The Concerts in China

The Concerts in China (French title: Les Concerts en Chine) is a live album by Jean Michel Jarre, recorded in 1981 and released in 1982 on Disques Dreyfus. It was recorded during Jarre's Concerts in China tour of Autumn 1981, which consisted of five Peking and Shanghai concerts in China; this was the first time a Western pop artist performed in China after the Cultural Revolution.

The album is a balance of previously released tracks by Jarre, new compositions inspired by Chinese culture, and one rearranged traditional Chinese track ("Fishing Junks at Sunset"). The album consists mainly of live material, plus ambient sound recordings and one new studio track "Souvenir of China". Other new compositions recorded live include "Night in Shanghai", "Laser Harp", "Arpegiator" and "Orient Express". "Fishing Junks at Sunset" is a new arrangement of a very old traditional Chinese song known as the "Fisherman's Chant at Dusk" which was performed and recorded with The Peking Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra, and is often wrongly attributed as being composed by Jean Michel Jarre, misled by the album inlay.

The album was originally released as a double-disc LP, then as a double-disc CD. There was also a CD release in two separate volumes, with the cover color changed to blue (Vol. 1) and yellow (Vol. 2.

In 1997, a one-disc remastered CD was released, made possible by reducing the total running time to 78:17 by reducing the gaps and audience noise between tracks. The remastering was done by Scott Hull at Masterdisk to the 96 Khz - 24 bit standard.

"Magnetic Fields I" is listed on the sleeve but is not present on the album. The track instead contains 20 seconds of table-tennis.

One of the album's original tracks – "Arpegiator" – was used in the soundtrack of the cult film 9½ Weeks.

The Concerts in China's opening track "The Overture" is in fact the first movement of "Magnetic Fields Part 1" slowed down.

The album reached #6 in the UK charts and #1 in Portugal.

Read more about The Concerts In China:  Personnel

Famous quotes containing the words concerts and/or china:

    The concerts you enjoy together
    Neighbors you annoy together
    Children you destroy together
    That make marriage a joy
    Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930)

    The roof of England fell
    Great Paris tolled her bell
    And China staunched her milk and wept for bread
    Karl Shapiro (b. 1913)