History Music / Oxygene

* CoversAlwaysLie: Ironically, the Michel Granger painting used for the cover was Jarre's direct inspiration for making the album. But from looking at the painting--in which the Earth's crust peels away like an orange rind, revealing a human skull beneath--who would expect the album to be "an infectious combination of bouncy, bubbling analog sequences and memorable hook lines"[[note]]as Greg Rule described it in ''Electro Shock!: Groundbreakers of Synth Music''[[/note]]?

Jarre opted to release the album on Motors Records, a small jazz label affiliated with Creator/PolydorRecords that didn't have much concern about making its artists into international superstars. Jarre's contract was already owned by Motors' owner, Francis Dreyfus, who previously released Jarre's music through sister labels Sam Fox and Eden Roc. Contrary to expectations, the album was a massive commercial success, topping the French Albums chart and peaking at No. 2 in the United Kingdom, not to mention going platinum both there and in Canada and gold in France, Germany, and Poland. Following this success, Dreyfus would move Jarre's contract over to his larger, eponymous label, Dreyfus Records, keeping him there until the early 2000s.

* EpicRocking: "Part VI" is over 6:24 long, "Part I" and "Part II" both over 7:30 minutes long, while "Part V" nearly reaches the 10:30 mark.

''Oxygène'' was supported by two singles: "Oxygène Part IV" and "Oxygène Part II".

* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XY3vnwQzy8 The new music video]] that accompanied [[ReReleaseTheSong the 1989 re-release]] of "Oxygène 4" features penguins doing their shenanigans in the Arctic and not much else. That said, what the penguins do is partly synced to the music.

* RereleaseTheSong: "Oxygène 4", the original studio single recording from 1976, was re-released at about the same time as ''Jarre Live'' ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a live album]]) in 1989 with a brand-new video ([[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins the one with the penguins]]).

Jarre opted to release the album on Motors Records, a small jazz label affiliated with Polydor Records that didn't have much concern about making its artists into international superstars. Contrary to expectations, the album was a massive commercial success, topping the French Albums chart and peaking at No. 2 in the United Kingdom, not to mention going platinum both there and in Canada and gold in France, Germany, and Poland.

Jarre opted to release the album on Les Disques Motors, a small jazz label affiliated with Polydor Records that didn't have much concern about making its artists into international superstars. Contrary to expectations, the album was a massive commercial success, topping the French Albums chart and peaking at No. 2 in the United Kingdom, not to mention going platinum both there and in Canada and gold in France, Germany, and Poland.

''Oxygène'', released in 1976, is the third studio album by French electronica musician Music/JeanMichelJarre. The album acted as his domestic and international [[BreakthroughHit commercial breakthrough]] at the time, having previously done small stints with smaller bands, ad spots, and soundtracks, all of which funded his building of an at-home studio, a fierce rarity at the time. It's best remembered for the melancholic hit instrumental "Oxygène IV" and the album as a whole was very influential in the development of ElectronicMusic.

''Oxygène'' was supported by two singles: "Oxygène (Part IV)" in the UK and "Oxygène (Part II)" in France. In 1997, [[SequelGap a bit more than 20 years after the release of the original]], a sequel album was released called ''Oxygène 7-13''. Another "sequel", ''Oxygène 3'', came out on December 2nd, 2016, precisely 40 years after the original, increasing the number of "parts" to 20.

Despite its current acclaim, nobody thought at the time that it would be a commercial success due to just how ''different'' it was from everything else at the time. Thus, Jarre opted to release the album on Les Disques Motors, a small jazz label affiliated with Polydor Records that didn't have much concern about making its artists into international superstars. Contrary to expectations, the album was a massive commercial success, topping the French Albums chart and peaking at No. 2 in the United Kingdom, not to mention going platinum both there and in Canada and gold in France, Germany, and Poland. Critical reception was ambivalent at best in the US and UK, owing to it coming out at a time when PunkRock was the dominant force of popular music and PostPunk was just starting to emerge.

However, with time it received greater and greater acclaim, going on to be regarded as one of the best and most innovative albums of the 1970's, aided in part by the visible influence it carried in SynthPop, NewAge music, and electronica as a whole. As of 2020, ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic'' ranks ''Oxygène'' at No. 1368 on their [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums dynamic list]] of the 3000 most critically praised albums, and decades after its release, it continues to be Jarre's most iconic and influential record, essentially being to him what ''Music/TubularBells'' was to Music/MikeOldfield.

* RepurposedPopSong: Jarre's music has been used as themes of several TV shows, part 2 was used as the main theme in the German dub of ''Series/Space1999'', and parts of the album went into the soundtrack of ''Film/{{Gallipoli}}''.

* RepurposedPopSong: Jarre's music has been used as themes of several TV shows, and parts of the album ''Oxygène'' went into the soundtrack of ''Film/{{Gallipoli}}''.

* NoExportForYou: Officially, ''Oxygène'' wasn't available outside of France until 1977. The reason why it was eventually released world-wide may have been the many record dealerships who took it upon themselves to import the album from France. This is why the imported 1976 Disques Motors pressing is more common in Germany than the German 1977 [=PolyGram=] pressing.

* CompilationReRelease: No Jarre box set would be complete without ''Oxygène''. Ever. And there were several. That said, ''Oxygène'' itself has never been not available since 1976.

** In fact, along with the release of ''Oxygène 3'', ''Oxygène 7-13'' [[InvokedTrope was renamed]] ''Oxygène 2''.

* RecordProducer: Jarre himself. He recorded the album in his kitchen with several analog and early digital synthesizers and other electronic instruments and effects. He couldn't afford building a proper recording studio before the money from the ''Oxygène'' sales came in.

* RereleaseTheSong: "Oxygène 4", the original studio single recording from 1976, was re-released at about the same time as ''Jarre Live'' ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a live album]]) in 1989 with a brand-new video.

Despite its current acclaim, nobody thought at the time that it would be a commercial success due to just how ''different'' it was from everything else at the time. Thus, Jarre opted to release the album on Les Disques Motors, a small jazz label affiliated with Polydor Records that didn't have much concern about making its artists into international superstars. Contrary to expectations, the album was a massive commercial success, topping the French Albums chart and peaking at No. 2 in the United Kingdom, not to mention going platinum both there and in Canada and gold in France, Germany, and Poland. Critical reception was ambivalent at best in the US and UK, owing to it coming out at a time when PunkRock was the dominant force of popular music and PostPunk was just starting to emerge. However, with time it received greater and greater acclaim, going on to be regarded as one of the best and most innovative albums of the 1970's, aided in part by the visible influence it carried in SynthPop, NewAge music, and electronica as a whole. Decades after its release, ''Oxygène'' continues to be Jarre's most iconic and influential album, essentially being to him what ''Music/TubularBells'' was to Music/MikeOldfield.

[[AC:Side One]]

[[AC:Side Two]]

''Oxygène'', released in 1976, is the debut studio album by French electronica musician Music/JeanMichelJarre. The album acted as his domestic and international [[BreakthroughHit commercial breakthrough]] at the time, having previously done small stints with smaller bands, ad spots, and soundtracks, all of which funded his building of an at-home studio, a fierce rarity at the time. It's best remembered for the melancholic hit instrumental "Oxygène IV" and the album as a whole was very influential in the development of ElectronicMusic.

Despite its current acclaim, nobody thought at the time that it would be a commercial success due to just how ''different'' it was from everything else at the time. Thus, Jarre opted to release the album on Les Disques Motors, a small jazz label affiliated with Polydor Records that didn't have much concern about making its artists into international superstars. Contrary to expectations, the album was a massive commercial success, topping the French Albums chart and peaking at No. 2 in the United Kingdom, not to mention going platinum both there and in Canada and gold in France, Germany, and Poland. While critical reception was ambivalent at best in the US and UK, owing to it coming out at a time when PunkRock was the dominant force of popular music and PostPunk was just starting to emerge. However, with time it received greater and greater acclaim, going on to be regarded as one of the best and most innovative albums of the 1970's, aided in part by the visible influence it carried in SynthPop, NewAge music, and electronica as a whole. Decades after its release, ''Oxygène'' continues to be Jarre's most iconic and influential album, essentially being to him what ''Music/TubularBells'' was to Music/MikeOldfield.

In 1997, [[SequelGap a bit more than 20 years after the release of the original]], a sequel album was released called ''Oxygène 7-13''. Another "sequel", ''Oxygène 3'', came out on December 2nd, 2016, precisely 40 years after the original, increasing the number of "parts" to 20.

''Oxygène'' is a 1976 album by Music/JeanMichelJarre, which was his [[BreakthroughHit commercial breakthrough]] at the time. It's best remembered for the melancholic hit instrumental "Oxygène IV" and the album as a whole was very influential in the development of ElectronicMusic.

!! Breathe deeply before reading this tropes...

* CompilationReRelease: No Jarre box set without ''Oxygène''. Ever. And there were several.
** That said, ''Oxygène'' itself has never been not available since 1976.

'''Tracklist'''

# "Oxygène Part II" (7:37))

* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The album cover is a painting by Michel Granger, for which Jarre received official permission to use it.

'''Oxygène''' is a 1976 album by Music/JeanMichelJarre, which was his [[BreakthroughHit commercial breakthrough]] at the time. It's best remembered for the melancholic hit instrumental "Oxygène IV" and the album as a whole was very influential in the development of ElectronicMusic.

In 1997, [[SequelGap 21 years after the release of the original]], a sequel album was released called "Oxygène 7-13".

* CrapsackWorld: The album cover shows the world as a skull.

* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Jarre had Synth Sparkles long before the Yamaha [=DX7=] (which he didn't like anyway) thanks to the [=EMS=] models [=VCS3=] and Synthi [=AKS=].
* EvolvingMusic: "Oxygène 4" had parts of it replaced with a kind of bridge following the same chords from 1990 on.
* FadingIntoTheNextSong: Jarre is famous for this. "Oxygène 1" and "2" are barely separated
* {{Instrumentals}}: All tracks are instrumental.
* NumberedSequels: ''Oxygène 7-13'', the sequel to the six-track ''Oxygène''.

* SynthPop: Jarre recorded the album in his home with several analog synthesizers and other electronic instruments and effects.
* RecordProducer: Jarre himself.

* {{Retraux}}: ''Oxygène 7-13'', the 2007 ''Oxygène'' remake, and to a certain degree ''Chronologie''.
* {{Theremin}}: Claimed to have been played on ''Oxygène 7-13''. This instrument did in fact appear at the ''Oxygène Arena Tour'' the same year and at every Jarre concert ever since. Jarre has actually learned to play it meanwhile.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle:The Japanese title for "Oxygène" is 幻想惑星, "Fantasy Planet".

'''Oxygène''' is a 1976 album by Music/JeanMichelJarre, which was his [[BreakthroughHit commercial breakthrough]] at the time and remains his MagnumOpus. It's best remembered for the melancholic hit instrumental "Oxygène IV" and the album as a whole was very influential in the development of ElectronicMusic.