Jamiroquai 'Too Young To Die'

Chart Peak: 10

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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

Jamiroquai 'Virtual Insanity'

Chart Peak: 3

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The stormin' 'Virtual Insanity; was the track that broguth Jay Kay and Jamiroquai to an even bigger audience in the autumn of 1996... it was a Top 3 smash in August and was quickly followed by the groovin' 'Cosmic Girl' 3 months later.

Slightly odd for the sleevenote to draw attention to how out of date this inclusion is, but presumably Jamiroquai tracks were hard to get onto Now albums, as their impressive tally of hits only netted them four appearances, and their only Number One single never made it.

This was their second-highest placing though, and comes from their biggest-selling album - allegedly the biggest-selling funk album ever - Travelling Without Moving. I almost bought it myself, having sort of liked a few of the singles, but in retrospect I'm fairly glad I didn't, because I can't imagine I'd have listened to it much - the more I hear of Jamiroquai, the less I like them as they seem to reshuffle the same limited stock of musical ideas in a rather soulless way. On this particular song, Jay Kay also tries his hand at a bit of social commentary, declaring that "It's a wonder man can eat at all when things are big that should be small", trying to deride technological progress even as his album cover flaunts his enthusiasm for the four-wheeled kind of technology. I mean, I like cars and care about the environment too, but I try to avoid this sort of finger-wagging smugness.

Also appearing on: Now 26, 44, 50
Available on: High Times: Singles 1992-2006 (Special Edition)

Jamiroquai 'Little L'

Chart Peak: 5

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Jamiroquai's fifth album, A Funk Odyssey, has been described as the band's "most accomplished and varied set to date"... It's almost ten years since Jay Kay first moonwalked onto the music scene wearing his trademark hats and providing a unique brand of acid-jazz, funk and disco - since then his internationally successful band have gone on to shift over sixteen million albums worldwide - and counting!

It was very tempting to cut and paste my two-year-old post about another Jamiroquai track. A couple of years later, Jay Kay continues to shuffle the same set of cards: a funk bassline here, a disco string section there. 'Little L' is distinguished from previous hits mainly by the fact that he'd made it fairly public that this song was aimed at a well-known ex-partner of his, which managed to make him even less likeable than before. It's not a bad record as such, but even when you know he's singing about his real life it's curiously soulless, and never seems to rise beyond pastiche.

Also appearing on: Now 26, 36, 44
Available on: A Funk Odyssey

Jamiroquai 'Canned Heat'

Chart Peak: 4

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Let's face it, Jay Kay is a very easy person to dislike. At times he almost seems a walking (dancing?) collection of everything people dislike about pop stars. And that's without even mentioning the facial hair. It has to be admitted, though, that for a while his brand of pop-oriented jazz-funk could be quite effective.

Even though this was the follow-up to a Number One single, though, there were signs that the formula was starting to wear thin (indeed, the next single was his/their first to miss the Top 20 in over five years). Even though Kay had long been the focal point of the act, and his and the group name were widely treated as synonymous, this is roughly the point where the original line-up began to dissolve and Jamiroquai turned into a solo project: most notably, long-serving bassist Stuart Zender was jettisoned during the sessions and all his contributions obliterated from the released album. More to the point though, 'Canned Heat' sounds like a man reshuffling the same cards he's played many times before - and that's a particular problem from an act never particularly known for originality in the first place. It's best described as a solid record - the string arrangements are good, the tune is toe-tapping enough, the lyrics steer clear of preachiness. But it wouldn't really matter if it didn't exist.

Also appearing on: Now 26, 36, 50
Available on: High Times: Singles 1992-2006