This is a tough one, it really is. The cynical side of me says Oxygene is the synth sound track for every Z-grade science fiction movie made between 1976 and 1989. The emotional side of me realizes that Oxygene is clearly more than just the product of some hack in his basement pounding away on his DX7. I think the big problem my brain is having is the sound is very remiscient of the score for A Clockwork Orange. That score was also arranged on synthesizers with similar haunting beauty, but was based on classical works by Beethoven, Mozart, and the like. Jean Michel Jarre has composed his own music in that style and for the most part it is captivating.
The other problem my brain is having is I just complained about overlong crud on The Dark Side Of The Moon. It's not really fair to say the songs on Oxygene are overlong because it's really meant to be a continuous piece of music (broken up only by the two sides of an LP). I think the difference lies in Oxygene's symphonic roots. I think Oxygene could be rearranged note-for-note to be played by an orchestra and be just as beautiful. I guess I'm saying its a genre thing. Oxygene's long passages work great in a symphony, whereas Dark Side's long passages seem overindulgent on a prog-rock album.
There are sections of Oxygene that sound too much like 8-bit video game music. I still plan on making this part of my music collection. 4 stars.
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