Return of the Space Cowboy

Jamiroquai | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 1995)
• Original Release Date: May 9, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002B0J
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,487 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #60 in Music > Jazz > Acid Jazz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jamiroquai's Best Album, February 9, 2003

By 

Donovan Juan (Perth, WA Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return of the Space Cowboy (Audio CD)

While there new work may seem to have more in common with albums like Michael Jackson's Off The Wall, there was a time when Jamiroquai was more closely related to Stevie Wonder and Sly and The Family Stone with their ever-retro funk.

This was Jamiroquai as they were originally concieved as; a band. Today, it would be a fairly reasonable mistake to believe that Jay Kay was Jamiroquai.

This album includes long, funky jams where Jay Kay's Stevie Wonder-ish vocals (though I must admit it is not THAT close to get confused) and socially conscious lyrics bring us back to the glory days of R & B music (circa 1972). The album is a whole lot more raw than, say "Synkronized" and it really shows how crucial Stuart Zender's basslines were to the group's sound. This album features a lot more interplay between the band members than any other album (except perhaps "Emergency On Planet Earth").

What is striking is that the album is so retro that even the sound quality is muddled and flat! This was obviously the vision they had for the group. This album is like early Earth, Wind and Fire and "Funk Odyssey" is like their Disco influenced later 70s work. basically, this is Jamiroquai when funk was still young and raw; before disco smoothed everything out. This album's harder sound is probably less appealing to a mass audience than the highly produced style they have now, but for fans of acid jazz or funk, this is the album for you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BASS!, November 21, 2005

By 

portapeeps "portapeeps" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return of the Space Cowboy (Audio CD)

There are so many reviews here that I don't feel one can add much more to the opinion of musicality on this project. However, I will say this - every bassist needs this album. It should be one of 10 absolutely necessary albums that every electric bass player should own. Bassist Stuart Zender joined this band as a young teenager, but it's no surprise that he was immediately praised by already famous bassists in the industry through every magazine! The groove, feel, and maturity on this album is really amazing (especially for such a young player) so explore it. Learn from it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique, March 4, 2006

By 

A. Domres "jazzeppe" (Ukraine) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Return of the Space Cowboy (Audio CD)

After 1994, acid jazz started to lose mass popularity and soon sank down like a Titanic to the bottom of the sea. But if there was just one band that made an effort to develop the genre, it was Jamiroquai with their second album Return Of The Space Cowboy. They took the influences from vintage funk, jazz, soul and latin music that made most of their debut, Emergency On Planet Earth, and took them to another level of musical language. Open-minded and passionate musicians, they didn't limit themselves to any boundaries of the genre. Unlike Emergency, this album doesn't sound like anything you've heard before. My personal favourite, "Stilness In Time" is a breezy latin number, with a catchy chorus that you will probably sing all day long after listening to it in the morning. On "Half The Man" the band tried to experiment with unusial sounds, blending weird synthesizer, panoramic Rhodes piano, organ, acoustic guitar, latin percussion and Jay's blues-inflected vocals. Manifest Destiny is a beautiful slow-tempo number with the main melody played on a bass guitar. "The Kids" is a thrash-funk, which features some first-rate turntable workout, while "Morning Glory" is a meditative jazzy number with a long trumpet solo, which reminds of Miles Davis. The infamous didgeridoo turns up on just one track, the dark instrumental "Journey To Arnhemland." The first single and now classic "Space Cowboy" (a song about getting high with the help of marijuana) serves as a perfect conclusion of the album, leaving an unconquerable desire to listen to it one more time.
Long story short, this is a unique album made with a perfect taste and impressive technical performance. The album's only drawback is weak production, but still the music is the best they've ever done. If you think that Jamiroquai are just a disco-funk band, try this and you'll find out they are (or were) much more interesting and innovative.