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Alex_UK
06-11-2012, 15:07
Album Club - Week 66: 06.11.2012: Air - Moon Safari (1998)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51b5roJM1rL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/1R8a7ohoJBlzknp0fPRRO0

Well I had intended that this time around for my "proper" 3rd Album Club selection (delayed slightly because I swapped with André a few weeks back) that I would do an album which is R&B/Soul/Motown - however with the last couple of weeks being similar (Michael Jackson and James Car) I've gone back to one of the albums I always knew would have to be one of my Album Club choices at some point...

So - Air - the French electronic duo of Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, and Moon Safari is their debut album, released in 1998, and reached number 6 in the UK Album Chart.

Although this album is regarded as a chillout classic, there are moments of pure Pop as well as more traditional pieces - and not forgetting the wonderful tones of Beth Hirsch's vocal appearances. To me the main point is that it never feels like a "synthesized" album - it is an album by proper musicians, who happen to like electronic instruments. I also fear that Remember may have reignited the fashion at the time to use those dastardly devices - vocoders... Still, I can forgive them on this occasion...

Probably one of my most played albums ever, I never tire of it - and there are only a handful of albums in my collection that have that honour. Quite simply I love every track on it - not a duff one there, in my opinion... My favourite is probably the mesmerising bossa-lounge-loveliness (TM) You Make It Easy with the stunning vocals of Beth, and lush strings, but if you ask me tomorrow I'll have changed my mind and it will be the epic horn and harmonica of Ce Matin La which is the highlight...

This album is also one of those that is tragically available on Amazon Marketplace for just 1p - yes - one penny - although you'll have to stump up £1.26 P&P - http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51b5roJM1rL._SL500_AA300_.jpg. If you really want to push the boat out, then the 10 year anniversary 2CD + DVD book edition is well worth seeking out, and the original is available on vinyl, too.

Merde totale ou magnifique? Vous décidez!

MartinT
06-11-2012, 15:48
Now you're talking! I absolutely love this album and, like you Alex, I never tire of it. Whether at home or in the car, this one gets played all the way through. I never know whether I prefer All I Need or Talisman, but every song's a winner.

Definitely one of my desert island discs - vraiment, c'est magnifique! Can I give it 11? :)

brian2957
06-11-2012, 16:01
Got to agree . Bought this album last year and played it to death . Never got tired of it . Still play it often .

jollyfix
06-11-2012, 16:05
Nice album, l liked the retro keyboard sound on first playing. the Air guys seem to have that certain sound which i like. There are tunes on this LP that are better than others, same as other records by Air. Check out.... All i need... ..by (RE;JAZZ) POINT OF VIEW, for a more jazz version.

Tim
06-11-2012, 17:22
I'm starting to think I have too many albums, as I often have the album club choice! Nice pick Alex, I too love this album, despite not being an electronica fan. I will give it a listen before voting as I have not played it for awhile, but it won't be a low score here ;)

John
06-11-2012, 17:25
A few tracks I like but to poppy for me I have tried in the past to get into the album
I give it another go just in case my taste has changed

Ashmore
07-11-2012, 16:13
Another choice I'm very familiar with. I used to play this a lot along with morcheeba and zero 7. It's a super album. 8 from me.

Martinh
07-11-2012, 16:32
Yes, loving it too.

I actually purchased 5 x Air CDs last week (1p each plus P+P) and they arrived today :)

cheers,

DSJR
07-11-2012, 17:07
At the time, I thought it total cheesy Cr@p and not worth wasting time on!

Alex will have to educate me why I was wrong back then ;)

Jonboy
07-11-2012, 18:03
Nice choice Alex, one of my faves that comes out a few times each year

Bazil
07-11-2012, 18:52
Quite liking this, not ready to vote yet :carrot:

Alex_UK
07-11-2012, 18:55
Well I certainly seem to have done better than I did with Britney! :lol: Glad a few of you already know and love this, and hopefully a few more will enjoy being introduced to it. :)

MartinT
07-11-2012, 20:04
Yes, but there's one merde to clean up, Alex ;)

Bazil
08-11-2012, 18:08
Alex you have redeemed yourself :D
This is really good, I could listen to Kelly watch The Stars (remix) all day, the rest are just as good I'm really hooked, I will have to buy a copy.
Oh 9/10 btw :)

twickers
08-11-2012, 22:32
I actually bought this a couple of weeks ago and quite like it. 7/10 from me.

Alex_UK
08-11-2012, 23:24
Alex you have redeemed yourself :D

I feel vindicated at last! :lol: They are a great band, though - worth exploring some of the other albums if this is to your liking.

MartinT
09-11-2012, 06:42
Love 2 and Talkie Walkie are similar in feel to Moon Safari. 10,000Hz Legend is much harder going but has some of the most subterranean vibes I've ever heard.

John
09-11-2012, 08:51
Tried to get into it again but does not engage me
I not vote as not really what I enjoy

MartinT
09-11-2012, 09:13
But you should vote, John, to give us a proper representation of opinion.

John
09-11-2012, 11:28
Ok its a 3 I was tempted to give it a 2

Tim
09-11-2012, 12:32
Well an interesting thought just came to me whilst playing this and that was 'have I ever played this right the way through before?' I don''t think I have TBH and bought it purely on the strength of All I Need. I'm not sure if I ever heard it in this scenario, but it always reminds me of my year travelling and staying in backpackers, which without a doubt was the best year of my life by a country mile. I think doing it later made me appreciate it and the world so much more, so that track conjures up some very happy memories Alex :D

Anyway, I digress..... as a whole it didn't really float my boat that much and I found myself getting bored at Remember, but All I Need is quite simply 'All I Need' from this album and based on that song alone it gets 8/10. If that wasn't on the album I would be closer to awarding a middle ranking score. I must play it some more now as I really don't know it that well, which is becoming an all too frequent occurrence amongst my ever growing collection :scratch:

Alex_UK
09-11-2012, 13:58
Love 2 and Talkie Walkie are similar in feel to Moon Safari. 10,000Hz Legend is much harder going but has some of the most subterranean vibes I've ever heard.

I would agree Love 2 was a "return to form."

It is a close call with Moon Safari, but my other favourite Air "album" (7 tracks, so probably an EP?) is a collection of their very early tracks - Premier Symptomes:

http://open.spotify.com/album/6V1KivtRrIrBVb74dVCIKT

And the current album is a stonker, too - Le Voyage Dans La Lune (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Voyage_Dans_La_Lune_(album)) - soundtrack for the restored film of the same name - the first ever science fiction movie.

http://open.spotify.com/album/5wSWhq54GZv15t0542vDDj

(As a word of warning - not all the albums on Spotify shown as Air are the same Air!)

A couple more Air fixes worth mentioning - the music for the 2006 album 5:55 by Charlotte Gainsbourg (daughter of Serge) is provided by them (and is great, as is all her stuff) and at the same time as they were doing this album, Jean-Benoît Dunckel did a solo album under the name Darkel - only a couple of tracks on Spotify, unfortunately.

http://open.spotify.com/album/1idUkJqQVr6O65F7uNqhgS

MartinT
09-11-2012, 14:06
Try Sex Born Poison from 10,000Hz Legend if you want to hear their more aggressive side and seriously move air. I mean the kind of seismic event that will have your neighbours packing their cars and leaving.

RichB
12-11-2012, 21:23
Hello chaps, been out of the loop recently and fallen behind on album club. Like Tim said, I'm very familiar with this album having heard all of the tracks at various chill outs sessions over the years but until now I have never actually listened to it as a complete album.

So its the least I can do to give it a proper full play. It gets an 8 from me, perhaps in another 10 years or so I'd consider this a classic but it still seems very recent and I may be a bit fatigued from hearing it too often.

By the way the spotify version of this sounds so dull and lifeless it is awful. Not a patch on my original CD version and I'm normally quite OK with spotify.

Macca
13-11-2012, 08:45
Album Club - Week 66: 06.11.2012: Air - Moon Safari (1998)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51b5roJM1rL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/1R8a7ohoJBlzknp0fPRRO0



What exactly is supposed to be occuring on that album cover? :scratch:

The Grand Wazoo
14-11-2012, 00:37
I took a tip from Alex & bought a copy from Amazon for a single, solitary penny piece - a price that surely can't be beaten, right?

It arrived yesterday.

I don't like it!
Played it once - it has one or two interesting moments, but it's not really my thing.

So, I'm willing to beat Amazon's price till it hurts. If you want a copy of this on CD, you can have it for the price of the postage. I'll tell you what, you can have it for one penny less than the price of the postage!

If the new owner doesn't mind, in the meantime I'll play it a couple more times to see if I can be a bit more positive about it.
In which case, my score will follow shortly.

The first bonafide AoS member to PM me gets the disc.

Tim
14-11-2012, 01:19
Well that's honest Chris :D

The Grand Wazoo
14-11-2012, 07:03
Oh gawd it looks like I don't like music at all doesn't it?

MartinT
14-11-2012, 07:14
Only once, Chris? Mind you, if it doesn't at least hook you into playing it some more, then I can understand.

As we've said before, vive la difference!

The Grand Wazoo
14-11-2012, 07:19
I know I won't like it enough to keep it, but as I say, I'll be listening again a couple of times to give it a proper assessment.
Someone else will get more out of owning it than me & shelf space is valuable at the moment!

Tim
14-11-2012, 16:51
I agree Chris, if someone else can enjoy it spread the love :)

TBH as I said in my post, there is only one track on there that I like, in fact I love it, so its worth it just for that. If I didn't like All I Need I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

The Grand Wazoo
28-11-2012, 00:07
OK, so after a few more plays, I give it a 3 - definitely not my thing.
My offer still stands - PM me if you want this copy.

Pete The Cat
31-12-2012, 20:10
Arrived a bit late (hey, it’s NY Eve !) but would like to support this particular party !

I think this will end up as a timeless album, just 15 years old so far but I keep coming back to it and it does the job. It also seems to work as a common denominator when you’re with a bunch of people who are into different kinds of music. There’s a sense of less is more - I mean “Kelly Watch The Stars” isn’t exactly intricate - but there’s a simple beauty in the album, “All I Need” would turn a serial killer into a lover and I can forgive every Pizza Express for having “La Femme D’Argent” on constant rotation...

Pete

pjdowns
09-09-2013, 22:21
Great album 10/10 :)