Jean-Michel Jarre-Rendez-Vous (1986)

After an experimental album like "Zoolook" (1984), French composer Jean-Michel Jarre partially returned to his classic 1970s sound with his fifth album, "Rendez-Vous". In this release, he dispensed with the heavy, multi-layered synthesizers in favor of a simpler array of instruments. This move allowed him to place much greater emphasis on composition rather than creating sounds and special effects as before. On the other hand, Jarre displays undeniable similarities to the work of Vangelis, who had already explored this territory in "Heaven and Hell" (1975) and "Albedo 0.39" (1976), not to mention the album he would release years later titled "Mythodea". A track like "Second Rendez-Vous" is one of Jarre's finest compositions, evoking a post-Beethovenian movement. Originally composed as a link to the Challenger shuttle mission, this album is a historical piece that takes on added dramatic weight due to the disaster that claimed the lives of all the astronauts on that mission. The music on this album is itself quite prosaic and predictable than the events surrounding it and was, in a way, designed to be part of the famous light and laser show that would later take place in Houston, considered the largest outdoor concert in history with over 1.5 million spectators. By 1986, events were overwhelming even Jarre himself; "Rendez-Vous" was intended to be the centerpiece of the celebrations for NASA's 25th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of the founding of Houston.