Jamiroquai - The Return of the Space Cowboy

At the time of this album, Jamiroquai's second, Britain's soul-funk-acid jazz scene had been firmly established by numerous club DJs and bands like Soul II Soul, Brand New Heavies, Incognito, and Young Disciples. Jamiroquai formed their own voice with strong songwriting, tight ensemble playing, and--most of all--Jay Kay's fluid vocals, which are impressively reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's. As the band's main songwriter, Kay addresses social ills ("Just Another Story," "Manifest Destiny"), advocates enlightenment ("Stillness in Time," "Light Years"), and leads his multiculti band through love songs both bubble-gum funky ("Mr. Moon") and jazzy sweet ("Half the Man"). Unabashedly mixing disco into their funky soul, Jamiroquai even make cheesy synths sound good. --Suzanne McElfresh Amazon.com

space cowboy

So when is the space cowboy going to return??? I missed out on Jamiroquai while they were big, and someone "introduced" me to them, a little late in the 90's. I LUVs me some Jamiroquai, and I sooo wish that I could rewind back to the 1990's and live through the era when they were big. March 19, 2008

Excellent

THIS IS THE BEST ALBUM IN THE WORLDDDD!!! LOL
4real I love this album soo much - it's ma favourite in the world, and it's absolutely timeless - u can never get bored of this, u'll always take it out now and again and go omg i cant believ hw good tht is lol. The best song on it is definitly Space Cowboy (an i got mad wen they neva put it on the film 'the return of the space cowboys lol). However, the beginning of 'Scam' is truly magical. The worst licks off this album are 'The Kids' and maybe 'Journey To Arnhemland, which is an instrumental. At 1st I h8ed 'Half the man', but then I loved it cos i find it easy ta sing to lol. 'Manifest Destiny' is amazing too, and I can really relate to it. 'Just another Story' is FANTASTIC!!! I'm a real Jamiroquai fan and out of all their albums this is the best (EOPearth comes 2nd!)!!
If u havent already got it - i strongly reccomend u buy it - u wont regret it it's amazing - even beats ma fav redhotchilipeppers album (BSSM - 4 those fellow fans ;) )
THE RETURN OF THE SPACE COWBOY IS AMAZING! May 23, 2006

Unique

After 1994, acid jazz started to lose mass popularity and soon sank down like a Titanic to the bottom of the sea. But if there was just one band that made an effort to develop the genre, it was Jamiroquai with their second album Return Of The Space Cowboy. They took the influences from vintage funk, jazz, soul and latin music that made most of their debut, Emergency On Planet Earth, and took them to another level of musical language. Open-minded and passionate musicians, they didn't limit themselves to any boundaries of the genre. Unlike Emergency, this album doesn't sound like anything you've heard before. My personal favourite, "Stilness In Time" is a breezy latin number, with a catchy chorus that you will probably sing all day long after listening to it in the morning. On "Half The Man" the band tried to experiment with unusial sounds, blending weird synthesizer, panoramic Rhodes piano, organ, acoustic guitar, latin percussion and Jay's blues-inflected vocals. Manifest Destiny is a beautiful slow-tempo number with the main melody played on a bass guitar. "The Kids" is a thrash-funk, which features some first-rate turntable workout, while "Morning Glory" is a meditative jazzy number with a long trumpet solo, which reminds of Miles Davis. The infamous didgeridoo turns up on just one track, the dark instrumental "Journey To Arnhemland." The first single and now classic "Space Cowboy" (a song about getting high with the help of marijuana) serves as a perfect conclusion of the album, leaving an unconquerable desire to listen to it one more time.
Long story short, this is a unique album made with a perfect taste and impressive technical performance. The album's only drawback is weak production, but still the music is the best they've ever done. If you think that Jamiroquai are just a disco-funk band, try this and you'll find out they are (or were) much more interesting and innovative. March 4, 2006

BASS!

There are so many reviews here that I don't feel one can add much more to the opinion of musicality on this project. However, I will say this - every bassist needs this album. It should be one of 10 absolutely necessary albums that every electric bass player should own. Bassist Stuart Zender joined this band as a young teenager, but it's no surprise that he was immediately praised by already famous bassists in the industry through every magazine! The groove, feel, and maturity on this album is really amazing (especially for such a young player) so explore it. Learn from it. November 21, 2005

Jamiroquai Won Me Over With This Album!!

This album is so good!
It's a shame it was virtually slept upon here in the states!
But back in 1994, while over in the U.K., I went to see
the Brand New Heavies featuring N'dea Davenport
(another fave of mine from that era!)and a freind
told me that if I loved them, I was sure to love this almost new group at the time..Jamiroquai.

Well, we went to catch them in concert as well and WOW!
I was hooked by their sound, style and Jay-Kay's vocalizations.
Now I don't agree or understand about the comparisons that
some make between Jay and Stevie Wonder, because they
sound nothing alike, but I guess because the Jamiroquai
sound was so retro with the heavy fender rhodes, clavinet,
arp, moog & oberheim synths, etc. (circa 1970's)
that some had to make the comparison
to categorize what they were hearing!---
This album is the first Jamiroquai album that
I bought and it's great from start to finish!
"Space Cowboy", "Stillness In Time", "Half The Man",
"Manifest Destiny" "Journey To Arnhemland" & "Morning Glory"
all still stand the test of time!
Stuart Zender is an absolutely incredible bassist!
It's like the late Bernard Edwards of CHIC, Verdine White of E,W&F
and Larry Graham of Sly & The Family Stone / Graham Central Station
morphed and merged into the body of a young white kid!
Then, I went back and bought their debut
"Emergency On Planet Earth", which I also love, and then
of course, there is "Traveling Without Moving" which gave
them their crossover hit "Virtual Insanity" and finally got
them love here in the states outside the small but
loyal ultra-hip fan base they have here!
If you buy either 3 of the aforementioned albums,
you can't go wrong!

**ADDENDUM** I wish they would re-master and tweek this album though,
because the mix and sound quality was kind of sub-standard to my ear at that time and though I loved the songs,
I always felt that way in the back of my mind. November 18, 2005

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