Read Review of Travelling Without Moving by Jamiroquai
Review Summary
About the Author
Jamiroquai Fuses Dance, Jazz, and Soul
Sep 28 '05
Pros Sometimes outstanding and entertaining songs...
Cons Sometimes forgettable and repetitive songs...
The Bottom Line If you loved Virtual Insanity, Jamiroquai's Travelling Without Moving may prove disappointing. They are more than just cool dance-jazz. They are also retro fusion.
Full Review
A hip blend of jazz, soul, and electronica, Jamiroquai appeals to a wide variety of listeners. I’ve always enjoyed the English band because of their distinctive sound, creative style, and irreverent nature. Good natured, smooth, and sexy this is one of the more adventurous bands to arise out of the 1990s.
Jamiroquai formed in London during 1992 when Jason Kay (a.k.a. J.K.) caught the attention of a minor label. He is clearly the centerpiece and creative force behind his project. Based on these early demos and the first single When You Gonna Learn?, the band made their debut in 1993 with Emergency on Planet Earth. From there, Jamiroquai inexplicably spawned multiple hit singles. The band’s unconventional and unlikely sound managed to cross over to the mainstream and eventually even earned support stateside.
The first thing that is striking about the band is that they sound very much like a flashback to Stevie Wonder in the 1970s. Kay grew up with jazz music (his mother was a jazz singer). His dedication to the craft and considerable talent are both obvious across the third album Travelling Without Moving. It is this CD that earned the band their greatest success in America inexplicably rising to the 24th place on the Billboard 200. This attention was almost entirely due to hit single Virtual Insanity. Oddly enough, I think Jamiroquai has released better albums (in particularly 1992’s Return of the Space Cowboy).
Even though Travelling Without Moving is imperfect, I still am drawn in to the album. It’s so cool and refreshing even though the lyrics are repetitive and the melodies are vaguely familiar. The songs are mostly good, but there are exceptions. In particular, the reggae travesty that is Drifting Along grates on me. He’s trying to be Bob Marley but in the end he sounds like a wanna be. It’s a too-long, too boring, and overall annoying song. I’m also unimpressed by the noisy and perplexing instrumental fusion track Didjerama. Jamiroquai is better when they try less to be something completely new and extraordinary and something more pop. The energetic, trippy, entertaining band that can be found throughout the first part of this album is the band I like (and the band I suspect many listeners expected to hear when they made the purchase).
As dour and unimpressive as the second half of this album is (save for the title track Travelling Without Moving and the beautifully demure Spend a Lifetime), the first is outstandingly kinetic. It’s the kind of music you can pop into the stereo and enjoy without fear of having to think too hard or feel too much. This disc kicks off with the aforementioned hit Virtual Insanity. After nearly a decade it is still fresh and frenetic. I love the fact that it is at the same time dance, retro soul, and keen pop.
Similarly, I am drawn to the outstandingly groovy Cosmic Girl. Kay sounds wonderful, the song is upbeat, the beat is fast, the attitude is classic—there is no way to ignore Jamiroquai when they sound this fabulous. I love the horns in Use the Force, but on the whole I do think that there are better songs on Travelling Without Moving. Speaking of songs which are better, Alright is easily one of the best on this album. The heavy house beats mix nicely with Kay’s smooth delivery. The actual instruments and melody remind me very much of Robbie Williams’ later hit Rock DJ but that said Jamiroquai did it first. This is a great song well worth hearing.
The thing about this band is that they aren’t exactly what people think. Jamiroquai did indeed put together Virtual Insanity but their sound is actually much more retro and unexpected than one would think. Travelling Without Moving lacks some consistency but overall it’s a fine enough album. I like most of what I hear and can hit skip on those songs I’d rather not sit through. If you’re looking to further investigate this London band I suggest you check out Return of the Space Cowboy first. It’s definitely the better release. Travelling Without Moving just happens to be their biggest success stateside…how very unfortunate.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded down)
Track Listing:
01. Virtual Insanity
02. Cosmic Girl
03. Use the Force
04. Everyday
05. Alright
06. High Times
07. Drifting Along
08. Didjerama
09. Didjital Vibrations
10. Travelling Without Moving
11. You Are My Love
12. Spend a Lifetime
13. untitled bonus track
___________________________
Related Review:
Muze: Copyright 1995 - 2008 Muze Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.