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Jamiroquai: Emergency on Planet Earth

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Sony Music Entertainement
Released: 1993.08.10
Time:
 55:01
Category: Acid Jazz
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: *****..... (5/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.jamiroquai.co.uk
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2002.04.02
Price in €: 6,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] When You Gonna Learn? (Digeridoo) (J.Kay) - 3:47
[2] Too Young to Die (J.Kay/T.Smith) - 6:04
[3] Hooked Up (J.Kay/T.Smith) - 4:37
[4] If I Like It, I Do It (J.Kay/N.VanGelder) - 4:35
[5] Music of the Mind (J.Kay/T.Smith) - 6:22
[6] Emergency on Planet Earth (J.Kay/T.Smith) - 4:04
[7] Whatever It Is, I Just Can't Stop (J.Kay/T.Smith) - 4:07
[8] Blow Your Mind (J.Kay/T.Smith) - 8:33
[9] Revolution 1993 (J.Kay/T.Smith) - 10:17
[10] Didgin' Out (W.Buchanan/J.Kay) - 2:35

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


JASON KAY - Arranger, Composer, Background Vocals, Producer, Liner Notes, String Arrangements, Mixing
TOBY SMITH - Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Producer, String Arrangements
MIKE SMITH - Flute, Saxophone
LINDA LEWIS - Background Vocals
GARY BARNACLE - Flute, Saxophone
SIMON BARTHOLOMEW - Guitar
WALLIS BUCHANAN - Composer, Didjeridu
KOFI KARIKARI - Percussion
GAVIN DODDS - Guitar
GAVIN EDMONDS - Strings, Arranger, String Arrangements
RICHARD EDWARDS - Trombone
NICK VAN GELDER - Composer, Drums
ANDREW LEVY - Bass
J.K. LEWIS - Arranger, Background Vocals, Producer
MAURIZIO RAVALIO - Percussion
GLENN NIGHTINGALE - Guitar
VANESSA SIMON - Background Vocals
JOHN THIRKELL - Trumpet
STUART ZENDER - Bass
DJ ZIRE - Turntables
MAURIZIO - Percussion
GARY BARNACIE - Flute, Saxophone

THE REGGAE PHILHARMONIC STRINGS - Strings
JONO - Strings, Arranger, String Arrangements

MIKE NIELSON - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
MARK MCGUIRE - Engineer, Mixing

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1993 CD Columbia CK-53825
1993 CS Columbia CT-53825



Jamiroquai made a large initial splash in 1993 with Emergency on Planet Earth, a psychedelic melange of tight funky rhythms, acid rock intimations, and '70s soul melodies. Frontman Jay Kay introduces himself with an environmentally oriented manifesto inside the sleeve, and his lyrics smack of idealist save the planet revolution. But this revolution would be held on the dancefloor, if the band's impressive rhythm section had anything to say about it. Horns, string arrangements, and a didgeridoo provide full texture on most of the album's tunes, and the socially aware party vibe raged into the U.K.'s number one album slot. For a debut, Emergency shows quite a range of diversity, from the up-tempo jazzy instrumental "Music of the Mind" to the stop-start funk of "Whatever It Is, I Just Can't Stop."

Troy Carpenter - All Music Guide, © 1992 - 2002 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



In the liner notes to Jamiroquai's debut album, lead singer and mastermind Jason Kay delivers a sincere, if oversimplified, screed about distributing the wealth and saving the rainforests. The lyrics follow suit: except for a single love tune ("Blow Your Mind"), Kay bemoans war, greed, racism, and conformity, or extols the power of music as a drug ("Hooked Up") or as a catalyst for social revolution. This is not Jamiroquai's most eloquent album, nor their strongest musically, what with most songs structured as long-form, open-ENDed jams weighing in at six minutes or more. Though interesting as a chronicle of Kay's musical vision taking shape, overall it's a document that will appeal most to Deadheads and jam-band fans.

Suzanne McElfresh - Amazon.com



What the Critics Say...

Entertainment Weekly (8/13/93, p.74) - "...turn out gritty organic grooves with enthusiasm..." Rating: B+



Its name is Jamiroquai, and it's out to change the world. The modus operandi: the Mancunian band's funky groove-bed of sounds that's a kindred spirit to the Brand New Heavies, D-Influence and the Young Disciples. It's a retro sound, to be sure, but one full of reverence and not without innovation, as demonstrated by the use of the digeridoo, an aboriginal wind instrument that adorns several tracks. The bold Taurean sign of Stevie Wonder looms large on Emergency..., with tones and timbres recalling Innervisions or Songs In The Key Of Life (especially in Jason Kay's dead-ringer vocals, and the instrumental "Music Of The Mind"). While Lenny Kravitz plunders the soul bins searching for psychic power spots - Mayfield, Sly Stone, Marvin Gay - Jamiroquai uses a much more subtle, inclusive aesthetic to draw on for influences, being just as likely to evoke the sounds of late-'70s lite-funk like the Bar-Kays or the proto-disco of the Rimshots or 100 Proof Aged In Soul. Of course, sometimes it backfires a bit, teetering dangerously close to cheez-funk, and sometimes Kay's good intentions can be a little much (he practically apologizes for his whiteness in the liner notes, something that's no more his fault than the injustices he rails against, and he sends shout-outs to everyone from Native Americans to the people who handle his merchandising). But much like Lenny Kravitz's debut, or for that matter Stevie Wonder back in `69, Jamiroquai is a band on a visionary mission in search of the good groove. Jamiro-cuts: "When You Gonna Learn," "Too Young To Die," "Revolution 1993" and the instrumental sign-off "Didgin' Out."

CMJ New Music Report Issue: 346 - Aug 16, 1993
© 1978-2002 College Media, Inc., Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Cynics might see Jason Kaye as an English Vanilla Ice or Snow, trying to cross over and cash in as the skinny-white-guy-in-a-funny-hat face of Acid Jazz. One listen to his debut album, though, and such suspicions melt away. The 24-year old Mancunian isn't old enough to know better, but he does. His band Jamiroquai understands the early `70s jazz and funk influences prevalent in today's Acid Jazz movement, and interprets them on a level rivaling the masters. For the uninitiated, these include the psychedelic funk of Parliament, Norman Whitfield, and Holland/Dozier/Holland productions; the blaxploitation soundtracks of Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown; the jazz of Lonnie Liston Smith and Donald Byrd; and most prominently, the everything of Stevie Wonder, whose vocalizations Kaye recalls well enough to make Paul Weller green with envy. Expertly blended into the stew are staccato horns, sweeping strings, popping bass lines, freaky organ, harmonic/scratching guitars, and just a dash of modern hip-hop scratching, producing an energy and finesse more consistent than any peers. That might not impress or please ears unaware of the difference between early '70s soul grooves and the easy-listening disasters they mutated into, but purists may actually be chagrined that it still can be done! Jamiroquai's messages (their name, a tribute to Earth-loving Amerindians; ecology statements in "When You Gonna Learn" and the title track) are subtle but heartfelt. Righteous!

© 1978-2002 College Media, Inc., Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 

 L y r i c s


WHEN YOU GONNA LEARN (DIGERIDOO)

Yeah, yeah
Have you heard the news today?
People right across the world,
Are pledging they will play the game,
Victims of a modern world,
Circumstance has brought us here,
Armageddon's come too near,
Too, too near, now
Foresight is the only key
To save our children's destiny,
The consequences are so grave
So, so grave, now
The hypocrites we are their slaves.
So my friends to stop the end
On each other we depend,
Oh we depend.

Mountain high and river deep,
Stop it going on,
We gotta wake this world up from its sleep.
Oh people,
Stop it going on,

Yeah, yeah
Have you heard the news today?
Money's on the menu in my favourite restaurant,
Now don't talk about quantity,
There's no fish let in the sea.
Greedy men been killing all the life there ever was,
And you'd better play it natures way,
Or she will take it all away,
Don't try and tell me you know more than her about right from wrong,
Now you've upset the balance, man,
Done the only thing you can,
Now my life is in your hands,

Moutain high and river deep.
Oh yeah
Stop it going on,
We gotta wake this world up from its sleep.
Oh people,
Stop it going on,

Moutain high and river deep.
Oh yeah
Stop it going on,
We gotta wake this world up from its sleep.
Oh people,
Stop it going on,

Greedy men will fade away,
When we stop it going on,
I know it's got to be that way,
Oh people,
Stop it going on,
I'm asking, Oh
When you gonna learn
To stop it going on?
When you gonna learn
To stop it going on?
When you gonna learn
To stop it going on?


TOO YOUNG TO DIE

Everybody
Don't want no war,
'Cos we're too young to die,
So many people,
All around the world,
Seen their brothers fry.
What's the motive?
In your madness.
You've made my people cry.
So politicians this time
Keep your distance.
'Cos we're too young to die.
You know we're too young to die,
You know we're too young to die,
You know we're too young to die,
You know we're too young to die,

What's the answer?
To our problems.
I think we've gone too high,
Little children,
Never said a word now,
But still they have to die.
It won't be long.
Dancing like we do now,
To put this sad world right.
So don't you worry,
Suffer no more,
'Cos we're too young to die.
You know we're too young to die,
You know we're too young to die,
You know we're too young to die,
You know we're too young to die,

All gone when they drop the bomb.
Can the politicians reassure?
'Cos here I am presuming that
Nobody wants a war
There's so many people praying
Just to find out if they're staying.
But lately stately governments
And disillusioned leaders,
So full of empty promises
But rarely do they feed us.
Put our backs against the wall,
Or don't we count at all?

Can you decide,
Are you mesmerised.
Do you know which side you're standing?
Cos when it falls gonna take us all.
Gotta know what we're demanding,
I never lie,
Can't your hear the cry,
Coming from on high,
WE'RE TOO YOUNG TO DIE.


HOOKED UP

I'm so glad I got ya hooked up on my drug
Everybody dance to the music
Are you feeling well now you caught this bug
Everybody dance to the music
Think last time I took an overdose
Come on dance to the music
Made me realise I came too close
I bet ya wished you'd danced to the music, music, music, music

Dead can seem to bear no relevance,
Bet you wished you dance to the music
What you want to do is kill yourself
Still you don't dance to the music
I can look at you and hear your scream
Come on dance to the music
And tell me that your needle's clean
Come on dance, dance

Come on now dance to the music
I need it, I need it,
Repeat

Don't you get hookep up
'Cos music is the drug
Don't you get hooked up
Repeat


IF I LIKE IT, I DO IT

If I like it I just do it

Say that we have all the time we need to make it right
Don't hurry for nobody
If it ain't the thing you like
Know your place and fit your space, young man you will conform
I didn't hear my soul express those rules when I was born.
Cause I'm free to roam 'cause it's my home
You can't stop sweet inclination
The kids want the system breaking down
Not higher education
If it ain't no natural law
Then you can keep your regulations
Cause if I like it I do it

But I keep on movin' though they wanna bring me down
I've gotta run for the cover,
And I keep on smiling
Though they wanna tie me down and give me death for the lover,
And I keep on losing though I'm proving what I'm doing
I'm still groovin', and if I like it I do it

You've got to help those people break that legislation
We can overcome this suffocation,
Execute your natural liberation
Happy to enjoy rejuvenation,
All around hear the sound
No-one can stop us now,
A thousand rules for plastic fools
Now they can take a bow.
Surely there's been time to see it dosn't work by now,
So if I like it, I do it

Still I,
Keep on finding that they're pushing those distorted visions.
And I keep on living but I'm dying 'cause of their decisions,
If I keep on looking I can find a higher space
I'm still groovin' and if I like it I'll do it


MUSIC OF THE MIND

(Instrumental)


EMERGENCY ON PLANET EARTH

The kids need education,
And the streets are never clean,
I've seen, a certain disposition, prevailing in the wind,
Sweet change, if anybody's listening?
Emergency on planet earth.
Is that life that I am witnessing,
Or just another wasted birth.

Now, we got emergency
Oh, we got emergency on planet Earth
Now, we got emergency
Oh, we got emergency on planet Earth

Think we're standing for injustice,
White gets two and black gets five years,
Took me quite a while to suss this,
But now I know my head is cleared
And a little boy in hungry land, is just a picture in the news,
Won't see him in that tv advertising, 'cause it might put you off your food

Now, we got emergency
Oh, we got emergency on planet Earth
Now, we got emergency
Oh, we got emergency on planet Earth


WHATEVER IT IS, I JUST CAN'T STOP

If I pick it up, can I put it down,
Whatever it is I just can't stop
For only 20 seconds at a time it's all mine.
I got, too much, pressure,
Got me under it's thumb
And it's no fun, you can lose
Now I got a choice but I can't choose
Insistent as you are
Is no guarantee that you'll go far
Rock steady, if you can
But I've never been a steady man,
People, wanna shoot you down,
If you can't swim then you will drown
In sorrow,
Can't get no medical attention till tomorrow,
Sadlands are where I live,
But that's none of your business,
You keep asking, and soon enough
The kids gonna have to get rough,
Maybe I'm a speed king
Push with the foot and I'm smiling,
I can glide on the love inside,
And there was you thinking that my hands were tied
All along I saw you hoping
I would slip and I'm not joking
The evidence in these events
Is still your lack of commonsense
Did you really think that I would sink
Because I like another drink
Have to get up to get down
The remedy is in the sound
Absurdity of your suggestion,
Leaves me asking just one question,
If you are my friend today?
Why do you wanna hear me say?

If I pick it up, can I put it down
Whatever it is, I just can't stop
Repeat


BLOW YOUR MIND

Oh oh yeah
Don't you know,
That now you blow my mind
Honey,
You're sweeter
Than anything, I need you
Want to get closer to you
I want you get closer to you now

Love ya
I need ya
I think I wanna squeeze ya
Nightly,
So tightly,
Girl you know you really blow my mind

Say it again,
Just one more time
I've got to know,
How you came to blow my mind
Closer

Pleasure, passion
Tonite's the night I'm looking for your action
I want to hold you,
Don't you know now you blow my mind
Say it again,
Just one more time
I've got to know,
How you came to blow my mind
Closer,

Fever, hot now,
Help me wipe the sweat away from my brow,
Sexy
Oh lady,
Don't you know this time you blow my mind

Oh don't you know yeah,
Don't you know by now that now you blow my mind
Oh yes you do
Oh yes you do
Oh yes you blow my mind


REVOLUTION 1993

You've got to stand up, stay strong start movin' in the right direction
Don't wait, too long, for people promising divine intervention
19 nine three, now I'm taking matters into my own hands
So fast, I can't see
A revolution is the only way that we can change change change
I wanna fight the power

Well it's hard times, white lines, kids of nine gettin' down with gun crime
War zones, no homes, ain't it time we gave the dog a bone
Say brothers, sisters, step up and put yourself in the picture
This time you know a revolution if the only way that we can change change change
I want to fight the power

Question, answer, shake your hand and smile for the camera
But it's no good you should spend time in your neighbourhood
Where black kids, white kids
Now you're working overtime to be a crack kid
No job, no cash, a revolution is the only way that we can change change change
I wanna fight the power

Still we don't seem to understand we need a revolution
Everybody wants a revolution

Who is, this man, I'm having trouble finding out where I'm coming from
Preconceptions, it's eternal human infection one chance,
Learn how you're gonna change the habit of a lifetime my soul, concerned,
That revolution is the only way that we can change change change
I wanna fight the power

Higher, higher, now we're gonna learn to fight the power
Sunshine, new day, I only know how to get the right way
Faster, stronger, I help my brother and my soul lives longer
Blinded, I can't see
That revolution is the only way that we can change change change
I wanna fight the power

No doubt, in time, everything is sweet sunshine
But in the meantime, mankind, is having trouble where to draw the line
We still don't, respect, and yet I thought we had intellect
Sometimes I think the music is the only hope we have for revolution

Still we don't seem to understand we need a revolution
Everybody needs a revolution


DIDGIN' OUT

(Instrumental)

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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