A Funk Odyssey is my favourite

Jamiroquai - High Times: Singles 1992-2006 (Columbia)

 

 

When Jay Kay burst onto the scene in the early '90s with his squiffy buffalo headgear, Stevie Wonder vocals and the occasional didgeridoo, it looked like a throw-back to the 'glory days' of jazz-funk in the mid-'80s when the slap-bass of Level 42 ran amok and white men desperately tried to 'get down', while looking like geography teachers having a mid-life crisis, driving white Ford Capris (ask yer dad) with fluffy dice and no sense of irony.

 

Thankfully Jay Kay had the moves, the youth, the grooves and his tongue in his cheek (and countless womens'), although not the god-like vision his sleevenotes would credit him with, to bring this much-maligned genre into contemporary focus.

 

Jamiroquai is always spoken of as a group but is in reality centred around frontman Jay Kay and his revolving bandmates. As this playboy such was his fondness for dolly birds, dust-ups and 'dusting his nose' that he looked like becoming a caricature better known for his fists than his hits. Luckily last year's Dynamite album saw Jay take stock of his songwriting, knock his powder habit into touch and return with some rubbery new rhythms that reeked of a clear head getting back to business.

 

As con 'best of's' go it's not a bad job, wisely opting for the chronological approach to track listings, there is a marked progression from the jazz-funk origins through to the sleek discoid core and the current funk-fuelled tuneage that we are familiar with, and perhaps too familiar with.

 

Admittedly there isn't a huge variety in his styles or lyrical concerns on display here. There seems to be three speeds to Jamiroquai: the fast, 'dirty' funk (Deeper Underground), the acoustic, mellow funk (Seven Days In Sunny June) or the soulless polished discoball...err...funk (Virtual Insanity). The real stinkers here are the aimless, the tuneless or the clueless; step forward Space Cowboy, High Times and newie Radio.

 

In true best of tradition there are two ubiquitous 'brand new tracks' of varying necessity. Single Runaway treads a familiar tired (sic) and tested disco-lite path, while Radio tries to dirty things up: "Let's do some crazy shit tonight." How you wish he would.

 

The lyrics of Jay Kay are never going to give scholars sleepless nights. Three out of the first four tracks here are virtually lyrically interchangeable in their eco-concerns, which at the time was alien, edgy and dangerous but today sounds like Coldplay...with didgeridoos. That said these early tracks were tasty, with personal concerns and highly accomplished acid jazz.

 

So what's the appeal to millions of global record-buying public? Basically good time music. A bit of disco, soul, funk and the allure of Saturday night mirrorballs spinning a bit of starlight into your stereo as an escape from the grime of the world. Heartbreak is glimpsed through a chink in the mirrorball armour on the trio of comedown classics Little L, Corner Of The Earth and the sublime Seven Days In Sunny June.

 

As a poster-boy for hedonism they could have done worse. With fancy footwork, tight basslines and swooping strings Jay took the disco beast and his host of rare groove influences and wove it into his own trademark sound. From one who has a passion for cars you can imagine that these sound fantastic burning rubber down the highways in your Lamborghini...or more realistically your pimped-Vauxhall Corsa.

 

The best that can be hoped for from this collection and Jamiroquai's subsequent freedom from his contract, is that it could allow him/them to take a few more risks and make his/their songs sound a bit more human instead of as finely-tuned and soulless as one of his beloved gas-guzzling motors. De-pimp his ride.

 

http://www.musicomh.com/albums5/jamiroquai-3_1106.htm

I love Jay Kay! Genius!

My History teacher made me listen to them :)

And i'm very grateful :D Cause Jamiroquai has very good music :D

you know i love him so much,all their stuffs

new video is hilarious

Oh he's good :) Ive seen his new videoclip, really good :D

yeah,my favorite is too young to die ,video for sure,but song maybe no

I love The Corner of the Earth :anxious:

 

I actually love the video (I have a tiny thing for indians), but the song is pretty catchy too.

he's a great funk musician

Jamiroquai's Jay Takes a Break

 

Jay Kay, frontman and lead vocalist for acid jazz outfit Jamiroquai, has decided to call it quits for a year. The band's greatest hits compilation, High Times: Singles 1992-2006 hit shelves yesterday, effectively ending the eight-album contract that the band had with Sony. Jay has taken this move as an opportunity to take a year off and end that part of his career.

 

Jay is reported as saying, "I like the sense of closure that the greatest hits album has to it. I've closed this chapter of my career at the right time and it's great. I'm ready to move on and see what comes next - a year off, that's the plan."

 

Hopefully, the year off will afford the frontman the ability to regain the creativity that has been somewhat lacking in the last two or three years. The magic of songs like "Travelling Without Moving" was slowly replaced by more unfortunate clichéd songs like "(Don't) Give Hate a Chance," from 2005's Dynamite and, more recently, Runaway, one of the two original tracks on the High Times compilation. Of course, that isn't to say they aren't good songs - they just don't show the quality of his earlier work, and as such, news like this has drawn little criticism.

 

Coldplay, now Jamiroquai - who will be the next mainstream British band to take a break from the scene?

 

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/08/082950.php

*Edited* "No more Jamiroquai" - Misquote and Untrue

 

Jay Kay lead singer of band Jamiroquai has announced he is to quit the music scene :(

 

http://www.nme.com/news/jamiroquai/26737

Edited post:

Apparently it's not true?

From the blog on his MySpace:

OK, so there is a story in today's Mirror implying Jay is quitting the music business: Needless to say they've got it completely wrong! You see, in a quick chat with one of the paper's journalists following his record breaking Gig in the Sky yesterday, Jay mentioned he was taking time out to update his home studio and take some time off before the band go back in to start writing a new album later in the year. He also talked about working on new arrangements of songs so next time they go out on tour they have fresh take on the tracks they play live perhaps incorporating strings or horns. Perhaps they should listen next time! When they gonna learn? On seeing the way his chat was reported today in the Mirror Jay said "As usual they got it wrong for a cheap headline! All I said was that we're taking a bit of time out to get the studio refurbished and we'll be back making music in a few months time. There's no way I'm quitting the music business - now I am out of my long contract with SonyBMG we have so many options open to us we're just going to take our time and get it right - its just getting interesting!"

which is right then?

Oh :mean: I was temporarily shocked!!!

This is good to know then.

Bloody tabloids and their sensationalist headline quotes :mean:

Jay Kay lead singer of band Jamiroquai has announced he is to quit the music scene :(

 

http://www.nme.com/news/jamiroquai/26737

 

WTTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

....it's false......i hope.....!

It's FALSE........:D

Good :D

i loove Jamiroquai!!!

i do loove seven days in sunny june :D :D

but i heard from the news that Jay Kay will be out of music and stop music contract, isn't it?

check this out : http://funkin.com/news/?id=3540

"but i heard from the news that Jay Kay will be out of music and stop music contract, isn't it?"

 

False.