Emergency On Planet Earth - Jamiroquai > Reviews > Not too young to buy

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Some good tracks, and some absolutely stunning ones
Disadvantages:	Damn that Australian wind instrument !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Yes, yes, so I used a corny pun for the title, but isn't that just the way of things these days? Well, whatever, it's time for another Excelle music review, and our good friend with the large headgear is the subject of today's discussion. But before I start, I should like to dedicate my opinion to the lad who got me into this artist in the first place - none other than my best mate Craig (craiggy_boy in some op writing circles). Indeed, he and partner in crime Louise (Squiggles on some sites) lavished much praise on me, so it's the least I can do to be nice to them :)

Anyway, enough of the rear-kissing, time to get down to the real business - the music. I bought a fair few Jamiroquai albums just in the last couple of years, partly because the music sounds that little bit different, but mostly because it's got some mean guitar work, and any of you that know me well enough, will know I adore good use of the 6 stringed axe!

- The band

Jamiroquai were formed in 1992 in London by lead singer Jay Kay (son of jazz singer Karen Kay). They were quickly signed to the hugely influential Acid Jazz label, which has signed some of the greatest acid jazz/dance/acid funk acts of modern times, and released the successful 'When You Gonna Learn' single soon after. It wasn't long before the band were snapped up for a $1.9 million 8 album deal with giant Sony, and the rest, as most clichéd people say, is history.

My good pal Craig has always referred to the style of music that Jamiroquai produces as 'Acid Funk', being a little more disco influenced that the dance-based acid jazz, and I have no reason to argue with him!

The vocals are something that are unique to Jamiroquai, with Jay Kay's inimitable voice carrying the intelligent and incisive lyrics in his own special way. The music has a fairly unique sound too, with some tracks being more original than others, but all being superb when it comes down to it. Nice.

- The album

As is quite evident from the title, Jamiroquai's debut album has a large content about Jay Kay's passion for environmental concerns - he's always been quite bothered about the way the world is going, and while he has quite a reputation for his fast cars and the like, he donates quite a substantial amount to organisations like Greenpeace and Friends Of The Earth.

The album is populated by tracks of the more poppy variety, as well as more earthy, and you might say ethnic tracks, which are more about a sort of vocal jam than about some sort of music industry pleasing methodology. Both styles are excellent ways of getting the messages across, which, I believe, is what Jay Kay's main aim has been with his music.

Anyway, on to the tracks themselves…

- When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo) "Armageddon's come too near, too too near"
Here we get what seems to be Jay Kay's favourite instrument in evidence - Rolf Harris mainstay, the digeridoo. There's even a picture of one in the album artwork. I must admit, I can't really be doing with extended 'didging' sessions, so much so that I'd forgotten this wasn't actually an instrumental track until a couple of months ago! This is a classic example of a great Jamiroquai track - brass breaks in the background, tight drums and some lovely guitar and strings. It's an everyone-in track and the instrumental richness is superb.

- Too Young To Die "All gone when they drop the bomb, can the politicians reassure? 'Cos here I was presuming that nobody wants a war."
This is one of the singles that a lot of people are likely to know, and I love it. Starting up with some lovely strings, before breaking in with some brass. This track has a superb bassline, and really it's this coupled with the vocals that complete the track, although the strings add that certain something. I'm sitting here listening to it now, and kind of dancing in my seating - 'Too Young To Die' just has one of those rhythms that are too catchy to resist! Superb instrumental section in the middle :)

- Hooked Up "Everybody dance to the music"
This track actually sounds a bit more like Jamiroquai more recent album material, like something off Synkronized. This track certainly has a much more acid jazz feel than a lot of the other tracks (Brand New Heavies anyone?), and it doesn't suffer for this. This track isn't about the whole 'Save The World' thing like the others, it's just about good music. You can't help but get the feeling that the whole band just jammed along, and then Jay Kay just slapped a few lyrics over the top. No complaints here!

- If I Like It, I Do It "Know your place and fit your space, young man you will conform - I didn't hear my soul express those rules when I was born"
This is quite a light-hearted and uplifting track, with a bit of a hedonistic theme to it. I love the tight drums and cool guitar work in this one. It has a bit of a 70s feel to it I always think, with a bit of a modern slant on it. The brass breaks round the track off nicely.

- Music Of The Mind
The first instrumental track on the album, this has quite a natural feel to the start of it, before breaking into a very chilled and gentle brass section. It isn't until about 2 minutes into the song that the track speeds up a little with some top guitar work and heavenly string sections. It's a big long rollercoaster of musical quality, running to six and a half minutes in total. Superb stuff.

- Emergency On Planet Earth "If anybody's listening - Emergency on planet Earth"
Probably my favourite track on the album, the title track returns to the theme of environmental worries. It has quite some pace to it, and is as catchy as you could hope for. The guitar work just rules, lovely strings, and Jay Kay's vocals really make it something. It's very funky, but light and enjoyable with it. I had to stop writing this just to enjoy the track. It's brilliant, believe me!

- Whatever It Is, I Just Can't Stop "Have to get up to get down, the remedy is in the sound"
I have to say, even though it isn't a bad track, this is my least favourite track on the album. It still sounds great, but I'm not keen on the continuous stream of lyrics approach, with the music as just a backing. The theme is once again about musical enjoyment, and while the sound is great, it's not perfect.

- Blow Your Mind "Pleasure, passion, tonight's the night I'm looking for your action"
Another single, another superb track. Again, the guitar work excels here, especially within the prominent bassline. It's the brass work that is the real star in this one, although the keyboards are great too. The false ending tends to catch me out quite often, even now, but it adds that little bit more to the track - you're never unhappy when it fades back in! The track is quite obviously about the fairer sex, and Jay Kay certain makes a good job of it! Top notch.

- Revolution 1993 "A revolution is the only way we can change change change - yeah"
This is a great track, and it's quite different to all the others. It's a call to arms against the evil in the world, and the random and extremely well executed drum work gives a military feel to the song. At 10 minutes, this is the longest track on the album, but it deserves the length it covers. It's the drums and the brass that make this song stand out, and most of the track is dedicated to the instrumental aspect rather than the lyrical side of things. It's a melody with some words, rather than the other way round, and this is the way I like it.

- Didgin' Out
Another instrumental track, but this time with the digeridoo as the main instrument, which gets very wearing after a short time listening. Not a good way to finish!

- If I Like It, I Listen To It

All in all, 'Emergency On Planet Earth' is a very varied and interesting album. The instrument work is top class all the way through, and the whole thing gels together well. Very enjoyable, and certainly a good one to have in the collection.