Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)In the last several years before this long awaited 'creative' effort, JK (like many other artists) has spent (& lost) lots of his energy fighting his previous record label (Sony) for more artistic control.
Now that he is freed from the evil tyrants (that made him a star) & been fully granted all the control he'd seek, it is quite aggravating, brutal even, to witness the lack of creativity presented here. Sadly for any music lover & even sadder for any true fan, five years in the waiting, what you get here is a mismatched, uninspired, time-filling, disconnected mixture of what could have barely graced b-sides of his past-life singles.
Be-side (pun intended) 'White Knuckle Ride', an uplifting & infectiously effective 'disco-electro' classic JK track (that I suspect, as it is so far off the rest of the album, was destined for a previously unreleased effort), there isn't anything quite aurally spectacular anymore about Jamiroquai's music. The writing is rather futile (compared to his usually intricate lyrics), the arrangements are repetitive & uninspired, the melodies are, for the most part, weak & fast forgotten. Even the self-loathing cover of the record suggest he's over the hill or well on his way there.
When JK was in his prime, the Buffalo Man was often used to distance his pretty looks from his art. And since the art was so incredibly good, one couldn't care less that no pics were found inside the booklets. One would focus on the groovy music & luscious, deliriously vintage arrangements instead. If there was a time I wished the B-Man was dusted off & put back to use on a cover, it has to be on this one. JK looks almost ridiculous. Even his facial expression seems to suggest: 'Don't I look silly?'
Don't get me wrong: I simply adore & respect this artist, i really do. Jamiroquai (Jay Kay) is a master at what he does. A skilled producer, a (usually very) inspired & inspiring writer surrounded by great, almost surreal musicians / vocalists. But let's be frank, if Jamiroquai was still under Sony's management, this record would have NEVER been released.
Stupendously, tyrannous record companies will often protect artists from attempting to release any crap they make, especially when they're so full of themselves to think ANY of their offering is good enough to go platinum. This was, several years ago, why JK got out of Sony, yet this is exactly one of those moments when a higher power should have stopped this mess from happening.
I am now 15$ shorter & terribly sad to admit that this album has only one undeniable quality: It makes ALL its predecessors scream genius, virtuosity & talent. This ain't no Dynamite, this ain't no Cowboy, no Synkronized... Nope.
Very rare are the artists that have actually been able to produce succesful, quality records after the epitaphic 'greatest hits' collection of their past successes. I am afraid there will never be a 'High Times' part 2.
'Pressure, it gets ya'. Nicely put JK, nicely put.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Rock Dust Light Star
2010 release, the seventh album from British Jazz Funk pioneers Jamiroquai. Fronted by the charismatic Jay Kay, this is the band's first album in five years, following Dynamite with the kind of catchiness that made Jamiroquai a household name. Recorded between Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Thailand, Rock Dust Light Star features the single 'Blue Skies', a Take That-esque uplifting pop song - a departure from tracks such as 'Space Cowboy'. This record shows the group's talent remains as strong in 2010 as it was in 1994.
0 comments:
Post a Comment