Live From Gdańsk (pol. "Shipyard Concert", referring to Gdańsk Shipyard

Gdansk Shipyard

Gdańsk Shipyard is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk. The yard gained international fame when Solidarity was founded there in September 1980...

) is a live album

Live album

A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...

 by Jean Michel Jarre

Jean Michel Jarre

Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...

, released in 2005, exclusively in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. It contains selected songs performed during Jarre's Space of Freedom

Space of Freedom

Space of Freedom was a concert performed by French musician Jean Michel Jarre in Poland, at the Gdańsk Shipyard, on August 26, 2005, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity trade union's foundation...

 concert in Gdańsk

Gdansk

Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

, Poland, on August 26, 2005, commemoraiting twenty-five years of the Solidarity movement .

Jean Michel Jarre performed together with Polish Baltic Philharmonic and Gdańsk University

Gdansk University

- History :The University of Gdańsk was established in 1970 by the amalgamation of the Higher School of Economics in Sopot and Gdańsk College of Education .- School Authorities :* Rector: Prof. dr hab. Bernard Lammek...

 Choir.

Apart from his own works, the album also features Jarre's electronic-style interpretation of Polish protest song

Protest song

A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...

 "Mury

Mury (song)

Mury was a sung poetry protest song written by Polish singer Jacek Kaczmarski in 1978. In People's Republic of Poland, in the early eighties of 20th century it became a symbol of the opposition to the communist regime...

", written by Jacek Kaczmarski

Jacek Kaczmarski

Jacek Kaczmarski was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author.Kaczmarski was a voice of the Solidarity trade union movement in 1980s Poland, for his commitment to a free Poland, independent of Soviet rule. His songs criticized the ruling communist regime and appealed to the tradition of...

 in 1978, to the melody of "L'estaca" by Lluís Llach

Lluís Llach

Lluís Llach i Grande is a Catalan composer and songwriter.Though partially dependent on arrangers, like Manel Camp or Carles Cases in his early works, Llach's songwriting has largely evolved from the more basic early compositions to a vastly more complex harmonic and melodic writing...

.

Cover art

Cover art features shipyard cranes in the foreground, then a photograph of Gdańsk Shipyard workers, and wooden tablets of 21 demands of MKS

21 demands of MKS

21 demands of MKS were a list of demands issued on 17 August 1980 by the Interfactory Strike Committee . The first demand was the right to create independent trade unions...

 in the background.

Critical reception

Fans complained about the length of the album, which contains only nine out of twenty-four songs performed during the event. In their review, Polish magazine Teraz Rock described this release as "undoubtedly too short" .

Track listing

Note: Jean Michel Jarre has a long practice of changing the names of his songs when performing them live (see the list of Jean Michel Jarre compositions with multiple titles for details). In such case, original name is indicated below the new one.

1. "Shipyard Overture" – 4:59
   • original title: "Industrial Revolution: Overture"
2. "Oxygene 4" – 4:21
3. "Mury
   Mury (song)
   Mury was a sung poetry protest song written by Polish singer Jacek Kaczmarski in 1978. In People's Republic of Poland, in the early eighties of 20th century it became a symbol of the opposition to the communist regime...
   
   " – 5:49
4. "Space of Freedom" – 5:01
   • original title: "March 23"
5. "Oxygene 8" – 4:45
6. "Light My Sky" – 4:51
   • original title: "Tout Est Bleu"
7. "Tribute to John Paul II" – 6:24
   • original title: "Akropolis"
8. "Rendez-vous 4" – 6:20
9. "Aerology Remix" – 5:15

Personnel

• Jean Michel Jarre – keyboards, mixing desk, laser harp, theremin, vocals
• Francis Rimbert
  Francis Rimbert
  Francis Rimbert is a French musician and composer.- Biography :Francis Rimbert started playing classical piano when he was 5 years old. At the conservatory, he studied harmony, counterpoint, the fugue and orchestral leading...
  
   – keyboards, electronic percussions
• Claude Samard – keyboards, guitars, musical coordinator
• Polish Baltic Philharmonic
• Gdańsk University Choir