late night with jamiroquai

past: Musiq, 'soulstar'
present: Jamiroquai , 'Latenigttales'
future: Amel Larrieux

Jamiroquai, having graced us with A Funk Oddysey in 2001, has taken us into their late night musical inclinations with Anotherlatenight, which explores what's in the mind of Jason.

It's interesting to see what Jamiroquai has taken from the musical world. In listening to this CD, it's easy to see where their influences lie. While mostly backdrop music, there are some clear gems in this set.

Starting out with Pointer Sisters and The Commodores, the tunes are not quite Jamiroquai. Rufus's Once You Get Started is a cut with which Jamiroquai has utilized, but it's not nearly their best cut. (At Midnight) My Love Will Lift You Up would be a more delectable spread indicative of Jamiroquai's style.

Johnny Hammond's album released in 1975 called Gears got such bad reviews, but the song Fantasy was definitely one of those tracks that deserved to be included. Having just heard this original, it's impossible for me to say what that album was like, but the single is great and is an inspiration to get more Johnny Hammond tunes. Ramsey Lewis' Whisper Zone, a very solid track, brings us right into Leon Ware. The track What's Your Name is something that, albeit old-school, gives you pause and makes you understand just what Jay Kay has in his head when he's expressing himself. This sounds like classic Jamiroquai complete with an outstanding horn section and wonderful female vocals. It would be absolutely great if Jay and Beverley Knight would remake this tune.

The album takes a lull right up to Skyy's Here's To You and on into The Real Thing with Raining Through My Sunshine. This was very surprising, because this tune clearly fused Jamiroquai's and Loose Ends' debut album together with the songwriting and production abilities of Chris and Eddie Amoo, much to my delight- inspiring me to retrieve The Best of The Real Thing.

Finishing up the CD with Marvin Gaye, Patrice Rushen, and The White City leaves me with a generally good album, but I'm going to be tapping my foot a bit louder waiting for the next CD from Jamiroquai. Let's hope 2004 brings us the next release.

My take? 6/10.

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