Album reviews [ FANS]

[Sandriche]

Soon the Album is gonna be out!
We have several topics for each song already ...but if you want to review the album as a whole ,compare it to previous albums etc please let us know your opinion here

Happy discussing ( and listening of course )!

[Mericege]

My deluxe edition of the new album is dispatched today from amazon.co.uk,hopefully i will get it on thursday or friday. It's been 5 years i am so impatient ,i think this album is going to be amazing.

[DigThatFunk]

Man...oh, man. I'm no professional journalist, so I don't exactly know how to eloquently express my feelings on this album, but in case it doesn't come through, I absolutely love it. I was floored the first time I heard it, stunned by the sheer quality. As for my background: I'm an American(and so, really hoping that they decide to tour here for the album), and I've been a Jamiroquai fan since around 1995(Crazy to think it's been 15 years now since I heard them). I instantly fell in love--of course--and have been spoiled by their mastery of simply awesome music; so, to say the least, I may be a bit biased in their favor haha. Anyway, onto the album.

Honestly, I've listened to it about 10 times already, and I still feel like it's not enough...it's a very catchy album. Jay's voice is impressive, powerful, beautiful. The music is a lot simpler than on some of the more electronic albums, but it really allows the talent and wonderful understanding, and love of, music these artists have to shine through. There's a little bit of everything on this album(I've only heard the standard release so far, I'm getting the deluxe edition shortly); from smooth jazz; to slow, heartfelt ballads; even a very showtune-sounding song in the mix.

Not that I didn't love the more heavily-synthesized stuff Jamiroquai has done, but this return to more instrument-based music is one of those things that, I didn't even really realize how badly I wanted it, until they did it. Hearing it, it just sounds right. My friend and I were listening to this in the car, and we couldn't help but laugh at the bass in some parts, because it is just so lively and funky sounding(I consider it a good thing when music is so good, creative, and just bad-ass that you can't help but laugh). The horns really pop when they're utilized(to perfect effect).

I don't know what it is about the middle of this album(songs 5-6-7: Hurtin, Blue Skies, and Lifeline), but I love this hat trick of awesome songs. The three of them are my initial favorites on the album. Jay's voice on Hurtin' is...different. This is the thing I love about this album, as stated earlier: it brought me things I wanted, that I would have never realized I wanted. The way Jay uses his voice in this song is brimming with soul and heart, a very raspy, subtle rendition, starkly contrasted by the powerful, almost gospel-like backup chorus. It's a very powerful song.

At first I was taken aback by the decision to put multiple down-beat style songs in a row(it lasted for all of two seconds, however, when I got into the song), but Blue Skies is a very orchestrated, yet catchy and poppy song. If there were a song to get on the radio in the US, I would think this would be the best bet. Again, Jay is a master of painting a beautiful picture and creating a song, and lyrics, that get stuck in your head for days on end(but if I had to have one band stuck in my head for the rest of my life, Jamiroquai would be one I could live with). The feel of this song reminds me a bit of Seven Days in Sunny June for some reason, obviously a good thing.

Finally, the third of my Terrific Trio, which will be the last I'll review for brevity's sake(ha- yeah right!). A very up-beat song, which you can almost imagine people breaking into this number in a musical. The showtunes-esque song I mentioned previously, it really makes you want to get up and dance. The horns are used to wonderful effect in this one, and again, the backup singers are subtle yet pack a lot of bang for their buck....and it is followed up to wonderful effect by the uptempo, insanely-funky-bass-filled Fast Persuader.

You know, it's weird...Myself, I'm not usually a fan of songs filled with lyrics about love, and other things that could be considered "cheesy" by some; but with Jamiroquai, they've always made amazing songs, and tend to be some of my favorites. Maybe because Jay is just so good at making you feel the love, and you can tell he genuinely feels it, too. As for this album, I'm certainly feeling the love, and just hoping their new record deal results in music more often than every five years...but if the music is always this good, it's quite worth the wait.

Dig

[lola]

I have yet my deluxe edition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[manudevil21]

I got my album today and i've been listening to it almost all day...i'm kinda starting to like it I guess i was wrong when i said it's rubbish!

[BlackCapricornDay]

man-yoo.. you finally buy it!i remember sometime you said that you'd never buy the album!what made you change your mind? well.. it's a GOOD album then..

[Sandriche]

good boy ranko! told you so

[Ninochka]

Good for you!

[manudevil21]

Thanks....ha, ha...

why i bought it?...well...i just have to have it! It's new album, everyone is excited about it...soooo...i decided to get one...although i didn't like the samples...
I like it...but...it's not as good as EOPE and TROTSC...but it's o.k.!

Sandra...did you use some spell on me?!...because i don't change my mind so easily...

[ilovejamiroquai]

Here in Argentina I don't know where I can buy it. I've already downloaded it from Internet, but because I live in the Third World... Do you know what it means? Everything come late! The album is out since the 1st November and still I don't know if it'll come before December.

So, I listened to the songs before you did and I gotta say, the album is awesome, I like almost everything, the only thing I don't like is that it isn't as funky or groovy as other albums were.

Lifeline is perfect, She's a fast persuader too... Rock Dust Light Star is the new Jamiroquai, I think we have to habituate ourselves to this new kind of funky music.

But, inside me, I hope them to come back to the roots! Come on guys! You can, if you do, you'll be recognized all around the world as the world's funkiest band ever!

I'm Argentinian, so sorry for my English (and my piracy )

Alejandro!

[manudevil21]

...now i can't stop listening to it!
lol

[Feliz]

ok I'll admit it! I listened to it!!! *sobs* I couldn't wait...

and I LOVE IT!

I pre-ordered the deluxe album import so it will be in my hands soon, the first CD I've purchased in about 5 years. Totally worth it.

Personally, I feel like this album is a mixture of styles from a few of their other albums. The only different element in this one is the rock/ballad-ish tunes.

As I sat in my room and quietly listened to all the tracks, I felt nothing but pure joy at the fact that #1 How proud I am of Jay, his voice is so much better now that he's off the bad stuff and #2 their sound is still so amazing. I can't even describe how each song just blew me away.

It was like I went back in time to the day I came home from school back in the mid 90's, my older sister called me into my old living room and said "Check this out I recorded a cool video by this band from England called Space Cowboy" ....

Welcome back Jamiroquai, I've missed you so! <3

[Giba7]

Oh my God! You guys are driving me crazy!
Manudevil loves it and almost didn't buy it. I'm so glad they are getting good reviews now from the fans!

Feliz has it in NYC! Where the frek is my album? I pre-ordered...

[Feliz]

Feliz has it in NYC! Where the frek is my album? I pre-ordered...

Don't worry Giba, you'll get it soon! Mine doesn't ship til' next week.. I cheated and listened online... FORGIVE ME JQ!!!

[manudevil21]

...yeah you'll get it...and longer you'll wait...more excited you'll be when you get it!

[caroli]

Haven't pre.ordered it cause I'm confident FNAC might have it in some time...and since I waited 5 years or so I can wait a little longer...

[BlackCapricornDay]

Me too.. haven't purchase anything, as for now i only struggle with samples from day by day ..


Man-yoo : nice picture! now we can use this thread as "show your happy face with RDLS!" , anyone agree ?

[Ninochka]

Haven't purchase anything yet.

[Mericege]

I have the deluxe edition of the new album since Thursday 4 November. I can easily say that this is their best album since 2000.

ı recommend if you have enough money buy the deluxe edition,it has 6 more songs.

My favourite track is for now is Hurtin'.

Welcome back Jamiroquai.

[R I T A]

Haven't pre.ordered it cause I'm confident FNAC might have it in some time...and since I waited 5 years or so I can wait a little longer...

i went to fnac on Monday (1st November) and i bought it. it was actually very easy to find it in the "novidades" section!
and...i can't stop listening to it either! i think this cd might be better than the last two ones
my favorite tracks are two completely different things (thats sounds like old-school jamiroquai), all good in the hood and heyfloyd (which is one of the most diverse songs i've ever heard). but all the other songs are fantastic too (i gotta say this album exceeded all my expectations ) as for blue skies - hum...i think it still has to grow on me). so, thanks for this amazing album

[caroli]

So Fnac has it hun? After the trouble I had to find just one Dandies cd (and I found it on the Chiado Megastore but the case was broken) I was afraid they wouldn't have it till x.mas...apparently they are now working better! Good for them

[manudevil21]

...come on guys and girls...if i got my CD in SLOVENIA in 2 days i'm sure you can get your album in your country even faster!!!!

[Graz]

Sorry BUT I am really disappointed with the latest cd. A combination of the wait and previous releases memorability doesn't help, but 5 years is long enough to get the quality (sound and content) up as well as the undeniable quantity (length). It has been a long time in the coming but there has been the blu-spec release of HIGH TIMES to keep interest awake, and that did sound better than the standard issue (hopefully more blu-spec reissues coming?).

I have all previous releases on cd, some on vinyl, some from a couple of countries (pressing quality of both vinyl and cd varies from country to country imho). It must be said I have been a fan of the band for a long time now, and despite wishing for better recording quality I still reach for JAM cd's often - and play on a capable audiophile sound system in a home environment. To be honest when the Sony contract expired I had wished Jam would hook up with BLUE NOTE to do some real lasting art, with stellar production, but it certainly hasn't been realised in this first new lable release!

I was expecting a lot with the new partnership, but the worst of the old (compression) came over to the new house. The songs seem to have a weak familiarity with some of the earlier work, but I felt the cd sounded despondent, shallow and except for a couple of moments lacked real groove, in fact I felt I was listening to rock more often than a funk band! And the housier sound is best left to the remixers! The world-music feel to the funkier tunes seems a tad worn. A bit grey.

Don't take this too hard as you can't please all of the people all of the time

Assuming there are plans for future work it may help to look into some basic recording quality practices easily found in most of the basic "audiophile" recording houses. And the final hard word is I hope funk is the theme for future releases...


Take care - Graz

[Giba7]

Graz -that was probably the most mature constructive criticism I've read! Haha!

And you're talking to a group of most which don't have the album (yet)!

Definitely can't please everybody, and everybody's a critic.
Some artists we follow after their 3rd album. Some we stop listening to after their 1st.
But there are only a few artists that we like enough to buy all of their albums.

For me, I can't think of one artist that I've followed from the beginning and bought all their albums til the end of their career. Never happened.
(but I have found artists mid-career and collected all their albums)

[thefunkster]

When i played the new album, I said hmm different and yet classic Jamiroquai in places, but I gotta say I love it, I crank it up in the car and it just takes you somewhere new with every track. I started naming the tracks I like and then had to delete them cause I love em all, they all have there place.
Jamiroquai I believe have a hit on there hands with this one... but i have loved all the previous albums they have never disapointed my wife or I...
can not wait to see them live next year...lets hope that asteroid doesn`t hit earth first though.
Thefunkster