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Lydster
Joined: 25 Jul 2005
Posts: 335
Location: Out.
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JamiroFan2000
Correspondent
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 2881
Location: The Jamiroquaized States Of America
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 Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 19:48 |
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 Hello again,
 I found another little reference review of Jamiroquai's Dynamite on the USAToday website commented on by their Music Critic Ken Barnes .... though it looks like he isn't very impressed , nevertheless, here it is:
San Jose,California: Hello Ken.What is your opinion of Jamiroquai? I just heard their new single "Feels Just Like It Should" and it is great....it's more rock-soun ding and edgier than many of their recent singles which are more retro-disco sounding.I like it alot.Their new CD 'Dynamite' will be released in June,I believe.Do you think they will finally have a shot at major success in the US?
Ken Barnes: Well, that sounds promising, but I have had no use at all for them previously--when it comes to dance-oriented music, I usually like the most pop-styled, often cheesy, Eurodisco around--the stuff that sounds the most like old girl-group records.
As for Jamiroquai's chances for success, I think their boat has sailed and doubt they have much of a shot now.
I just hope he actually LISTENS to the darn album then gives it a fair review. Thanks for listening and Peace!
Sincerely,
JamiroFan2000
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 18:28 |
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+ Reviews
Hello Jamirotalkers,
New 'Dynamite' reviews:
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JAMIROQUAI
Dynamite
(Epic)
Rating: 4
US release date: 20 September 2005
UK release date: 20 June 2005
Wondering where the long-delayed new studio album from Stevie Wonder went? Perplexed as to why it's been removed from the upcoming releases roster, not once, but twice in the last two years?
Maybe we should ask Jamiroquai's Jay Kay, the British neo-funkmeister who needs to seriously consider depositing his song royalties straight into Wonder's checking account. Under the guise of space cowboy and beneath fluffy Seuss hats, Kay's shtick is both intoxicating and cheap: when he opens his mouth, sultry music escapes, slinky, moonwalkable stuff with a stale bouquet, like the scents from an Innervisions yard sale filtered through a 20-year wormhole. Is this the future? A giant recycling heap stored inconspicuously below a sequined dance floor? In its breakthrough 1996 single, Jamiroquai opined that the imminent future was "virtual insanity". Ten years later, "virtual" still clouds up much of the crystal ball -- Dynamite is virtually a 21st century rehash of classic soul, served with a side of disco kitsch. Is Dynamite really Wonder youthfully repackaged or has it sent Wonder into damage control mode, afraid he'd appear to be imitating an imitator?
Does it really matter? Jamiroquai just wants to groove us, wants to get our feet bubbling to big distorted, chunky riffs ("Feels Just Like It Should"), spit-shined disco glides that hiccup like Prince's "Kiss" on a Studio 54 budget ("Dynamite"), and pixilated soul for the Nintendo generation ("Electric Mistress"). As long as they flaunt the bluesy guitar licks ("Black Devil Car") and shower us with major seventh chords ("Seven Days in Sunny June"), will we bite, completely oblivious to where they were hijacked from? "Starchild" is a damn good slice of undeniable, so should we care if its verses are nothing more than "Superstition" in a flimsy disguise?
The main reason it's so hard to embrace such likeable music is that it's blatantly transparent. Kay and company may mimic the façade of their idols impeccably, but their songs have vapid centers. The operative word in "soul music" is soul, man, and we've got to be able to see and feel it, not just look through it. Kay's voice is like velvet touching the magic place, affecting Curtis Mayfield falsetto in "Feels Just Like It Should" and Stevie Wonder sass in just about everything else, but he's got little to say beyond the oft-heard club pick-up line. Ladies, you'll remember such repetitive, grope-accompanying pleas as: "Girl, you got the look", "Let's burn this highway down", "She's just a love machine", and, if you happened to reject one of those, "Why'd you have to drop that bomb on me?" Dynamite may aim for a space on the shelves next to the classics, but it's merely club music made for anonymous bump-and-grinds, something to stain the armpits of T-shirts and accelerate other social lubricants.
When the Jamiroquai libido wanes, socially conscious topics bubble to the surface. Because who doesn't like to talk politics after a feisty romp in the sack? The syrupy piano ballad "World That He Wants" and Pointer Sisters jamboree "(Don't) Give Hate a Chance" feel calculated when sandwiched between the humid odes to horniness. It's at times like these that you wish Jamiroquai just stuck to doing what it does best: thieving attitude from the greats while embarking on the ultimate hook-up quest. |
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Jamiroquai
Dynamite
Not unlike one of its lead singer Jay Kay's much publicized Lamborghinis, the U.K. funk band Jamiroquai is primarily a vehicle for its frontman's various fetishes. Which is another way of saying that Kay loves disco and fancy retro sneakers and he wears both well. He has done so ever since he hippie-danced his way out of the acid jazz ghetto of the early '90s with Jamiroquai's revelatory debut album, Emergency on Planet Earth. That album featured Kay's bright and soulful vocals against '70s-style funk and drew obvious comparisons to Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, and sundry other icons of vintage R&B. Not too much has changed in the years since and 2005's Dynamite finds Kay and Co. delving once again into various '70s- and '80s-inspired dance sounds. Similar to 2001's dazzlingly slick Funk Odyssey, Dynamite reveals Kay as a dancefloor eclectic, inclined to grab as much from Chic and Parliament as Kajagoogoo, the Police, and Terry Callier. Keeping to this grab bag aesthetic, Kay makes the most of his experimentation with some "vocal bass synthetics" on the hard funk title track. Also engaging is the melancholy soul-folk of "Seven Days in Sunny June" and the similarly quiet storm-ready ballad "Talullah." On the funky side of things, "Starchild" finds Kay proclaiming the coming of a disco superman while "Time Won't Wait" is an infectious Off the Wall-era Michael Jackson boogie fest with Kay urging people to make their dreams come true over a bed of pulsating disco beats. The Jamiroquai faithful would accept nothing less. |
D! (dyego) |
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Supersonic1
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 773
Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 05:17 |
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Amazon.com is giving good marks on Dynamite!
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Jason Kay melds his longtime '70s fixations with '80s style synths on Dynamite, Jamiroquai’s first record since 2001's A Funk Odyssey. It's been a long time since the acid jazz/funk hit "Virtual Insanity" (1996's Traveling Without Moving, to be exact), and even though the band never became the huge hit machine they seemed destined to become, they've continued to put out solid work. Odyssey and 1999's Synkronized showed off Kay's dexterity with this material, mining urban dance grooves from a goldmine of Motown, Stevie Wonder and far-ranging disco and soul. Dynamite keeps going, constructing an exuberant club vibe out of R&B styles, but also borderline electro ("Electric Mistress"), jumpy Squeeze-style pop ("Black Devil Car") and soulful, smooth nostalgia ("Seven Days In Sunny June"). A would-be guilty pleasure, only without the guilt, Kay's musical obsessions combine with his burgeoning talent on Dynamite to create another winner. --Matthew Cooke
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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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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 17:39 |
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Jamiroquai– ‘Dynamite’ (Epic)
Let’s get one thing straight – Jamiroquai has always been and is currently a band, not one person. After a 4-year hiatus, the man of many personalities, Jason Kay (Jay Kay), along with a collective ensemble of musicians has returned with their sixth album, ‘Dynamite.’ Although the constant change of band members has given them the challenge of starting over again and again, this album gives a glimpse of hope.
Combining ingredients of funk, soul, rock and pop, this is the most diverse (not best) Jamiroquai album to date. The adrenaline heavy lead single, “Feels Just Like It Should” excels in its concept and Jay’s vocal bass synthesizing is impressive, but it fails to capture the essence of the album. But, that’s a good thing. As we groove through the disco inspired title track, and cruise around “Starchild” and “Electric Mistress” - two tunes that allow guitarist Rob Harris to shine, we hit a chill spot hidden in one of the highlights, “Seven Days in Sunny June”. This sexy summer anthem is glazed with the keyboards of Matt Johnson, as Jay sings sensual lines like “Baby, let’s get it on. Drinking wine and killing time, sitting in the summer sun.” Those craving the old Jamiroquai should skip right to slightly jazzy love ballad, “Tallulah”, in which the live instrumentation goes beyond the regular set up and includes a flute and saxophone melody. Beautiful song, but it’s one of those that has to grow on you.
Long time followers of Jay’s style know that he disguises political and social messages in lyrics as heard in third single, “(Don’t) Give Hate a Chance”, which opens with a wicked drum/percussion feature and speaks of global peace. It’s a great lead in to the ballad, “World That He Wants,” which has an unexpected crescendo and speaks candidly to a certain (cough) president. The ending track “Time Won’t Wait” is indeed the best ‘Dynamite’ has to offer. It starts off fast and quiet, but explodes into an inspirational anthem with Jay’s voice transcending octaves and dipping into raw passion as he sings, “Every second screams, listen to your dreams, ‘cause you just can’t stop the clock.” The energy moves from the soul to the feet as an alluring cry to live life free and uninhibited.
Dynamite showcases the travels Jay took around the world while writing this album. Seeking out the brilliant Benjamin Wright to lead the string arrangements and using digital production software, Pro-Tools, Jay wanted to package the album as a new sound that reflects evolution and experimentation. Old fans will have to accept that this isn’t a carbon copy of 1993’s organically sound, ‘Emergency on Planet Earth’ or 1997’s ground breaking, ‘Traveling Without Moving,’ but ‘Dynamite’ holds true to the Jamiroquai roots of creating an independent vibe that commands you to dance. It’s easy to give in to the theory that Jamiroquai is a has-been band or believe the tabloid gossip surrounding the lead singer, but true fans of the 13-year old band are smarter than that. They choose to listen to the music; and what a beautiful choice that is. |
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Jamiroquai - Dynamite
****
It’s the return of the Space Cowboy as Jay Kay keeps hope alive
Alison Story
(Epic) Blue-eyed soul boy Jay Kay has been delivering his inimitable brand of UK disco-funk for more than a minute now. A lot has happened since those glory days of “Virtual Insanity” and MTV awards; he became tabloid fodder in a doomed celebrity relationship, kicked cocaine and lost two vital band members. On his first full-length in four years, a clean and refocused Jay Kay sounds more vital and energized than he has in a few albums. He opens the show with the hard funk of “Feels Just Like it Should,” followed by the soulful disco shuffle of the title track (it’s a wryly ironic title, given how the movie Napoleon Dynamitemade Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat” into a hit for a whole new and much younger generation). “Seven Days” maintains that classic Jamiroquai vibe, with a soaring chorus and swelling string section. Loaded with thumping dance anthems, Dynamite explodes with hot beats and good feelings. |
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New Jamiroquai is 'Dynamite'
by Eric Smith
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Jamiroquai's sixth album, Dynamite, has a lot to live up to. After all, not one of their previous releases has reached a spot on the U.K. charts lower than No. 2. Obviously, the Brits have not forgotten about this band. This is despite the fact that American interest in Jamiroquai quickly grew and dissipated in response to the 1996 release of Travelling Without Moving, which featured the MTV-friendly "Virtual Insanity."
The band actually hit the ground running with their first few albums, as a key player in Europe's acid jazz scene in the early-90s. As the group began to base its sound more around an electronic, disco/funk beat, it finally conquered the United States. Each album since has better displayed their new direction, as well as their versatility.
In Dynamite, the band truly gives its most versatile performance to date. There is a well-balanced mixture of styles throughout the album, which really gives it a nice pulse. Jamiroquai lets it be known that it isn't going to stray from its now-trademark disco beat. Also in the mix are slower guitar and piano-based tracks. Another, "Talullah," hearkens back to the acid jazz sound that popularized the band.
One thing missing from Dynamite is Jamiroquai's signature environmentalist lyrics. And while the band seems to be trying a more nihilistic, carefree approach with this album, one song "(Don't) Give Hate a Chance," has an incredibly political edge to it. The song features lyrics like "Don't give this hate a chance/We've got all this love to give, you know/That this dream's alive, will still survive/Until no more people have to cry."
Dynamite begins with the first, and most successful, single from the album thus far, "Feels Just Like It Should." It is a testament to how far the band has come in terms of songwriting. Front man Jay Kay's voice has an unusual coarseness to it, and it rips through the high-powered electric beat and contagious hook.
Jamiroquai slows the pace down at just the right moments to give the listener a breather. "World That He Wants" is mainly comprised of piano and Kay's vocals, and it really cools everything down midway through the album. It also features Kay doing his very best Stevie Wonder impression.
Dynamite was released this June in the U.K., Australia and Japan. It reached No. 3 in the U.K. charts, and was released in the U.S. on September 20. The album is a well-mixed collection of pop hits, and it is by no means transcendent. But it highlights the band's musical literacy and sheer talent as well as any one of its previous records.
B+ |
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Jamiroquai Dynamite
It has been roughly four years since Jamiroquai released its last record, A Funk Odyssey, in 2001. There has since been somewhat of a funk-drought in the UK—as if Europe coasted on pseudo-grooves in anticipation for Jay Kay’s cosmic mind to get back into action.
Well, Jay has, and with an entirely new lineup on Jamiroquai’s most recent venture, the cleverly titled Dynamite (a reference lost on those who have not seen the film Napoleon Dynamite).
Upon listening to the nasty, gritty, fuzzy first track, “Feels Just Like It Should”, any musichead will recognize the serious heat (among the best efforts by Jay Kay and company… ever). After “Feels…”, I thought Jamiroquai’s four-year absence from the studio may have led the group in new directions. However, the remaining tracks deliver a disappointing par performance.
After going from funksanity on track one, we are led back into the good old Jamiroquai days—four-on-the-floor disco funk. Not bad (Jamiroquai cannot be bad at this point), but nothing spectacular either. We see a middle ground between the electric Jay Kay and the band Jamiroquai on Dynamite—a mix between A Funk Odyssey and The Return of the Space Cowboy.
Regardless, this album is most definitely worth the buy, and despite its somewhat formula-formatting, it’s still a solid release. |
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Jay Kay's back with a bang
'Dynamite'
Jamiroquai (Epic)
Rating: **** (four stars)
After a four-year grounding, the space cowboy is flying again.
Jamiroquai's Jay Kay has reportedly kicked cocaine in the hiatus between 2001's "A Funk Odyssey" and the new "Dynamite," but he thankfully hasn't cleaned up his sound: "Dynamite" is dirty with gritty energy, the product of a digital/organic fusion of funk, dance, rock and R&B.
A decade ago, the British Kay was getting by as a Stevie Wonder-sounding, wiry 20-something with a knack for deep grooves. (Although there are others behind the scenes in the act, "Jamiroquai" has essentially been synonymous with "Jay Kay" over the years.)
Now he's a diversified 35-year-old who has never sounded more self-assured - and Kay's confidence has always been his selling point.
"Dynamite" may not have any tracks on par with early Jamiroquai songs such as "Virtual Insanity," "Alright" and "Canned Heat," but the new release is more solid overall than Kay's previous works.
Although his trademark soulful vocals surface with a familiar air on the springy "Starchild," on "Dynamite's" pure-disco title track he's more Bee Gees than Wonder. Also, Kay is as comfortable with stylistic swings as he is with vocal shifts, cozying up to the warm jazz of "Talullah," for instance, and bashing George W. Bush with the plaintive ballad "World That He Wants." And despite the fact his forays into rock - "Feels Just Like It Should" and "Black Devil Car" - are a bit jumbled, he shows Lenny Kravitz-like swagger.
Still, Kay thrives best in his natural habitat, dance music, where he also switches it up. He subtly works his way into the electronic melee of "Electric Mistress" on one hand and aggressively goes toe-to-toe with the heady wash of "Love Blind" on the other - with equally rewarding results.
Maturity hasn't made an old man of Kay yet. |
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Jamiroquai
'Dynamite,' Epic
Jamiroquai's new collection finally comes stateside this fall, but purchasing the June-released import would've been money well spent. Using straight R&B as a springboard, Jay Kay shows off all the things he does well with remarkable consistency. The thick, gritty, Kravitz-inspired opener gives way to another faultless ten songs that beg for repeated listening. From the funky, retro stylings of "Starchild" and the title track, on through the dramatic ballad "World That He Wants," "Dynamite" stays true to its title. |
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Jamiroquai - Dynamite
Jay Kay has never been the most popular of rock stars - his silly hats, ridiculous car collection and outrageously arrogant behaviour have seen to that. The man's massive record sales, on the other hand, demand that his music at least deserves to be taken seriously. On the suitably-titled Dynamite he's really pulled out all the stops, making his trademark retro-funk sound harder, dirtier and edgier than ever before. The only problem is that as slick and powerful as it is, it's also a bit soulless - not unlike one of his Ferraris, in fact. Lyrically it's the same old mixture of sexual boasting and political protest, including a heartfelt piano ballad about George Bush that proves a lot less embarrassing than you might think. With plenty of sunny melodies and potential singles here, this super-smooth album should do Jay Kay's bank balance a power of good. Whether it'll make him any more popular is much more doubtful. |
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DYNAMITE
“In a way, that whole ‘here we go again’ thing really does annoy me because everyone’s got their own style, ya’ know? Beethoven’s first few symphonies weren’t that different from his other symphonies; they weren’t the same but they had the same elements in them."
“I don’t want people saying, ‘Oh, here we go again’, when they hear a new song from me," says Jamiroquai main man, Jay Kay, when talking about his new album ‘Dynamite’.
Comfortably ensconced in the pub on his garden property (about an hour out of London in the leafy English countryside), he is sitting back talking to me about his new album, ‘Dynamite’, and the progression of Jamiroquai over the years.
Following the success of the first album, Jamiroquai successfully stayed in focus with the ‘Return Of The Space Cowboy’ and ‘Travelling Without Moving’ albums, although ‘99’s ‘Synchronised’ album seemed to lack the spark that the earlier albums possessed. By then, some detractors were firm in the belief that Jamiroquai’s appeal was wearing off, but 2001’s ‘A Funk Odyssey’ repositioned Jamiroquai at the top of their field with some sparkling dancefloor singles, and a world tour that rested squarely on Jay Kay’s enigmatic and infectious style. No where more so than in Australia, where Jamiroquai’s street-cred had begun to reach new heights.
"I was meeting kids out there in Australia from right around the world who came up to me on the beach, telling me how much they liked my music,” Jay Kay says of his last time in Australia. “ I remember thinking to myself then, that when I put out my first album they woulda’ been about five years old! A lot of my fans have stayed with me through the years, but it’s great to know that I’m still making new fans with each record. The gigs in Australia were great in that sense.
“I mean, I am 35 years old, and slowly, really slowly actually, I am starting to grow up a bit, and it’s good to know that people still like what I do. Right now I want something edgier, and what it is, is that with the tracks from this album, and in particular ‘Feels Just Like It Should’ and ‘Black Devil Car’, they’re really going to go the distance live, and blow people away. It’s important to feel like you can breakthrough boundaries and not just feel like I have to make another ‘Little L’, or whatever. I think our audience is mature enough to follow us down a different road, if we chose to go.”
Whilst renowned as the dancing cat-in-the-hat, and the provider of goodtimes, Jay Kay is also known for dealing with social issues via his lyrics. Where early on in his career he dealt with issues concerning the environment, his new album takes on the current state of world politics. Most notably, you can hear his assessments being made on the funky album anthem, ‘Give Hate A Chance’. As well as his swipe at G. W. Bush on the directly-titled, ‘The World That He Wants’.
“That song is actually on the end of ‘Give Hate A Chance’ – the two songs are linked,” Jay explains. “I’ve also got a song on the album called ‘Starman’ about crooked TV evangelists who are ripping people off and not delivering what they’re promising. I want to express myself through my songs and spark conversation about issues.
“I don’t really feel too much responsibility to make political statements, until the point where I’m ready to express myself, and write the lyrics I want to in a song," he continues, in reference to the topic on hand. “After that, you do whatever you can do to send the message out. I tell you what though, there’s an awful lot of messages to be sent out. There’s a lot that has to change. I mean I kinda’ realised that after the first album, that I really don’t want to take on that mantle because I couldn’t put my weight behind it in the way it needed ... (while) I’m also working on my craft as a musician. I don’t want to make these issues simple just because I have to fit words into a particular line – many of these issues are too important for me to conveniently summarise them like that.”
Sometimes Jay Kay wants to speak politics, sometimes he just wants to have fun. Today he’s bouncing around with all the excitement of a child at Christmas. He’s been focusing on the release of ‘Dynamite’, and is eager to get out on the road to take centre-stage in support of the album. It seems that he’s energised at the prospect of performing to his adoring public in the near future.
“In terms of listening to other music out there, I hear snippets of things. I’ve been listening to (‘70’s funk mistress) Betty Davies, and that to me is what funk really is. Music like that, and Brothers Johnson and Kleer, and all the stuff that was on the ‘Late Night Tales’ compilation I did. That’s the stuff that really gets me going. I do like the Scissor Sisters’ album, but aside from that I don’t pay too much attention to modern music. It’s funny also how fast things change out there at the moment, you can look down at a music chart, and wonder who the hell half the people on there are!
“I’ve just been focusing on making this album the best way possible, and I’m really happy that it’s come out the way it has. It’s "Dynamite"… and it’s getting ready to explode! How’s that for cheesy?" he laughs cheekily. |
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JAMIROQUAI
DYNAMITE
If consistency could be represented in terms of structures, Jamiroquai would be a bank vault. In the world of modern mainstream pop, there has been nothing as dependable as a Jamiroquai album, whether it read Emergency on Planet Earth, Traveling Without Moving or A Funk Odyssey on its front cover. Not only did all of their albums feature the same appealing blend of pop, funk and disco, but they were all good with a capital G; none have yet stood out as truly remarkable or truly abominable.
When Dynamite’s opening track, “Feels Just Like It Should,” invaded my little dorm room with its charismatic, big-beat stomp, it seemed to me that Dynamite had finally switched things up. Though it reminded me of the kind of music that Me’Shell NdegéOcello and the Chemical Brothers might make if they ever ran into each other in a dark alley, this was ultimately a redefined and revitalized Jamiroquai. “Feels Just Like It Should” is chock full of funk, confrontational beats, vocoder-ized guitar and all manner of dark synths and robotic sound effects—the kind of music that Jamiroquai, frankly, should have made earlier in their career.
The first track sounded like dynamite, alright, but does the rest of the album live up to its explosive title? Well, not really, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s not good. In fact, that’s exactly what Dynamite is—another good, solid Jamiroquai album to add to the list. Following “Feels Just Like It Should,” the mid-tempo disco jam “Dynamite” kicks in and suddenly we’re steeped in all-too-familiar territory, with slap bass and slick vocals and guitars that go wickey-wah all over the place. It’s not a bad song by any stretch—you could even do “The Hustle” to it if you really wanted to—but listening to “Dynamite,” as well as “Electric Mistress,” “Starchild,” and “Talulah,” gave me the nagging feeling that I’ve heard these songs before.
It follows from this that Dynamite’s strongest numbers are those that stray from the disco-funk “Jamiroquai formula.” In addition to the brilliant “Feels Just Like It Should,” the acoustic-led third track, “Seven Days In Sunny June,” counteracts the middling “Dynamite” with its sunny, effortless funk that rings with a genuine 1970s singer/songwriter vibe. Minimal may not seem like an adjective that could ever be associated with Jamiroquai, but a few understated, well-placed instruments make “World That He Wants” perhaps the most emotional song the band has yet penned. And through it all, it still sounds like Jamiroquai, albeit a Jamiroquai that believes it has the power to make music other than tasteful funk and disco.
Such radical approaches are not entirely foolproof, however, and a couple wild stabs at variation (“Black Devil Car” and “Hot Tequila Brown”) end up missing the mark. Still, Jamiroquai’s discography could greatly benefit from more of this kind of risk-taking. Enough disco, already; Jay Kay and the gang have put together some mighty fine booty-shakers over their decade-plus career, but now it’s time for the band to grow up. Indeed, Dynamite reveals glimmers of the great things they can accomplish by expanding their horizons and their palette, but they’re going to have to see these plans to completion if they hope to turn their albums from merely good to affirmably masterful. |
Want more reviews? Here
D! (dyego)
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deesh
Joined: 23 Feb 2002
Posts: 2717
Location: +001
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| Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 20:46 |
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it's nice to see all the different reviews! |
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Jamirobeto
Joined: 30 Oct 2004
Posts: 258
Location: Lima, Peru
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| Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 00:17 |
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and it's fun to see how these guys qualify 'canned heat' as an early track from jamiroquai
_________________
We're going to a funktion yeah yeah yeah |
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 17:48 |
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+ Reviews Online!
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Jamiroquai, "Dynamite" --
Ever since the British funk-pop-dance outfit Jamiroquai made a big splash in the United States with 1996's "Traveling Without Moving," I've been a fan.
Some critics didn't warm to Jamiroquai -- particularly the group's focal point, flamboyant lead singer and chief songwriter Jay Kay. They accused him of copping too many of Stevie Wonder's vocal licks. "Dynamite," an 11-cut set, isn't markedly different from the band's previous five albums.
You get modern disco tunes and sleek mid-tempo jams with Kay's piquant, slightly raspy delivery pushing the songs. The overall sound of the new music, however, boasts a harder digital edge.
With heavier beats, manipulated guitar lines and odd digital textures, "Dynamite" is less organic than Jamiroquai's other efforts. It's charged, sci-fi disco that updates elements of Chic and Parliament-Funkadelic.
-- Rashod D. Ollison,
The Baltimore Sun |
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Jamiroquai DYNAMITE
Released in June 2005, Dynamite is Jamiroquai's sixth album and it marks a new step in the evolution of the career of the band.
Four years after A Funk Odyssey, the British band comes back with an edgier album, almost as dark as the color of the CD inserts. Jason Kay (a.k.a. Jay) and his crew have not abandoned their nostalgia for disco-funk, but Dynamite definitely has a filthier sound to it, only softened by a few ballads.
The album begins with "Feels Just Like It Should," the first single released, and it sets the atmosphere for the whole CD; Jay, as a human beatbox, performs the bass line himself with a voice synthetizer. The rest of the album is just as electric; it is a clever mix of genres and the result is very energetic.
"Dynamite," which gave the album its name, is arguably one of the best tracks of the CD and it will delight those who have always enjoyed Jamiroquai's funky side. It is also very hard to resist "Starchild," another song that will make you want to get up and dance. The band explores various genres like jazz ("Love Blind"), rock ("Black Devil Car") and gives us another dose of old school funk in "(Don't) Give Hate a Chance" - no doubt that the title here is a direct reference to John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."
There are only two ballads on this new album, but there are both excellent. "Seven Days in Sunny June," which will be the second single released from Dynamite is a catchy song with clever lyrics. "Tallulah," with its jazzy touch, is also touching.
The topics approached are very diverse. Jay sings about love, religion and peace, entertains us with his passion for cars and ends with "Hot Tequila Brown," a more introspective song. The band also approaches political issues with the song "World That He Wants," a track that Jay claims to be "loosely aimed at any dictator, but in this instance it's aimed at George Bush." On the other hand, the first single, "Feels Just Like It Should," recounts the journey of a teenager in need of new experiences; the video is particularly entertaining, and Jay plays all the roles in it, from the Candyman to the prostitute!
Dynamite is arguably one of Jamiroquai's best albums, even though some fans of the band still have a nostalgia for the band's earliest albums. Yet, over ten years after the release of Emergency on Planet Earth (their first album), Jamiroquai shows a constant evolution that is both necessary and refreshing, and shows that they are able to question their music and take chances. Dynamite has a more radical sound to it that is definitely less mainstream, while keeping the band's signature.
If there is one bad thing to say about Dynamite, one would certainly complain that the bonus track "Time Won't Wait" is only available on the UK and Japan releases of the album. It's a pity for the song, heavily influenced by disco-funk, is actually very good.
Jamiroquai is currently on tour throughout the world. Stay tuned by visiting their official website at www.jamiroquai.com. |
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| On 2005's DYNAMITE, Jamiroquai mastermind/vocalist Jay Kay stays deep in a funk/disco groove. While most of the album consists of up-tempo dance-floor-ready tunes, most notably the "Night Fever"-like title track and the bass-driven "Starchild," there are detours into mellower territory, particularly the slow jam "Talulah" and the string-laden "World That He Wants." Kay also takes time to contemplate his favorite subject--expensive automobiles--on the uncharacteristically rocked-out "Black Devil Car." While the British group doesn't cover much new ground here, DYNAMITE's immediate appeal proves that innovation isn't necessarily a key part of the Jamiroquai sound. Kay and company simply want to provide a fun, funky time, and that's exactly what listeners will get. This DualDisc presents the CD version of DYNAMITE on one side and a DVD version with surround-sound mix and bonus video material (including a making-of featurette, a music video for "Feels Just Like it Should," and an interview with Kay) on the other. |
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Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai brings its British blend of house rhythms and '70s-era soul/funk to the House of Blues Oct. 21. While the band has gone though several lineup changes, its enigmatic leader, singer-songwriter Jason Kay (J.K.), remains. Jamiroquai -- from "jam" and "Iroquois" -- had its first stateside hit album ("Traveling Without Moving") in 1996, propelled by the cut "Virtual Insanity." Their sixth studio album "Dynamite," was released this year. |
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MUSIC ZONE
Jamiroquai — Dynamite
(Sony BMG)
Saurabh & Gaurav
ALMOST four years on from the release of their last album, the multi-platinum, no.1 Funk Odyssey, Jay Kay and his band return with their eagerly anticipated sixth studio album, entitled Dynamite. A high-octane, super-charged slab of feel-good, funk-rock, Dynamite is both a consolidation of 13 years of Jamiroquai’s trademark sound and a thumbs down to anyone who thinks that at 35, Jay Kay might be resting on his country pile. From the sublime and stripped down World That He Wants to the rocking Black Devil Car to the mega-funk of the hit single Feels Just Like It Should, the album is set to further enhance Jamiroquai’s reputation as one of the UK’s most successful exports of the last decade and more, with over 20 million worldwide album sales to date. Most lyrics point towards someone who is single and looking for love as if that is what is going on in the artist’s mind, and there is a great mixture of solid funk, R&B with a peppering of guitar-strumming rock. With Jay Kay at the helm, tracks off the new album and all the Jamiroquai favourites such as Return Of The Space Cowboy, Love Foolosophy, Cosmic Girl, You Give Me Something, Picture Of My Life and Feel So Good, this is going to be one great party.
Best track: Feels Just Like It Should
Worst track: Electric Mistress (quote from Dyego: motherf*cker!!!!!!!  )
Rating: *** |
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October 2005 - Revolutions
Artist: Jamiroquai
Album: Dynamite
Label: Sony
Jamiroquai’s sixth studio album to date, the highly anticipated Dynamite, follows nearly a four-year stint of not releasing an album, but is undoubtedly worth the wait. Jamiroquai truly flex their well-defined creative muscle in an unfathomable, undefinable mixture of musical styles that reflect much of their earlier musical roots, as well as many new innovations that make for an incredible combination of sounds.
Right from the first track, "It Feels Just Like it Should," Jamiroquai is in your face with thumping funk rhythms stemming from a vocoder bassline that reminds me slightly of a hard, heavy Chemical Brothers beat, in addition to soulful vocals and plenty of effects to give it a spacey trance-like feel. However, to compare this album to any other music is rather futile, for when you think you know where they’re going with their musical sound, Jamiroquai pulls you in a completely new and unique, but equally soulful and innovative, direction.
The track you’ll hear most often on our Revolutions program, "Electric Mistress," sounds like absolutely nothing I’ve ever heard before. The way that the band blends intermittent light piano and acoustic guitar playing throughout the verses with the main electronic, slap bass-induced rhythm, only to dive deeply and directly into a heavily funky harmonic chorus, is simply ingenious. Basically, this unique track demonstrates the essential feel of the entire album, in that encompasses and incorporates more original styles and rhythms than if Blue Man Group created their own version of STOMP.
Reading a review though, quite simply cannot do this album justice, for it is truly impossible to define or describe. If you have any sense of rhythm, even if it is limited to the intrinsic pulsing of your blood, you can appreciate this album. It’s just one of those that you can’t help but nod your head to; there’s something for everyone, so definitely check it out, especially if you like what you hear on Revolutions. |
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Jamiroquai Dynamite
Jamiroquai rambles back into town with “Dynamite,” the latest word in laser funk, a genre which Jamiroquai has just about monopolized in the wake of the albums that followed its breakout “Travelling Without Moving.” Even if it hasn’t changed direction since 1997, Jamiroquai at least knows where it’s headed, and sounds more comfortable with its sound every time out. With “Dynamite,” Jamiroquai proves it can still blow up the dance floor with the best of them. |
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Jamiroquai — Dynamite
The man with the soul voice returns to feast us on danceable, slick but not clean sounding songs. I’m not too font on the producing of this album, it’s all a bit too behaved. I guess Jamiriquai would sound a lot heavier and soulfoul on stage and it is a missed opportunity that the sound is a bit too polished for the material. But try to resist to sitting still or not singing along while listening. |
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Jamiroquai
After a four hiatus, the world’s ultimate space cowboy is back with “Dynamite,” Jamiroquai’s sixth studio album since signed to Sony in 1992. The British group led by singer Jay Kay traveled to a variety of places to record the album, including Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Scotland and New York. “Dynamite” serves up more of the electrifying acid jazz that Jamiroquai helped popularize in the nineties. Enjoy the digitized funk on “Feels Just Like It Should,” the sunny grooves on “Hot Tequila Brown” and “Starchild” with its infectious, seventies inspired bass lines. |
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JAMIROQUAI
Dynamite (Epic)
Eliminating the threat of getting chucked into the “where are they now” file, British electro-funk combo Jamiroquai resurface with the aptly titled Dynamite, their first album in four years. A sick, fuzzed-out groove kicks off “Feels Just Like It Should,” a mix of organic funk, electronic beats and Lenny Kravitz-isms. The title track, “Electric Mistress” and “Don't Give Hate a Chance” keep that disco ball turning, while tunes such as “Seven Days in Sunny June” call forth vintage soul. In true Jamiroquai fashion, frontman Jay Kay and co-producer David Spencer add contemporary samples, scratches and bleeps to the group's retro fare, plus a bit more guitar, showing that they're back in force and far from a bunch of “has-beens.” |
D! (dyego) |
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 16:51 |
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MUSIC REVIEW - The Boston Globe
Jamiroquai shines in an energetic show
By John S. Forrester, Globe Correspondent | October 27, 2005
Wearing a gleaming silver headpiece that projected metal rays from his head, Jamiroquai frontman Jason Kay bounced onto the Roxy stage Saturday night like a Sun King, charismatically urging the crowd to dance.
The sold-out show opened with an energetic rendition of ''Canned Heat," a predictable choice, but one that established an upbeat tone. ''Cosmic Girl" was marked by Kay's near comical whisper-singing of ''she's cosmic" as he flailed around the stage, the backup singers adding a cool, soulful counterbalance to his erratic refrain.
''Revolution 1993," from the band's first release, ''Emergency on Planet Earth," featured Kay dancing to Sola Akingbola's intricate percussion on bongos, infusing Latin and tribal beats into the show, backed by Paul Turner's thumping bass.
Heady versions of ''Dynamite" and ''Black Capricorn Day" had the crowd gyrating. The former came off as funky, futuristic music to make love to (with a gleam of classic disco polish); the latter enabled the crowd to indulge itself in the funk overtones of Jamiroquai's trademark style. But the highlight of the night was the band's closer, ''Alright," which drew a resounding response and a lights-on singalong.
Bringing the audience back to earth was a sinister, dramatic encore of ''Deeper Underground," followed by Kay shaking hands and thanking the crowd profusely -- something he did throughout the show.
The only disappointment in the performance was that the band only played three tracks from its new album, ''Dynamite." But all in all, Jason Kay and Jamiroquai delivered a high-energy show with a distinct intimacy that can only come across in a club |
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Dye
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Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 17:50 |
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CD Review: Jamiroquai: Dynamite
Time machine's A-OK
By DARRYL STERDAN -- Winnipeg Sun
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Jamiroquai
Dynamite
(Epic/Sony BMG)
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Some folks might think eternally behatted Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay needs to get his time machine fixed.
After all, it does seem to be stuck on 1979. And as a result, his sixth CD Dynamite -- like most of his discs -- sounds like the product of an alternate history in which Kay wrote Michael Jackson's Off the Wall and got Stevie Wonder to sing it.
Of course, like most of his albums, it's also chock full of infectious grooves, supple melodies, finger-funking basslines, wukka-wukka guitars, string synths and some of the most authentic old-school dance workouts since the glory days of Motown, Chic, Funkadelic and Philly soul.
Maybe that time machine is working OK after all.
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Jamiroquai frontman admits to kicking coke habit
Jay Kay leads British funksters Jamiroquai to the Kool Haus tonight in support of his sixth album, Dynamite.
Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay confesses that the British funkmeisters had fallen under the radar over the past several years mainly because of his battling an addiction to cocaine.
On Jamiroquai's sixth album, the month-old Dynamite, the 35-year-old Kay recounts one specific binge that almost left him for dead and sparked a personal vow to clean himself up.
"I remember going to Costa Rica for a month because I wanted to make a summery album," Kay tells Metro of the inspiration behind Dynamite cut Hot Tequila Brown. "But when I got there I stayed on the South American 'marching powder' and I was still up three days later — watching the sun come up for three days' running. I sat outside my little balcony hallucinating out of my mind.
"One morning, I reached down to grab this bottle of brown tequila, which had been out in the scorching sun for about two hours, and without realizing it I took one swig and it was like ingesting the hottest cup of coffee. I staggered back to my room with this burning feeling in my mouth."
Kay made up his mind then to quit taking the drug.
"It had such a grip on me," Kay says candidly ahead of Jamiroquai's Kool Haus concert tonight. "But I had this friend who I've known for the past 18 years and I said to him, 'How would you fancy dropping your job? You can earn your wages sitting with me 24/7 for the next 30 to 55 days, watch me rip out the pages of all the coke dealers I'd written down. There'd be no parties, no drinking, no smoking … and we'll take it from there.' "
Kay is happy to report he's been clean and sober for the past 20 months. And, in the process, he was able to lead his bandmates — with a few changes here and there — through a relatively soulful sixth album.
As someone who experienced and subsequently broke a gripping cocaine habit, Kay felt a need to come to the rescue of Kate Moss. This British supermodel had been constantly harassed by the British media after photos of her allegedly snorting the drug were published in a U.K. paper more than a month ago, which led to several high-profile companies rescinding advertising contracts with Moss.
Says Kay, "I know what she's going through, 'cause I got it in the neck myself almost every day for two months — 'Jay Kay does this, Jay Kay does that, Mr. Jay Kay he's a saint, that's why his girlfriend dropped him' — all that bullshit.
"That's why I will stick up for Kate. I know her — we hung out on a couple occasions. And yeah, she's entitled as a human being to make her own mistakes. But when she chooses to sort everything out, she'll decide that for herself. Of course, she had to enter rehab, but what the U.K. press has done is say, 'Well, if you go into rehab, can we get a story about it and then we'll write nice things about you?' Ah, the English press — those bastards."
IAN NATHANSON/Metro Toronto |
D! (dyego) |
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deesh
Joined: 23 Feb 2002
Posts: 2717
Location: +001
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| Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 17:14 |
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[quote="Diego// Twenty Zero Three"]
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Jamiroquai– ‘Dynamite’ (Epic)
Let’s get one thing straight – Jamiroquai has always been and is currently a band, not one person. After a 4-year hiatus, the man of many personalities, Jason Kay (Jay Kay), along with a collective ensemble of musicians has returned with their sixth album, ‘Dynamite.’ Although the constant change of band members has given them the challenge of starting over again and again, this album gives a glimpse of hope.
Combining ingredients of funk, soul, rock and pop, this is the most diverse (not best) Jamiroquai album to date. The adrenaline heavy lead single, “Feels Just Like It Should” excels in its concept and Jay’s vocal bass synthesizing is impressive, but it fails to capture the essence of the album. But, that’s a good thing. As we groove through the disco inspired title track, and cruise around “Starchild” and “Electric Mistress” - two tunes that allow guitarist Rob Harris to shine, we hit a chill spot hidden in one of the highlights, “Seven Days in Sunny June”. This sexy summer anthem is glazed with the keyboards of Matt Johnson, as Jay sings sensual lines like “Baby, let’s get it on. Drinking wine and killing time, sitting in the summer sun.” Those craving the old Jamiroquai should skip right to slightly jazzy love ballad, “Tallulah”, in which the live instrumentation goes beyond the regular set up and includes a flute and saxophone melody. Beautiful song, but it’s one of those that has to grow on you.
Long time followers of Jay’s style know that he disguises political and social messages in lyrics as heard in third single, “(Don’t) Give Hate a Chance”, which opens with a wicked drum/percussion feature and speaks of global peace. It’s a great lead in to the ballad, “World That He Wants,” which has an unexpected crescendo and speaks candidly to a certain (cough) president. The ending track “Time Won’t Wait” is indeed the best ‘Dynamite’ has to offer. It starts off fast and quiet, but explodes into an inspirational anthem with Jay’s voice transcending octaves and dipping into raw passion as he sings, “Every second screams, listen to your dreams, ‘cause you just can’t stop the clock.” The energy moves from the soul to the feet as an alluring cry to live life free and uninhibited.
Dynamite showcases the travels Jay took around the world while writing this album. Seeking out the brilliant Benjamin Wright to lead the string arrangements and using digital production software, Pro-Tools, Jay wanted to package the album as a new sound that reflects evolution and experimentation. Old fans will have to accept that this isn’t a carbon copy of 1993’s organically sound, ‘Emergency on Planet Earth’ or 1997’s ground breaking, ‘Traveling Without Moving,’ but ‘Dynamite’ holds true to the Jamiroquai roots of creating an independent vibe that commands you to dance. It’s easy to give in to the theory that Jamiroquai is a has-been band or believe the tabloid gossip surrounding the lead singer, but true fans of the 13-year old band are smarter than that. They choose to listen to the music; and what a beautiful choice that is. |
this is the one i did for giant step (www.giantstep.net)! so hard to be unbiased!!! |
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2005 16:54 |
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Friday Night with Jamiroquai
By: Chris Chien
Issue date: 11/3/05 Section: Film & Music
Running on stage wearing a Roots Canada sweater and his trademark native headdress, Jay Kay was still able to enthral fans after a six year absence from Canada. One could tell that he was more than glad to be back in Toronto, as he cheerfully exclaimed "It's Friday night!" after nearly every song's completion. Perhaps as compensation for the impersonal environment of their 1999 show at the Molson Amphitheatre, Kay and the crew decided to play the Kool Haus this time around, which created a much more intimate feeling. This was evident by the crowd tossing up items such as t-shirts, hats, beer, and characteristic of Kay's beliefs, marijuana. As he put it: "I had to ditch everything at the border!" Kay even took CD sleeves from the audience and signed them during the band's back-stage breaks.
The audience was something else to behold. As a testament to Jamiroquai's universal appeal, there were grey-haired parents standing alongside teenaged fans as everyone danced together and had a great time. During the opening DJ act, one could sense the anticipation of the crowd of the sold out venue, as pre-sale tickets and public offerings had sold out in an instant.
Kay, along with a recently revamped eight piece backing band has been touring behind the new album Dynamite, which has been described as his most diverse work to date. With only two scheduled stops in Canada, Kay made every song count in his two and a half hour set, and put in enough energy to last Canada for a decade. The set itself was an eclectic mix of die-hard favourites from their debut album to a healthy dose of tracks from their latest effort, though there was a curious lack of "Virtual Insanity", arguably the band's most popular song. Crowd-pleasers included "Little L", "Space Cowboy", "Love Foolosophy", and "Canned Heat". The band, evidently very well practiced, played tight and fast with Kay giving hand signals at a frantic pace, however there was still room for jazz-like synth and drum solos. Every facet of the band was honed and most importantly, it was plain to see that every one of them was having fun. Kay displayed his notorious dance skills throughout the concert (despite his statement that his knees had become weak) with leaps, twirls and random break-dance moves. Although it seems he has lost his environmental ethics established during his first album, Kay still espoused the virtue of treating each other with "common decency" before he launched into a track from the new album, "(Don't) Give Hate A Chance". Finally, during the raucous one song encore, Kay and band crashed their way through (admittedly my favourite track) "Deeper Underground", with a minute long sing along of "I'm going, I'm going, I'm going deeper underground!" to end the night.
Despite negative press being slung around regarding Kay's activities during his long hiatus, fans of the band in Toronto could tell that he certainly wasn't touring for the money. There was a genuine love of the music and the fans that kept him going through the night and spurred him on such as a nearly ten minute rendition of "Alright". There is no doubt in my mind that Jamiroquai represents one of the most positive forces of music in the industry today, and when they return in April and May, I will be sure to attend. |
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Good times are still in style for singer Kay
By Elana Ashanti Jefferson
Denver Post Staff Writer
The last time Jay Kay and Jamiroquai performed in Colorado, the singer boogied so vigorously onstage that his pants ripped, midshow.
"I had to quickly roam back and change them," the fashion-savvy British pop star known for his classic-car fetish said last week from New York City. And while the crew at that 1999 KBCO World Class Rockfest may have gotten an eyeful during Kay's backstage quick-change, the audience had a great time.
Because Jamiroquai - one of the few successful holdovers from the 1990s acid-jazz phenomenon - is and always has been about having a good time. Whether Kay uses his Stevie Wonder-inspired vocals to croon about night life, romance or an afternoon spent sitting in the sun, Jamiroquai's good-time vibes transcends the band's disco-funk. That's what will sustain Tuesday's Fillmore Auditorium appearance, even if not every song on the band's recent release, "Dynamite," is a stunner.
Kay knows the stage is best format for Jamiroquai's retro-soul.
"In all honesty, we are a better band live than we are on the record," said Kay, 35, just having returned from a shopping trip in Manhattan that garnered one big, black, puffy North Face jacket purchased specially for his trip to Colorado. (He apparently has not seen recent 70-degree forecasts.)
This is a guy, after all, who never goes anywhere without just the right clothes, and even after the Winter Park pants-splitting episode, Kay still harbors romantic memories of the Rocky Mountains, which is why he planned to make extra time to spend in the state either before or after Tuesday's Denver dance party.
"When we've been out on the road and we've expanded on what's on the record and gotten to play the songs around 20, 30, 40 times, we think of different ways of doing things and loosen up," he said. "We just sound better ... much more exciting."
Maybe it's the singer's new take on life having recently (and publicly) kicked a nasty cocaine habit, or perhaps it's an adrenaline high generated from a successful gig at New York's new Nokia Theatre, but Kay was downright chipper on the telephone. He spoke as comfortably about family and celebrity as he did about music.
The singer described "Dynamite," primarily recorded in Los Angeles where Kay purchased a 1964 Cadillac Deville to cart the band around, as his "mid-30s sexy stage." After more than a decade as one of Europe's most talked-about bachelors - thanks to starlet romances and his signature hats - new songs like "Talullah" and "Seven Days in Sunny June" reflect an artist who is ready to spend less time carousing and more time at his cottage in the Scotland's Highlands. After this tour, Kay said he's ready to do more cooking, as he did with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver on the Food Network show "The Naked Chef," ready to go for more walks with German sheperds, Luger and Titan, and ready to have a couple of "mini-Jays." "I'm quite a simple guy in the end," he said.
The challenge, Kay conceded, is that the performer never really has lived the simple life. His mother was an orphaned jazz singer. Kay didn't know his father until seven years ago.
But who wouldn't feel like stepping out the limelight after the way Kay has been portrayed in the British media as some sort of druggie James Bond?
"The key difference between celebrity culture in the U.S. and in the U.K. is that celebrity in the U.S. is accepted and lauded," he said. "In the U.K., they want to see celebrities get caught picking their noses and staggering out of nightclubs."
There are certainly American celebrities whose lives seem inextricably complicated by papparazzi and fan worship - can you say "Bennifer." Kay insists that the British celebrity scene - where it's not unusual for fans to know every detail of stars' lives, from what they eat for breakfast to where their kids go to school - is more brutal.
"I've had a lot of that prying into my life, particularly when I was into cocaine use," he said. "But I'm a year and 10 months clean now, and the funny thing is, the heat comes off of you." |
@Vibingirl: when I read that I thought 'how lucky fans we are'--- I liked that review.
D! (dyego) |
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Dye
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Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 17:51 |
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Fri, Nov. 04, 2005
Versatility, cult movie help Jamiroquai thrive
By Yoshi Kato
Special to the Mercury News
When it comes to the United States, Jamiroquai vocalist-songwriter Jason Kay is like a first-year college student who must adjust to going off for a holiday after living the frenetic 24/7 undergraduate lifestyle.
In his own country, the United Kingdom, the 35-year-old musician is a pop icon who gets tabloid attention for his impressive collection of sports cars, among other things.
``There is more to me than sex and fast cars,'' Kay says with a chuckle. ``That's just the nature of the British press. It's become a really celebrity-obsessed nation but in a very different way to how it is here. There, they want to catch you picking your nose. . . . It's a totally different setup here.''
Stateside, Kay and his group, Jamiroquai, are better known for their funk and dance-oriented music, as well as Kay's trademark oversize hats.
Jamiroquai first received wide recognition in 1996 with the gravity-defying video for ``Virtual Insanity.'' The U.S. media paid attention again last year when its single ``Canned Heat'' (from the 1999 album ``Synkronized'') was used in a memorable dance scene in ``Napoleon Dynamite.''
``I don't know what impact that had,'' Kay says by phone from a tour stop in New York City. ``I haven't really been here long enough to analyze that, but I know how big it is and what a big spot that is in it.
``Obviously, we want to try and get people to make the connection between this cult film and our music because, at the moment, for us it's just starting again here. I think we're . . . back to square one.''
The band is on a 10-city North American tour in support of its sixth album, ``Dynamite,'' released Sept. 20. Kay and the eight-piece group play the Fillmore in San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday.
Like British acts ranging from Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics to Robbie Williams and Texas, Jamiroquai attracts considerably larger audiences in Europe than in the States. Kay likes the dual profile.
``The nice thing about this is we've come from Europe'' with audiences of 19,000 a night, he says. ``So to be doing 2,000 over here for me is great. The band is closer to me, and I can communicate with them. We're more on a jamming basis, and so we end up, really, as a less regimented and tighter unit.''
When Kay burst onto the British scene in 1992, much was made of his precedent-setting eight-album deal with Sony. Jamiroquai's debut disc, ``Emergency on Planet Earth,'' was released amid Britain's horn- and keyboard-driven acid jazz movement, which included the Brand New Heavies, Galliano and the Young Disciples. Unlike those other groups, however, Jamiroquai has survived and mostly thrived. A big part of its success has been a willingness to explore various styles and arrangements.
``Feels Like It Should,'' the opening cut on ``Dynamite,'' blends big-beat energy with soul. ``Electric Mistress'' is the band's take on Detroit's techno sound. The anthemic ``Don't Give Hate a Chance'' combines the sonic grandeur of '70s disco with subtle electronic accents.
``People were not accusing but saying to me, `Hey, you know, your sound's kind of retro, and you need to bring it up to date.' So `Funk Odyssey' was kind of about that,'' Kay says, referring to the band's 2001 album. ``But this time around . . . I let Mike Spencer, the producer, really take a bigger hand in things. What he's done is made the drums and the sound crisper. It is . . . more aggressive sounding.'' |
D! (dyego) |
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 16:58 |
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MORE REVIEWS
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Jamiroquai - (Don't) Give Hate A Chance (Sony BMG)
UK release date: 7 November 2005
Love him or hate him, it's impossible to deny that Jay Kay has a knack of implanting his songs in the consciousness, making sure they take root after several listens. In fact the same happy trick has been associated with the band ever since they were out of short trousers, continuing to produce respectable funk for the home stereo. And yet this most recent addition left me strangely unmoved.
The discofied number seems innocuous enough on first listen, but it lacks the immediate charm of previous single Seven Days In Sunny June. Once again though, it happens... after a few attempts, there he is in the back of your mind, exhorting; "Don't you wanna rise up". After a while, however, this fades from memory, leaving the most interesting feature as the particularly athletic bass line, which manages to save the track from losing any sort of momentum.
Very much an album track, this, and though Jamiroquai may note that "we've been giving hate a chance", it's unlikely this will win any new converts for the love-in they desire.
- Ben Hogwood |
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Jamiroquai - Late Night Tales (Whoa)
The Late Night Tales compilation series is picking up steam, largely because of its very simple formula: Take an artist, get him or her to select their very favourite songs and throw them on a mid-priced CD. So far we have enjoyed glimpses into the music collections of the likes of Groove Armada and Zero 7, and this Jamiroquai selection is promising to be the biggest yet.
As you'd expect, Jay Kay has put together a collection of songs that reveal the influences of the funk-driven, strings-twinged, groove-building Jamiroquai (particularly their earlier albums). From the offset, words like "classic" and "vintage" spring to mind, and the album seems likely to soundtrack all sorts of late night shenanigans.
The Pointer Sisters' Happiness opens proceedings. Liner notes reveal this particular selection is down to Jay Kay's tendency to be a "traditionalist" for the tracks he loved as a teenager. In fact, the liner notes continue in this pattern, though they are far from boring and provide a valuable guide to the tracks on display.
You can be both entertained and educated as you groove to the likes of the Commodores ("Where do you hear tunes likes these any more?"), Johnny Hammond ("The reason why I'm in the business") and Dexter Wansel ("Please, I don't want to go to Ibiza and hear some dodgy version of that next year"). Indeed.
The album takes us on a sonic journey from the soulful to the downright devilish, sitting undeniable classics like Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear next to comparative upstarts such as Skyy's disco-beautiful Here's To You or Kleeer's bass-oriented Tonight's The Night.
The collection certainly provides a special winter treat for Jamiroquai fans in particular, but also serves as one of the best funk / soul / disco / jazz compilations available today. Where else could underplayed delights like Jose Feliciano's cover of The Mamas And The Papas's California Dreaming be blessed with new life?
It's a concept so simple that you wish you had thought of it yourself, and can't believe you didn't. The beauty of Late Night Tales compilations such as this lies in its appeal - you don't have to be a Jamiroquai fan to enjoy this admittedly addictive selection of tracks, but if you are a fan, then you have, on top of a great album, a fascinating insight into the world of your favourite funksters.
People make mix-tapes all the time, be it to introduce friends to new music or otherwise, so imagine your favourite artist making one especially for you. In other words, you can't go wrong.
- David Welsh |
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(Don't Give Hate A Chance)
Explain something to me, all of you super-cool, ultra-smart, worldly and forward-thinking people out there: if you're good at something, why is it necessary for you to change it? One of the most commercially-successful UK artists of the late 1990's, Jamiroquai's Jay Kay is back up in your groove again, and "hat boy" (as the UK press disaffectionately refers to him) is no less of a master at his blend of funky retrovision today than he has been in the last ten years. With the Tuesday release of his first album in four years, Dynamite, the press is going to go after him and say "nothing new here". NICE ONE, MATE! Easiest review you've ever written there, Captain Obvs!
If you didn't like Jamiroquai before now, stop reading at this point, sip up some hatorade and go listen to the litter box collect cat poo -- this review isn't for you. Ok, look, I'm going to stand up for the man for just a second because, well, I like some funky Jay Kay music (I ain't scurred) AND because I like saying "fuck you" to the mainstream press anyways (they have yet to send me a paycheck for my work, work which many of their writers enjoy reprinting in part or in whole). In fact, it seems that Sony in the U.S. is "too cool" to release a new Jamiroquai record. Why? After all, wasn't it the blockbuster indie Napoleon Dynamite (for whom the new album is supposedly named) that made American audiences get up and jam in the aisles to the neo-funky "Canned Heat"?
It seems that I like to know that my oatmeal is going to taste like brown sugar, raisins and cinnamon every time I eat it. I like my coffee to have 3 sugars and cream and for the taste to be rich & strong. I like consistency, and if the consistency is good, I'm not at liberty to want to fuck with it. So, for all my desire to see artists progress in one direction or another, I have no complaints about Jamiroquai's new record. It's slickly produced, funky as hell, and fueled by a familiarity that makes it worth listening to. It's different enough that it's got its own vibe, but not so different that it falls off the Stevie Wonder/Earth Wind & Fire/Disco-Funk train.
Just to prove I'm not off my cracker here, I'm going to let you listen to the whole thing and decide for yourself and, hell, here's an MP3 of my favorite track off the album, "(Don't) Give Hate A Chance" for you to rock your fucking iPod with for a minute. The hook is purely The Jacksons "Can You Feel It" pulled up for 2005 ears and newsflash: I'm going to dance my ass off to it until someone pries my headphones from my cold, dead hands. This song completely describes how I'm feeling right now at this time in my life, and I'm grateful to have it. Like the man says, "Now you've been taking/Our dignity for too long/I want to save it/Sanctity that we hold/And who's right and who's wrong/We're not so different anyway/Words are in this song/Can we stop the fighting?"
Jamiroquai is not music for just the 30-something and the pop music fan. Soul brothers and sisters, take note -- Jamiroquai has lost none of their flair, Jay Kay is still a fucking funk master, and the consistency of Dynamite with other Jamiroquai records shouldn't be denigrated when it means "consistently good". Once you like it, go buy it for yourself. |
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Jamiroquai
Album: Dynamite
Dynamite
Since 1993, starting with Emergency On Planet Earth, Jamiroquai has been peddling its mix of house rhythms and '70s funk to largely receptive public. Long a favorite of discerning Europeans, Jamiroquai's U.S. popularity peaked in 1996 with Travelling Without Moving and the MTV-made hit, "Virtual Insanity". Since then, the States have proved elusive to the band's charms and Dynamite, its first release since 2001's A Funk Odyssey, probably won't change things.
Which is too bad because Jay Kay, Jamiroquai mastermind, knows his public and gives them what they want, which is what he does best: slick retro-funk ("Feels Just Like it Should", "Dynamite", "Starchild"), gorgeous ballads ("Seven Days in Sunny June", "World That He Wants"), and his stylish version of '70s disco ("[Don't] Give Hate a Chance", "Time Won't Wait"). In fact, "Time Won't Wait" is so good that, with a little remixing, it could be a dance club hit waiting to happen.
Recent reviews of Dynamite have been unflattering; it seems Jay Kay is being knocked for doing what comes naturally. These hipper-than-thou snobs miss the point: Jamiroqui's Stevie Wonder-influenced funk/dance/pop melange is like a fine wine that gets better with age.
4.0 STARS |
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It Sounds Just Like It Should...Jamiroquai's Danceable "Dynamite"
Oct 06 '05
Author's Product Rating
Pros
Funky, danceable jams that recall the best of the post-disco era.
Cons
Sometimes a bit TOO derivative.
The Bottom Line
I still say that you could check out any number of 80's dance/soul artists first, but Jamiroquai's "Dynamite" is a suitable facsimile.
Full Review
Jason Kay and his band Jamiroquai have managed to put together a twelve year career despite Kay not having an original bone in his body. When their first album, “Emergency On Planet Earth”, hit in 1993, they were lumped in with the “Acid Jazz/Brit Soul” movement that had already spawned acts like The Brand New Heavies, Soul II Soul and Mica Paris. However, Jamiroquai’s sound was a bit more indebted to late 70s/early 80s post-disco soul than any of the other acts. Jay’s nasal voice was unjustly compared to Stevie Wonder’s, the lyrics were of the hippy-dippy variety, and the music, while well-crafted, resembled soul legends like The Commodores, Earth Wind & Fire and The Jacksons, in addition to lesser known but equally influential acts like Slave and Pleasure.
Kay and company have been wildly popular in their native Britain as well as many other parts of the world. However, American success has struck them only once. Bolstered by an inventive video for “Virtual Insanity”, their third album, “Travelling Without Moving”, became a Grammy winning platinum success. Aside from that one blip on the radar, they’ve remained pretty much a cult favorite among dance music fans.
The band’s sixth album, “Dynamite”, won’t do much to change matters. There are no allusions to anything that makes the 2005 pop music world go around. There are no fierce electro beats, no guest rappers, no high profile musical cameos. It’s just Jamiroquai doing the same thing they’ve done album after album. Funky soul grooves are combined with lyrics that concern either sex, dancing or saving the world. Your enjoyment of this album will depend solely on how much you like the sound that the band has borrowed/cultivated/stolen for the past decade and change.
Me, personally? I think that "Dynamite" is one of the more interesting listens in the band's catalog. I mean, it's not, like, U2 enjoyable or Michael Jackson enjoyable but it's definitely a pleasant dance-pop album, for whatever that's worth.
Album opener (and first single) "Feels Just Like It Should" grabs me immediately because of it's dark, claustrophobic feel. I'm convinced that the best song Jay ever did was "Deeper Underground", a track that appeared on the "Godzilla" soundtrack almost a decade ago. "Feels" has the same sludgy flavor. Synths shoot left and right while a fuzzy, prominent bass (that actually sounds like a beat box) snakes it's way through the song. "Electric Mistress" picks up the pace, with a high-steppin' groove and some anonymous diva and some church bells chiming in the background. The title track follows the same template, pretty much.
I was surprised that even the downtempo songs managed to hold my interest, something that has never happened with a Jamiroquai album before. "Tallulah" gives off some serious Earth, Wind & Fire vibes. It's got a smooth, syncopated groove, and saxes and flutes give the track a truly romantic vibe. And Jay even manages to out-Coldplay Coldplay with the piano ballad "World That He Wants". With lyrics like "This is the world that he wants/Pray for the brave and the young/He knows that they're not coming home), this song is dedicated to no one but George W. Bush. It's a very pretty ballad, although Jay almost ruins it with some dumb sonic tricks. The first ballad and chorus of the song can only be heard through the left speaker of your stereo. Jay may have been going for drama, but all that move does is p*ss me off.
Over the course of listening to this album and writing this review, I've discovered parallels between Jay and another critically-maligned artist who wears his influences on his sleeve-Lenny Kravitz. "Electric Mistress" can be seen as an improved rewrite of Lenny's "Black Velveteen", and "World That He Wants" can be compared to just about any Lenny ballad. Also like Mr. Kravitz, Jay could use a lyric-writing class or two. I could quote tons of eye-rolling, "moon/June" textbook lyrics here, but the chief offender just might be "Black Devil Car". Not only does it see Jay and crew trying heavy guitar-rock on for size (not a good fit), it boasts lyrics like "Talking to all these pretty girls/That I meet around the world/Her name was Gina/You should have seen her"...and I should have pressed the skip button right there. Unfortunately, I listened to the rest of the song and had to deal with Jay also snatching a sizable chunk of The Miracles' "Love Machine" for this song.
Thankfully, it's the only truly awful track on the album. Although a couple of tracks sort of blend together (and a few definitely overstay their welcome with running times that go past the five minute mark), "Dynamite" is a fairly solid album. For every middling-boring track like "Starchild" and "Loveblind", there are songs like the mellow "Seven Days In Sunny June" (a song that's deceptively mellow-it's about a girl who decides that she and Jay have been friends far too long to transition to lovers), and the mesmerizing "(Don't) Give Hate A Chance", which swirls and swarms like the best of classic disco. Jon Heder should definitely choose this song to reprise his Napoleon Dynamite dance routine should anyone decide to make a sequel.
(If you didn't already know, the album is entitled "Dynamite" in tribute to last year's under-the-radar comedy smash "Napoleon Dynamite", which featured the title character performing a spastic dance routine to Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat".)
There are a million things I could say to diss Jay Kay and his merry Englishmen. They're certainly a derivative bunch-but kudos to them for keeping to their signature sound and also for being one of the only bands around keeping this sound alive. Being derivative is only bad if you sound like a pale imitation instead of the real deal, and although Jamiroquai's catalog is inconsistent, "Dynamite" is a solid collection of funky, danceable jams. I'm ready to bust out the strobelite and rock a few dance moves myself, now. Get out of the way!
"Dynamite" by Jamiroquai
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
Repeat: "(Don't) Give Hate A Chance", "Talullah", "Electric Mistress"
Skip: "Black Devil Car", "Starchild", "Loveblind"
Great Music to Play While: Thinking that the album should have been called "Dy-no-mite!", with songs entitled "Buffalo Butt" and "Damn! Damn! Damn!!!!"
Low key shout-out to the always entertaining pduval69, who recommended this to me and proved that the California sun has not made his musical taste erode. Thanks!
Recommended
Yes |
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dynamite (dualdisc) - album reviews
Not unlike one of its lead singer Jay Kay's much publicized Lamborghinis, the U.K. funk band Jamiroquai is primarily a vehicle for its frontman's various fetishes. Which is another way of saying that Kay loves disco and fancy retro sneakers and he wears both well. He has done so ever since he hippie-danced his way out of the acid jazz ghetto of the early '90s with Jamiroquai's revelatory debut album, Emergency on Planet Earth. That album featured Kay's bright and soulful vocals against '70s-style funk and drew obvious comparisons to Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, and sundry other icons of vintage R&B. Not too much has changed in the years since and 2005's Dynamite finds Kay and Co. delving once again into various '70s- and '80s-inspired dance sounds. Similar to 2001's dazzlingly slick Funk Odyssey, Dynamite reveals Kay as a dancefloor eclectic, inclined to grab as much from Chic and Parliament as Kajagoogoo, the Police, and Terry Callier. Keeping to this grab bag aesthetic, Kay makes the most of his experimentation with some "vocal bass synthetics" on the hard funk title track. Also engaging is the melancholy soul-folk of "Seven Days in Sunny June" and the similarly quiet storm-ready ballad "Talullah." On the funky side of things, "Starchild" finds Kay proclaiming the coming of a disco superman while "Time Won't Wait" is an infectious Off the Wall-era Michael Jackson boogie fest with Kay urging people to make their dreams come true over a bed of pulsating disco beats. The Jamiroquai faithful would accept nothing less. [The DualDisc version of Dynamite features an extra DVD of bonus material including a documentary, two videos, and the album in enhanced stereo.] ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
dynamite (dualdisc) - album credits
Audrey Martells Vocals (Background)
Benjamin Wright String Arrangements, Lead
Hazel Fernandez Vocals (Background)
Tom Coyne Mastering
Samantha Smith Vocals (Background)
Mike Spencer Programming, Mixing, Producer, Engineer
Derrick McKenzie Drums, Hi Hat
Nathan Haines Flute, Saxophone
Valerie Etienne Vocals (Background)
Richard Bignell Engineer
Alex Meadows Bass
Matt Johnson Piano, Keyboards, Fender Rhodes, Synthesizer Bass
Pablo Arraya Engineer
Ricky Pope Engineer
Nick Ferrero Engineer
Bridgette Bryant Blades Vocals (Background)
Joseph Kahn Director
Luke Cohen Studio Assistant
Rob Harris Guitar
Jay "JK" Kay Director, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Vocal Arrangement, Artwork, Producer
Charlie Lightening Director, Producer, Photography
Miaer "DJ Snare" Lloyd Scratching
Derrick McIntyre Bass
Sola Akingbola Percussion
Alexandra Brown Vocals (Background)
Reginald Dozier Engineer
Randy Hope-Taylor Bass
Vann Johnson Vocals (Background) |
D! (dyego) |
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 17:58 |
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JAMIROQUAI
“Dynamite”
Sony/BMG
Sep. 20 release date
Jay Kay explains that having worked for four years on the latest CD, Jamiroquai made sure the release would say unmistakably that the band is back with a vengeance.
Jamiroquai Blows Up the Scene
Four years in the making, an “Dynamite” is an instant classic
By WINNIE MCCROY
In 1994, a pack of cigarette papers emblazoned with the silhouette of a man in a horned Viking hat offered the coolest of all marketing swag––as a promotion for the new group Jamiroquai. More than a decade later, this band, fronted by funky singer Jay Kay, is still smoking. With the new release, “Dynamite,” Kay has proven that time has only made his jam sweeter.
Without exception, every song on this LP sizzles. The opening track, “Feels Just like It Should,” cranks out an industrial, almost ominous grinding groove. Like an old pickup truck turning over, the tune springs into life, rumbling with electronic soul. The effect becomes something like Kool and the Gang hyped up on krump dancing, all overlaying Kay’s earthy, organic groove. By the time Kay hits his break, singing, “You said it would feel this good—and it does,” you can believe those words.
The tune feels like the perfect anthem of our times, an amalgam of ‘70s funk and the best that modern electronica has to offer. You may not know what Kay is singing about, what kind of experience he hopes to get from seeing “the Candyman,” but halfway through this tune, you’ll be dancing too hard to care.
The equally hot title track “Dynamite” follows, also heavy with a Kool and the Gang vibe, mixed with a little Steely Dan, circa “Gaslight Abbey.” The distorted vocal stylings paint the scene of a carefree woman, head thrown back, taking the upper hand in her dealings with men. The rapid-fire exclamations of “dynamite” would make even the “Good Times’” JJ proud.
This same mood is found in “Star Child,” which mixes “Funkytown” with Donna Summer, electric funk guitar and bass punctuated by an Afro-Cuban drum break.
“(Don’t) Give Hate a Chance” has an electronica intro, painting a chaotic scene, with a “Bad Girls” urgency to it. The chorus backing Kay on vocals is positively slick, and the song comes to a haunting close with an a cappella ending. This merges nicely into the following track, “World That He Wants,” which starts out sounding like an old record player crooning out of a single tinny speaker. The far-away sound grows into a lush arrangement, crescendos with piano and strings, then slows down and peters out.
In “Black Devil Car,” Kay turns out a sinister, guitar-heavy track with a playful beat. “Why don’t you let me take a little ride with you?” he asks, in a sing-songy, lullabyish break. Just as you think he’s backed down, the tune busts back out with drums and guitars and a more urgent, “Let me drive your dream till your tank is dry.” Kay calls his sound “filthy,” and the way he draws you in with sweetness only to send you flying off your feet with wicked drums, guitars, and keyboards makes this an apt description.
“Dynamite” vacillates between tight, funky, dark tunes and sweet, irresistible funk ballads like “Seven Days in Sunny June.” This tune rings out with the sound that made Jamiroquai hot, that groovy beat, with a tinge of late ‘70s radio hits by Chicago and REO Speedwagon. In “Seven Days,” Kay tells the bittersweet tale of finally actualizing a long-held crush on a good friend, only to be told a week later that they have been friends too long to be lovers. “His regret is mixed with irony, but it is positively heartbreaking when he sings, “for seven days in June, I wasn’t lonely.”
Other softer songs include “Love Blind” and “Talulah.” The melancholy love tune “Love Blind” starts slow, then merges with a fast, bouncy tune like a classic by The Jackson 5 and finishes with a gospel sound. And “Talulah” begins like Sade’s “Smooth Operator,” with horns and snares. It is propelled along by Kay’s vocals, “She’s gone away, flying out on a jet plane,” which get faster as the song evolves, until he is pleading, “stop that plane, turn it around, I still love you babe/ tell the captain that I’m to blame….”
Jamiroquai spent four years working on making “Dynamite” as tight as possible and every last track shines with their efforts. “If you haven’t had an album out in four years,” says Kay in his press notes, “you want to have an impact, and this says it––I’m back with a vengeance.” |
D! (dyego) |
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