Rendez-Vous (April 1, 1986)
Flashback #2: Earth Run (April 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
See you in seven!
