Forums > Music: Non-Prince > Jamiroquai's new album 'Automaton'

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Reply #60 posted 04/01/17 1:05am

SoulAlive	kygermo said: They unfairly get no substantial love here in the States. Come across the pond and play some gigs Jay! A lot of us would love to see you! in a new interview on an Italian radio station,Jay said that they're planning some US dates for next year.Keep your fingers crossed.
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Reply #61 posted 04/01/17 1:28am

SoulAlive	"Something About You"
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Reply #62 posted 04/01/17 2:14am

MD431Madcat

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this thread is making me feel old because this digital funk ish music sucks imho... oh well..

Viva La Jamiroquia 1993-1997.

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Reply #63 posted 04/01/17 8:16am

kygermo	SoulAlive said: kygermo said: They unfairly get no substantial love here in the States. Come across the pond and play some gigs Jay! A lot of us would love to see you! in a new interview on an Italian radio station,Jay said that they're planning some US dates for next year.Keep your fingers crossed. Now that's great to hear! Thanks for the heads up! Get in your mouse, and get out of here!
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Reply #64 posted 04/01/17 10:31am

Doozer

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I listened to this album from start to finish this morning. So, here's an initial reaction.

I liked it, but I didn't love it. I honestly had trouble telling some songs apart from one another. It is a bit of a one-note affair - mid-tempo electric-funk-disco-pop, one after another, with every song fading out without a real ending. And, not a single ballad to be found. The final track faded out and I thought, oh, is that the end? So, if you like what you heard in the singles released before the album dropped, you'll certainly enjoy the album because it's all much of the same. Very much of it.

I'm someone who has found a lot to like about all of Jamiroquai's albums, from the legendary first three to their last handful that have included more electronic and less organic beats. There are just no highs or lows on Automaton. I felt like the entire album could be set to a single ticking metronome. There were no parts to hate, but really no parts to love.

Again, that's my first reaction and I'll certainly be listening again.

Check out The Mountains and the Sea, a Prince podcast by yours truly and my wife. More info at https://www.facebook.com/TMATSPodcast/

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Reply #65 posted 04/01/17 2:15pm

SoulAlive

ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC

Jamiroquai – Automaton album review: A throwback to the future with a healthy helping of funk

BY WILL LAVIN ON 3/31/17 AT 2:27 PM (IBT Times UK)

On first listen...

For the past seven years Jamiroquai have taken a break from the game, while keep a close eye on the changing shape of music. Timing is everything, and Jay Kay et al make their comeback at a time when the music-buying public want more than simplistic drum loops and basic lyrics sung in a monotyne fashion. The acid-jazz funk lords have never been more on-time than they are in 2017. Designed to make your eardrums rattle, your feet shuffle and your inner soul soar, Automaton is musicality at its finest with a futuristic twist, a dash of disco, and – of course – a healthy helping of funk.

When the album's title track was teased to the public a month or so ago, there was a feeling that perhaps the band were trying too hard to conform to today's electronic-driven sound, when in reality they didn't need to. As one of the UK's most cherished acts, an act celebrated the world over, and an act we're supremely proud to call our own, conformity is not a colour they need to wear.

So imagine the relief when, played as part of the album, Automaton feels at home. It felt like it was put out there to throw people off and have them second guess the band's greatness, so that when the album was played from front to back it all made sense – almost like the time Kendrick Lamar dropped Backseat Freestyle and it felt rigid and unworthy– until it was played as part of g.o.o.d. kid m.A.A.d. city.

Made up of zippy strings, gliding synths and Nile Rodgers-esque disco guitar licks, the production on Automaton is exciting. It's new. It's fresh. It's everything. From the moment you push play you can hear the dancefloor calling. It's an album that signifies the arrival of the weekend. Whether it's doing the robot in a club or a hop, skip and a jump at home finished with a slide down the banister, it's Travelling Without Moving all over again. Remember the time you tried to perfect Jay Kay's moves from the Virtual Insanity video? You'll be working on those same moves again, just this time it will be to tracks like Superfresh and Vitamin.

As acid-jazz pioneers it's usually other people drawing inspiration from them, but there are moments peppered throughout Automaton that hear Jamiroquai become the inspired. Whether it's Daft Punk, the Bee Gees, P. Diddy – listen to the opening riff on Nights Out in the Jungle and then listen to the opening of Faith Evans and the Bad Boy head honcho's All Night Long and imagine the tempos were the same – or the already mentioned Nile Rodgers, their presence is felt, even if it was unintentional.

Travelling to opposite ends of a musical timeline, Automaton feels like a throwback... to the future. While tracks like Carla and Hot Property sound like something your children's children will be listening to in their hover cars 100 years from now, the drum-happy and uplifting Summer Girl transports you back to the seventies on a backdrop that could have so easily been tailor-made for Barry White, complete with bongos, cowbells and a blazing brass section.

Vocally Jay Kay hasn't lost a step. From the moment he sings his first note on opening track Shake it On, your senses stand up. You think back to the time you first heard his voice, and whether that was Virtual Insanity, Too Young to Die or earlier your heart can't do anything else but beat a little faster as you fall back into your chair and remember that feeling you felt that first time. It's like riding a bike, you never forget.

Letting it be known that he's still a music warrior, a champion for the arts, on the same track he sings: "Music's still infecting me/ Music's still protecting me." So while he and the band may have stepped away for a while, his love of music didn't change. In fact it proved the catalyst to move forward with the new project and that opening track was the perfect moment to make his intentions known.

An average Jamiroquai album is better than most other artists' best efforts, so just having them back would have been enough. But delivering their best album since Travelling Without Moving is going above and beyond. Futuristic and funky, Automaton without question stands up alongside the rest of the band's back catalogue. If Disney were to make a third Tron movie there's no question this album could score the entire thing.

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Reply #66 posted 04/01/17 2:27pm

SoulAlive	the Japanese CD contains one bonus track "Nice and Spicy" which I finally heard.It's an OK track
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Reply #67 posted 04/01/17 2:32pm

SoulAlive	"Hot Property"
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Reply #68 posted 04/02/17 9:10am

RJOrion	Tuxedo -"Tuxedo II" >>> Jamiroquai - "Automaton"
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Reply #69 posted 04/02/17 11:26am

Doozer

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RJOrion said:

Tuxedo -"Tuxedo II" >>> Jamiroquai - "Automaton"

As much as I like Jamiroquai, I have to agree. I prefer Tuxedo II over Automaton.

Check out The Mountains and the Sea, a Prince podcast by yours truly and my wife. More info at https://www.facebook.com/TMATSPodcast/

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Reply #70 posted 04/02/17 12:00pm

SoulAlive
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Reply #71 posted 04/02/17 12:04pm

SoulAlive	There are only two songs on this album that I'm not crazy about: "We Can Do It" (it just seems like a lazy,unispired track) and "Nights Out In The Jungle" (I like the beat and the music...might have worked better as an instrumental).
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Reply #72 posted 04/02/17 12:10pm

SoulAlive	"Summer Girl"
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Reply #73 posted 04/02/17 12:17pm

SoulAlive	for those wondering what the Russian lady is saying in "Hot Property",here is a translation: I don't have to remind you again that I am the commander of this operation. You must always obey my orders, otherwise you face immediate elimination
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Reply #74 posted 04/02/17 12:33pm

SoulAlive	remember our good buddy JamiroFan2000? I know he's probably been too busy to post here,but he's still providing Jamiroquai fans with frequent updates and news.Here he talks about the strong worldwide sales of 'Automaton'....
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Reply #75 posted 04/02/17 3:27pm

3rdeyedude

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SoulAlive said:

There are only two songs on this album that I'm not crazy about: "We Can Do It" (it just seems like a lazy,unispired track) and "Nights Out In The Jungle" (I like the beat and the music...might have worked better as an instrumental).

That's funny because Nights Out in the Jungle is one of the only songs I find interesting on an otherwise pretty DULL album. I also like Dr. Buzz but mainly because it samples Family Affair. I'm glad he is back touring though and hope he comes to the U.S.

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Reply #76 posted 04/02/17 4:16pm

SoulAlive

3rdeyedude said:

SoulAlive said:

There are only two songs on this album that I'm not crazy about: "We Can Do It" (it just seems like a lazy,unispired track) and "Nights Out In The Jungle" (I like the beat and the music...might have worked better as an instrumental).

That's funny because Nights Out in the Jungle is one of the only songs I find interesting on an otherwise pretty DULL album. I also like Dr. Buzz but mainly because it samples Family Affair. I'm glad he is back touring though and hope he comes to the U.S.

I don't like that rapping/speaking thing that Jay does.I do like the music,though smile It would have been a great instrumental.

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Reply #77 posted 04/02/17 4:43pm

SoulAlive	speaking of the tour,I'm impressed with the setlists I've been seeing..... Shake It On Little L Automaton The Kids Dr Buzz Space Cowboy Superfresh White Knuckle Ride Cosmic Girl Corner of the Earth Morning Glory>Feel So Good Mr Moon Cloud 9 Something About You Emergency On Planet Earth Runaway Hot Property Carla Revolution>Canned Heat Love Foolosophy Supersonic
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Reply #78 posted 04/03/17 12:23am

SoulAlive

MD431Madcat said:

Quality Jamiroquai = 1993 - 1997

I didn't become a Jamiroquai fan until the Synkronized album in 1999.I was in a record store and they were playing "Canned Heat"over the speakers.I nearly lost my mind,lol.I thought it was an old,rare disco song from the 70s smile I asked the cashier who sings it,and she handed the CD,which I instantly purchased.It wasn't until a few years later that I went back and explored the previous Jamiroquai albums,so maybe that's why my view is a little different than yours,but I consider A Funk Odyssey,released in 2001,to be their best album.And I love disco anyway (lol) so I support any artist or band who's keeping that sound alive.

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Reply #79 posted 04/03/17 11:35am

MD431Madcat

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I hear ya...

different strokes... cool

SoulAlive said:

MD431Madcat said:

Quality Jamiroquai = 1993 - 1997

I didn't become a Jamiroquai fan until the Synkronized album in 1999.I was in a record store and they were playing "Canned Heat"over the speakers.I nearly lost my mind,lol.I thought it was an old,rare disco song from the 70s I asked the cashier who sings it,and she handed the CD,which I instantly purchased.It wasn't until a few years later that I went back and explored the previous Jamiroquai albums,so maybe that's why my view is a little different than yours,but I consider A Funk Odyssey,released in 2001,to be their best album.And I love disco anyway (lol) so I support any artist or band who's keeping that sound alive.

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Reply #80 posted 04/03/17 11:57am

E319

Sorry for the negative vibes but I actually cancelled my pre-ordered cd after hearing the album on YouTube. I became a fan in '93. Just think this album is real weak. I was digging the first 2 singles but the album is almost completely one-dimensional, all disco-ish. I love the first 4 albums. A Funk Odyssey is cool too. I thought "Rock Dust Light Star" was an excellent album and multi-dimensional. Automaton is just all disco. Some of it is okay but some of the songs are just so lame. I absolutely hated "Carla." I'm just not feeling this album. Maybe in the future I'll revisit it and it won't be so bad but right now I just feel that after taking 7 years from "Rock Dust Light Star" they should have come out with a stronger, more multi-dimensional album.

Edit: "Something About You" is awful.... Can the song be any cornier and cliche-ish?

[Edited 4/3/17 12:16pm]

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Reply #81 posted 04/03/17 1:39pm

SoulAlive	everyday I post a different song to spotlight.Today,it's "Dr. Buzz"
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Reply #82 posted 04/03/17 2:26pm

MD431Madcat

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You sound like a person with exquisite taste and distinction!

I couldn't agree more! cool

E319 said:

Sorry for the negative vibes but I actually cancelled my pre-ordered cd after hearing the album on YouTube. I became a fan in '93. Just think this album is real weak. I was digging the first 2 singles but the album is almost completely one-dimensional, all disco-ish. I love the first 4 albums. A Funk Odyssey is cool too. I thought "Rock Dust Light Star" was an excellent album and multi-dimensional. Automaton is just all disco. Some of it is okay but some of the songs are just so lame. I absolutely hated "Carla." I'm just not feeling this album. Maybe in the future I'll revisit it and it won't be so bad but right now I just feel that after taking 7 years from "Rock Dust Light Star" they should have come out with a stronger, more multi-dimensional album.

Edit: "Something About You" is awful.... Can the song be any cornier and cliche-ish?

[Edited 4/3/17 12:16pm]

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Reply #83 posted 04/03/17 2:38pm

SoulAlive	I like seeing the different releases in different countries this one comes with some extra bonuses
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Reply #84 posted 04/03/17 2:40pm

SoulAlive	in Paris,they apparently still have record stores
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Reply #85 posted 04/03/17 2:45pm

SoulAlive	. [Edited 4/3/17 14:47pm]
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Reply #86 posted 04/04/17 1:15pm

SoulAlive	"Nice And Spicy"-----bonus track on the Japan 'Automaton' CD
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Reply #87 posted 04/04/17 1:28pm

SoulAlive	"Shake It On" is part of the setlist of the current tour.It works great in a live setting!
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Reply #88 posted 04/04/17 5:40pm

MD431Madcat

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SoulAlive's a fan! lol cool

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Reply #89 posted 04/04/17 6:03pm

SoulAlive	MD431Madcat said: SoulAlive's a fan! but it can be tough being a Jamiroquai fan in America.We don't get all the tours and TV appearances
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