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.

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.

"Return of the Space Cowboy" is an album with integrity and power as Jamiroquai, fronted by Jay Kay, delivers their most instrumental and musically interesting album. This album is quite different from his more recent disco-albums, as it is kind of darker and a bit less mainstream. It may sound a bit boring the first time you hear it, but after a while it sinks into your mind, and you find that it's a killer. This album is more focused on the band behind Jay Kay, with Stuart Zender and Derrick McKenzie as a toally awesome rhythm-section. As a bonus, this album contains Jamiroquais best song until now; Mr.Moon. Buy it now, or I'll feel sorry for you.

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.

What can I say about this album to make you buy it? This is the best of Jamiroquai's 5 albums, by far. From the ever so cool title track, to the funky Light Years, this album will complete your music collection.

My favorite tunes? Try Stillness in Time, Manifest Destiny or Mr. Moon, but they're all great. To top it all off, this is when Jamiroquai still put messages in their music. Stillness in Time is about being happy and content with your life. Manifest Destiny is about that exactly. Space Cowboy is about their favorite mind altering past-time.

Whenever I have a doubt of what CD to put into my record player, this is my default CD because no matter what mood I am in, or where I am, this CD always seems to ground me and put me in a state of mind that I would always love to be in. This is the ultimate Jamiroquai CD, a good starting point for those who are curious about this revolutionary British band.