You know, it’s been a while since I’ve geeked out on some music here. I don’t have a lot of
favorite artists, but there are some I tend to go back to from time to time.
You can find most of them here on the blog. One group I’ve been listening to a
lot has been… (checks Google)… Jamiroquai. If you don’t know who they are, you
can do two things: look up that music video with the white room and moving
floor, or check out that Napoleon Dynamite dance scene. Yeah, it’s those dudes.
That “Virtual Insanity” music video was my first intro to the group, and that
was pretty much it for a long time.
For those not in the know, Jamiroquai is a British funk and
acid jazz group. Acid Jazz basically mixes funk, disco, R&B, and soul into
a blender. They also started to add a lot of house and techno music to their
repertoire in the 2000’s. Their front-man, Jason “Jay” Kay, is pretty much
known for the wacky hats he wears, his soulful voice, and some of the dancing
he does. While the group has some success in the US, they do much better on the
UK charts. They’ve released eight studio albums between 1992 and 2017.
“Virtual Insanity,” “Canned Heat,” and couple of other songs
were the only ones I heard for a long time. I think it was a couple of years
ago when I decided to check out the rest of their discography starting with
their first album, Emergency on Planet Earth. Since then, I’ve been listening
to more on my iPod. Since I’ve finally gotten to listen to their latest album,
Automaton, I thought I’d quickly talk about their albums and list off some of
my favorite tracks. I was going to originally do a favorites list, but I
couldn’t do it. Besides, I think I
would’ve thrown most of their first two albums on there.
Emergency on Planet Earth (1992)
Since I was going to make this music journey, I started off
with their first album and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was
interesting to see where they started off at. All of the songs are groovy,
smooth, and kickin’. This is definitely the jazziest album in their repertoire.
Also, that Bass kicked so much butt. I especially like some of the social songs
they have on here. Who says you can’t be funky and make a point? I don’t know
if I can say it’s my favorite of the bunch, but it is close.
Favorite Songs:
- Too Young To Die – While “When You’re Gonna Learn” starts off the album well, this one here hits more. The message and the music combine to make something nice.
- Music of the Wind – This is a musical piece. It starts out with a slow jam that needs to be played during “The Quiet Storm” on 92Q. It then bumps into a pretty fast-paced piece.
- Emergency on Planet Earth – Here we got a funky song about the environment. Heck, with all that’s going on these days, this song (and this album) is pretty relevant.
The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994)
This was a great follow-up album. In some ways, it’s a
little better than their first one. The funk and jazz is still around, but
things do feel a little varied here. We get some slow jams like “Morning Glory.”
Meanwhile, if you want something more brisk, try “Light Years.” Of course,
there’s the fast, funky anthem to potheads everywhere: “Space Cowboy.” It’s a
great album all around.
Favorite Songs:
- Space Cowboy – Yes, I love this song even though it’s about getting high off weed. You know you can get high off stuff other than drugs, right, kids? Try some funky music because that does it for me… no, this message hasn’t been brought to you by D.A.R.E.!
- Light Years – This is a funky, medium jam that talks about changing one’s self. It also has one slamming bass line. Heck, if there’s another thing that should be associated with the group, it’s the phrase “bada$$ Ba$$!”
- Manifest Destiny – With this one, we get slower but we also get pretty melancholy. The song’s about how the doctrine of “manifest destiny” has led to a lot of messed up stuff that’s happened in the past… as well as now. Even though the lyrics hit a downbeat note, the music is beautiful. Stick around after the singing on this one.
- Scam – I had to go four songs on this album, so I might as well go with the fast-paced “Scam”. This one also has a bit of a message to it, but I’m just listening to the awesome music. It’s got a disco vibe to it, which is something the group doesn’t get away from in their later albums.
Travelling Without Moving (1996)
Next up is the one that got them critical acclaim all over
the world. While this one has the groups best song on there, it’s not as high
as the first two. One reason for that is because I haven’t had this album for
long. Still, it’s as funky as the first two. The group feels like they really
hit their groove here with the music and lyrics.
Favorite Songs:
- Virtual Insanity – It’s my favorite song from them. The music is slamming, and it has a nice message about how technology could really take over everything… huh, I guess they were right there!
- Alright – This is a pretty funky love song. Simple as that. Still, it hits in all the right places and then some.
- High Times – This funky song is about living it up in the night life and that how it might not go well for ya. At least the music awesome.
Synkronized (1999)
The last one for the night is their fourth album. This was
when they started to make their turn into their funky disco era. You’ll also notice that “Bada$$ Ba$$” isn’t as
slapping in this one. That’s because Stuart Zender, their original bassist,
left the group. It’s a good album, but I gotta admit that I’m missing the jazzy
sound which is barely here. Also, we got
no social songs which that kinda sucks. Still, it’s got one of my favorite
songs on here (“Canned Heat”), and the rest of the songs definitely deserve a
listen too.
Favorite Songs:
- Canned Heat – Now, I was a fan of this song before Jon Heder even threw on that wig. I even remember the music video that had Jay Kay doing a Spider-Man impression and a quick scene of two folk… uh, kinda getting busy. I always wondered why MTV blurred that part out in the video. Anyway, it’s funky, fast, and smooth.
- Butterfly – Here’s their funky, slow, love song here. Seriously, when that bass comes in at the beginning, you know what time it is… it’s time to use the deep Barry White voice!
- Black Capricorn Day – Lastly, here’s a song that does hearken back to the earlier albums for a bit. It’s also got a pretty swanky sound to it like Curtis Mayfield gave some pointers or something.
………………………………………………………………
Well, that should do it for now. Tomorrow, I’ll come back
with the rest of the group’s albums, and I may even rank them. For now, I’m
gonna groove myself to sleep. Peace and God Bless.
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