I would rather not add this article in but as it does concern Nick I will. I'll also try to resist the urge to say that the author of this unfortunate piece is probably a pigfaced, black hearted, fuckwitted dicksmack but as you all know, I try to keep my opinions objective.
www.undergroundfiles.com Jamiroquai "Synkronized" (Sony/WORK) - Acid Jazz rating - ***/*****
Writing a review about a new record from my beloved Jamiroquai while not even having one tiny little chance to give it 5 stars hurts! But what can I do? Jami's new album is far away from being revolutionary and timeless as their first two albums. But to be honest, this was an impossible task in the first place, so maybe I should calm down a little bit and try to forget about the time when money and fame wasn't on their minds as much as it is nowadays - unfortunately. Recently, I read a review on CNN about this album only to see drummer Derrick McKenzie giving props to the American MTV!? Please Derrick, of course MTV here in the US was responsible for your breakthrough last year, but don't thank them. They suck big time, and all MTV cares about is money. And having CNN report that Jamiroquai was a one-hit wonder back in the days before the success in the US is definitely not true! Goddammit, why is it that every great group has to finish on No. 1 in American charts? If that is so important for you, let's all forget about the music because you will be in good company with Bad Boy, No Limits or LaFace 'artists'. Holla Holla, Dolla Dolla!
No wonder that Jamiroquai's newest album left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I still dig a couple of tracks like the beautiful "Falling," a track which takes us back to jewels like "Mr. Moon." But even on highlights like this something is missing! I don't want to join other people, but former bass player, genius and man behind a lot of Jami hits, Stuart Zender, is missing. Listen to "Falling" and imagine Stuart's unprecedented bass playing, and you will realize that a lot of soul, passion and heart is missing because of Stuart's departure from Jamiroquai. Nick Fyffe, the new bass player, is alright and he's trying hard, but he still lacks the expressive power of Stuart's bass magic. And why did Stuart leave the band? Basically because of money reasons. I am sorry, but if I would have been Jay, I would have tried everything to keep Stuart in the band!
As a result, the music featured on this album lacks the seriousness and sophisticated structures compared to tracks like "Blow Your Mind" or "When You Gonna Learn?," something which Derrick justifies as being because this album contains the kind of music members from Jamiroquai would listen to while having parties. There's nothing wrong about party music, but I am sure the times when I had people going nuts to songs like "Too Young To Die" or "Space Cowboy" are over. The songs are just too predictable and simple structured to make me jump up with the joy, something which I never would have thought to write about music from Jamiroquai.
But leaving all those negative energies aside, there are some tracks which are really nice. "Falling" was one of them, "Butterfly" is another one, with its luscious strings and mellow vibes while Jay's voice is as gorgeous as usual. "Supersonic" is dope as well and reminded me of classical Jamiroquai songs, because it features Wallis Buchanan on Digeridoo. At the end let's also mention "Destitute Illusion," a killer track which provides tons of soulful vibes and became my favorite track on "Synkronized," maybe because it's an instrumental track and therefore lacks Jay's dominance.
I will leave you with the mixed feelings I still have. But one thing is for sure, I will see Jamiroquai live on July 12th here in Chicago, and I hope that they're still the dopest live band on this planet. Maybe they continue keeping it real at least live on stage, even without Stuart on bass ...
MG
