A few years ago Jay Kay and Jamiroquai seemed to have the world at their feet.Travelling Without Moving had seen him gain worldwide success,high profile relationship theme tune to a summer blockbuster-everything seemed perfect.Then they went and released the very patchy album Sykronised and it seemed to set them back a great deal.Well thankfully this new album sees them returning to form in a big way.The sound maybe very distinctly Jamiroquai,but it's as good a collection of songs since that 3rd album.There are a few changes to previous efforts-notably less ballads,more funk and no didgeridoo instrumentals.

The best intergalactic funk band emerge with the song "Feel So Good"-it's Cosmic Girl but more spacey and a lot more funky.The intergalactic list of planets make this song almost sound like the Rah Bands 'Clouds Across The Moon'-without all the cheesy sentiment.The first single "Little L" sees them mixing funky rhythms with disco violins and a chorus to die for.The daft Punk,Herbie Hancock influence is running right across this c.d.Nowhere is this more obvious then on song 3-gentle vocoded background vocals mixed with a certain acid-jazz feel- oh and this song also has an amazing string section attatched to it also.
Three songs in and each one is a potential single-oh and this song also has an amazing string section attatched to it also.The 4th song is the closest this gets too being a slow and tender number.A massively orchestrated grandiose opening is soon taken over by the lilt of Spanish guitar and backing female vocals you'd associate with a 60's Andy Williams song from the French Riviera.Funk returns big time with glorious guitars and more Chic violins on song 5-it's the first real 'album' track.The next song has the harshest sounds on this album-it's actually a really stonking dance song-deep bass synths and an overall sound that is quite similar to their song 'Deeper Underground'.I have to say it's one of my favourite songs on the c.d.-maybe cos it just sounds so different to all the other songs."Black Crow" is another slow song.Once again he uses Spanish guitar,Riviera backing vocals and the usual amount of the environments in deep trouble lyrical references.Again it's a song that's very catchy,very mellow and another nice change in sound and pace.Song 8-"Main Vein" is almost mid 70's disco you'd associate with Ross Royce.The guitar is total Huggy Bear and it's got those strings again.

The next song sounds like he may have got assistance from Bassment Jaxx-full of techno effects.This song sounds like Jamiroquai have gone for hard house.This is one of the aspects on this Jamiroquai album I really have enjoyed-the variety of sounds and songs are incredible-quite unlike many of their previous albums.The final song is the longest on the c.d. and unfortunately for me it's also the weakest song on the album.This c.d. sees Jay Kay back with a bang-I hope his time and opportunity to be really big has not passed.This album deserves great success.

Well, I just got around to buying this CD, and though I normally would listen to this kind of funky stuff (being a hip hop fan) I decided to take a listen to Jay Kay and his band's pop/funk fusion known as Jamiroquai.

Let's break it down track by track:

1. Feels so good -> This song is really the epitome of Jamiroquai. Great catchy beats, as well as outstanding vocals make this song a blast to listen to as you're screaming down the interstate at 150 miles per hour. Ask me how I know (o; This song also has hints of Monifah's "Touch It".

2. Little L -> Again, a true funky beat song. An excellent song to shake what your momma gave you to. My dad walked into my room as I was listening to this, and he asked me to let him borrow this CD. I really dig the porn-groovish background guitar as well as the well rhythm.. This song has "emotional content" (in the words of Bruce Lee) and that's what makes it good.

3. You Give Me Something -> Another rump-shakin song. Wow, this Jamiroquai guy is really good. This song reminds me of those old school funk songs, and I know Stevie Wonder would be proud of Jamiroquai. This song has another really catchy beat, and the repetition of "You Give me Something, oooh" in a sort of Michael Jackson-ish fashion brings a little bit of a pop element into a mostly funky song. The instrumentation and rhythm on this track is excellent as well.

4. Corner of the Earth -> This is where Jamiroquai takes a different direction. Moving away from the funk of the previous songs, this is more of a ballad, with Jay Kay pouring his heart and soul to you. I like how Jamiroquai takes a rather minimalist approach to the instrumentation and lets the vocals take the lead. Very impressive.

5. Love Foolsophy -> Back to the funk of the first three songs, this one is another good tune. The funky guitars, and good bass line combined with the catchy and easy to memorize vocals makes for a very good (albeit a little shallow) pop song, but that can be excused, because this is a song that makes you feel good, not to get you to think about social issues.

6. Stop Don't Panic -> More of a rockish tune, again with excellent vocals and rhythms. Again, they're showing how they're not all bubble gum funk, and can actually produce some music. Around the 2:30 mark is where the porno-music influence really shows itself. Listen to this track and you'll know what I'm talking about :p

7. Black Crow -> This is more of a poem, with very good imagery and a nice slow beat. This is a good song to sit down and think about the world to. I wonder what the black crows that were in NYC this morning were thinking. "You see everything and know nothing at all" is a great quote line.

8. Main Vein -> Now we're talking. I really like this song, and it's one of the best ones I've heard in a while. You can tell tell Jay Kay is angry at a woman for breaking his heart. I like the good synthesizer effectcs coupled with a good beat and bass line. Good times.

9. Twenty Zero One -> Excellent techno/rock track. A few funk elements could be heard in the guitars, and I really like how they distorted his voice to give it sort of a "futuristic" element. This really shows their musical skills.

10. Picture of my Life -> Another slow rock ballad. Jay Kay's good vocals and the instrumentations really give a somber mood to this song, and it's not something a depressed man would write. Again, this album is sort of an emotional rollercoaster and it's sort of a reflection on how Jay Kay thinks. There's a little surprise in this track, but I'm not going to give it away.

11. Do It Like We Used to Do -> Fast paced funk. Definetly good stuff. I can't speak enough good words about this album without you guys getting bored to death.

Bottom line: This CD is worth it.

When you think of jamiroquai you think of virtal insanity. This was considered thier only hit, despite the fact of jamiroquais world known style and such unknown songs as space cowboy, drifting along, emergancy on planet earth, too young to die ect.
Jamiroquai has been making good music sience the start but people ignore that fact, AFO is a example of this being that Jamiroquais hole style evolves with each album. And AFO is much better than syncronized and shows that the band's style is reforming and evolving. I highly recomend this alkbum

One thing that sets this album apart from other jamiroquai albums is that it sounds even more studio oriented...more "electronic" if you will. HOUSE MUSIC!!!!!!! (Love Foolosophy, Feel So Good, Little L anyone?). I never really thought this day would come, even though it's what I've always wanted; it hasn't really been mentioned in these reviews besides the reference to the "funk" aspect so I just wanted to be the one to say it... Jamiroquai is making straight up funky house! Imagine the classic tracks of Cosmic Girl, Alright and Canned Heat taken to even more danceable levels. There are the downtempo tracks too, which are more loungey and definitely excellent. Also I do have to mention the fabulous Kraftwerk style breaks cut Twenty Zero One--Jay just keeps the funk alive in all ways we can imagine! There are no weeknesses to this album, but watch out... it's very different from the Acid Jazz days of Emergency on Planet Earth and Return of the Space Cowboy. House music lovers will be dancing to this one for a long time. (By the way, the house music mixes on the Little L single are meticulous, and I can't wait for more mixes to come out of the other songs).

The first three Jamiroquai albums are great/groundbreaking and Stu Zender's bass playing had a lot to do with their misical richness. "Synchronized" was a pretty good album (it took some time to grow on me admittedly) but "A Funk Odyssey" is even better. Yes, it's very different from earlier disks, but it is very funky head bopping music. The first two tracks ("Feel So Good" and "Little L") are especially good. I also really like the last track "Picture of My Life" (and it would be awesome if "Feel So Good to be Real" was released as a full track). I got a better appreciation for this album after watching the Jamiroquai: Live in Verona DVD - check it out if you haven't already (I got mine on Ebay). This is good music - give it a chance and embrace Jamiroquai's new direction.