Jamiroquai
Travelling Without Moving
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Jamiroquai
Travelling Without Moving
Sony, 1997
RiYL: Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Massive Attack's Blue Lines |
The English soulsters have developed their easily recognizable blend of disco, funk, jazz and soul on two previous albums, 1993's Emergency On Planet Earth and 1994's Return Of The Space Cowboy. The group's sound often brings to mind '70s funk along the lines of Sly and the Family Stone or, more often, Innervisions-era Stevie Wonder.
Though the six-piece doesn't stray very far musically from its trademark style, it rarely sounds repetitive or stagnant. Travelling Without Moving is a focused effort that caught the ears of the distant US audiences in a way Space Cowboy never could have.
Vocalist and principal songwriter Jason Kay co-produced the album, which features songs that run the gamut of soul music. Present are disco ("Cosmic Girl," "Alright"), reggae ("Drifting Along"), the TV-theme sound ("You Are My Love") and just plain funk ("High Times").
The five instrumentalists are all very skilled, and they work well to complement Kay's soulful and instantly recognizable voice. Bassist Stuart Zender's funk mentality and near-perfect tone blend with drummer Derrick McKenzie's speedy precision to create a solid rhythm section.
Guitarist Simon Katz mainly provides counter-rhythms, using staccato riffs instead of guitar solos.
"Didjerama" is basically a solo by digeridoo Wallis augmented by jungle noises and slight percussion that fades into "Didjital Vibrations," a song based on the didge, but involving all the other band members in a hypnotizing groove.
The archetypal Jamiroquai song on the album is the recording's opener and first single, "Virtual Insanity." The tune begins with Kay crooning a few soulful catch phrases over keyboardist Toby Smith's modal intro. Soon Smith breaks into the theme piano riff. After a couple of measures, the rest of the band kicks into a groove that lasts over six minutes until fading back to Toby's noodlings. The lyric deals with the grim prospect of a future ruled by technology. -- "Now there is no sound / for we all live underground."
Taken as a whole, Travelling is much more solid than Jamiroquai's previous two releases. This is a band that knows what it is doing and has deftly refined its sound.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.