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Jamiroquai (pronounced "Jam-ear-oh-kwai) are fronted by Jay Kay and their music has been called "funk with a feeling and a meaning"... 'Too Young To Die', Top 10 in March, was the firstand biggest of 4 hits so far in 1993.An alien who got their entire knowledge of pop music from Now! albums might come to the conclusion that Jamiroquai and Juliet Roberts were equally successful, as they appear on four albums each. For good or ill, that wasn't really the case, and Jay Kay and his combo were one of Britain's biggest musical exports for a decade or two. At this early stage in their career, though, they could still be described as up-and-coming, having paid their dues on the Acid Jazz scene (and indeed the label of the same name). Like a lot of their early material, 'Too Young To Die' is heavy on social comment and fear, protesting against the twin threats to human survival: nuclear wars and environmental devastation.
It's a well Kay has visited many times over the years but rarely to greater effect than this. My cynical side suggests that this is at least partly because he wasn't yet rich enough to afford a collection of Lamborghinis, and partly because repetition inevitably dulled the impact of the message; but I think this is one of the band's greatest successes in musical terms as well. Of course, they actually were a band at this stage, but even so the focus was very much on Kay and his voice and dance moves; I don't think he's ever sung better than this, even if he does sound a bit too much in love with himself during the scat sections. It's not a terribly original composition either, sounding suspiciously like a Stevie Wonder outtake, but at least it sounds like one from a time when Stevie had decent material to reject. It slips down easy, even if I can't bring myself to seek out the 10-minute version from the 12" single.
Also appearing on: Now 26, 44, 50
Available on: High Times - The Singles 1992 - 2006
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