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orientalfolksong
Joined: 07 Jun 2005
Posts: 23
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 Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 14:16 |
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From Sony to Universal
Alright, here's a funny idea. It is about the new album and what it represents to the history of the band. Not all, but most Jamiroquai fans that follow the band from the beginning can be roughly divided in these groups:
(1) The acid-jazz nuts: these like the 1st record alone. Rare breed.
(2) The anti-disco fans: these can't stand some of the fast-paced TWM-on era.
(3) The non-Pro Tools fans: these liked the first three albums, as they weren't autoclaved by over-clean mixing and production.
(4) The "open-minded" fans: these keep enjoying new Jamiroquai releases all these years, although they all agree that the band's first three albums were far superior to those that came after it.
And there are for sure more types one could formulate, according to one's purposes. These will suffice mine. Now what do all these fans have in common? Of course I am generalizing, but I've always seen these fans (that assert that the band has been declining) say that Sony was always to blame. Sure, some of Jay's ego, but that would be nothing compared to Sony's villainous demands. This is one of the reasons we see this negativity around; because everyone thought: once free from Sony, Jamiroquai will be free to express itself like in the old days. And yet, what we have seen are less than exciting results.
Question is: is there a possibility that Sony did have a really strong input in everything, but a rather positive one? |
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mr.az
Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 2421
Location: rallying
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| Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 14:59 |
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i am into the number 4 
to me, as a fan who always reach their music
is clearly that they changed alot trough the years, in fact is deniable
btw i know they always bring me music that i like/i want to
so, i come from the TWM era, so all the old-new styles were discovered by me while searching the story of the band.
thats why i dont bash so much the new stuff
i've become fan when the band already has changed, and to mee change is good, even if they change way too much 
anyways, i like to think we all love the band because what they give us
no matter from what era u started to follow them
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Only a fool can walk away from me this time
TWM=RDLS
AFO=AUTOMATON |
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Supersonic1
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 773
Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 15:36 |
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| mr.az wrote: |
thats why i dont bash so much the new stuff
i've become fan when the band already has changed, and to mee change is good, even if they change way too much |
Same here. I wasn't a full-fledged JMQ fan until A Funk Odyssey...I'm sure that leading up to AFO, the band got some flak for the electronic turn on that album...
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"...I feel that Jamiroquai needs to be taken to another stage now. It really does. Otherwise, I have to be honest, I can see a situation where...there is a possibility that you become lost in the annals of acid jazz history." -- Jason Kay |
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robotscantadlib
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 242
Location: san francisco
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| Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 21:28 |
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Re: From Sony to Universal
| orientalfolksong wrote: |
(1) The acid-jazz nuts: these like the 1st record alone. Rare breed.
(2) The anti-disco fans: these can't stand some of the fast-paced TWM-on era.
(3) The non-Pro Tools fans: these liked the first three albums, as they weren't autoclaved by over-clean mixing and production.
(4) The "open-minded" fans: these keep enjoying new Jamiroquai releases all these years, although they all agree that the band's first three albums were far superior to those that came after it.
Question is: is there a possibility that Sony did have a really strong input in everything, but a rather positive one? |
I don't fit into that scheme, but maybe I'm a weirdo - I really like EOPE, ROTSC, Synkronized, AFO but am not so hot on TWM (as an album, some of the tracks are of course glorious) and strongly dislike Dynamite. AFO has a highly produced sound, but it makes sense for that style of electronic funk. Maybe we could be called fans of the music made by Toby + Jay. Dynamite had a lot of just well..corny/meh material. I'm Hot Tequila Brown (insert gunshot sound effect)..
Also, it seems like Sony at least had their finger to the pulse of Jamiroquai - they understood what the band was about and how to market them. |
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Jamarcus
Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Posts: 142
Location: California
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| Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 22:50 |
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I overreacted by editing a previous post about Jay’s ego having a negative impact on the group. During the making of SYNK there’s no doubt Jay received label and self imposed pressure to match the band’s new found acceptance in the US. However I don’t believe Sony encouraged the hip and urban sounding Jamiroquai to take the sharp musical turn they took with SYNK. After Stuart left I remember the heartache it caused among fans: I was indifferent. To this day I knew something was wrong once Canned Heat was released as the first single. It’s too camp for my taste.
Let’s fast forward today. I feel like Jay has cheapened his b[r]and by caring less about lyrics and more about figuring out formulas for capturing quick hits at radio. I don’t see them as a group anymore because Jay and the producers he hires are making all the major decisions that were once the band’s own choices just creating music. The blaming Sony thing is the Michael Jackson defense. Success can isolate and betray the interior of a person. When things fail it’s never their choices but the exterior circumstances created by the phantom corporations and the fickleness of the general public.
Last edited by Jamarcus on Fri Sep 24, 2010 22:59; edited 1 time in total |
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iranterres
Joined: 02 Apr 2008
Posts: 422
Location: Brasil
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| Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 22:51 |
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Jamarcus you're in the same point of view as i am.
I'm in the (4) group. Though there are honorable mentions in the subsequent albums as well.
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At the speed of cheeba, you and I go deeper... |
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Jamarcus
Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Posts: 142
Location: California
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| Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 06:08 |
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| iranterres wrote: |
Jamarcus you're in the same point of view as i am.
I'm in the (4) group. Though there are honorable mentions in the subsequent albums as well. |
I once was a true believer now I compartmentalize. I simply appreciate Jay as an entertainer. I have personal nostalgia for the music – his image – and what it meant to me as a teenager.
I’m a scavenger hunter for quality songs. What makes me stay? – Jay’s falsetto. |
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