Product Description

Hailing from the same neo-R&B scene that spawned Soul II Soul and Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai continues to filter 1970s soul through a sieve of '90s acid jazz on its third album. Sounding remarkably like Stevie Wonder, singer Jason Kay'sairy vocals float over fat bass lines, disco rhythms and lush strings on "Cosmic Girl". "High Times" takes more of a bottom-heavy, P-Funk-meets-the-EWF-horns approach. Other up-tempo jams include "Use The Force", with its Afro-Cuban beat, and the equally funky, scratch-laden title track.
Jamiroquai's eclectic bag of influences includes reggae (the loping"Drifting Along") and world music. Two instrumentals centreon the otherworldly sounds of a didjeridoo. "Didjerama" is an ambient track that accentuates the instrument's hollow timbre with chirping birds and assorted percussion. "Didjital Vibrations" is quiet-storm music. An unlisted, drum-and-basscollaboration with M-Beat, "Do You Know Where You're ComingFrom", wraps up this vibrant package of Brit-soul.

Track Listing

1. Virtual Insanity
2. Cosmic Girl
3. Use The Force
4. Everyday
5. Alright Alright
6. High Times
7. Drifting Along
8. Didjerama
9. Didjital Vibrations
10. Travelling Without Moving
11. You Are My Love
12. Spend A Lifetime
13. Funktion

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3624 in Music
• Released on: 1996-09-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Adding pop savvy to their soul-disco mix, Jamiroquai grabbed the attention of MTV and Top 40 radio and won a Grammy with this platinum-selling album, Travelling Without Moving. It's a fine record, with warm keyboards, sweet strings, and irrepressible grooves grounding Jay Kay's sublime vocals and fuelling the hits "Virtual Insanity", "Cosmic Girl" and the title track. That voice--elastic, jazzy--is the fire of the band, but immaculate guitar sounds, snappy backup vocals and clever old-school soul samples (Eddie Harris on "Alright", Esther Phillips on "High Times") are the details that create perfection. Balancing the dance-ready, radio-friendly tracks are the ballads "Everyday" and "Spend a Lifetime", the reggae-styled "Drifting Along", and a couple of didjeridoo instrumentals.--Suzanne McElfresh

Customer Reviews

This slick album brings a mature string of arrangements
I remember years ago when I saw the music video for "Virtual Insanity" with its unique special effects and Jay Kay's signature vocal "sound," I had an inkling that it was going to be a good album to listen to. It's definitely a quick pick-me-up! You've got all different kinds of music on it. Reggae, rock, pop, jazz... etc. Whatever kind of music that floats your boat, you'll probably find on this album.

My favorite tracks are "Virtual Insanity" (of COURSE...) "Alright" (just makes you want to dance), "Cosmic Girl," "Traveling Without Moving," "Everyday," and "Drifting Along." I have to admit I'm rarely able to "sit" through the disc in its entirety. It seems to be a work that is three fourths complete with eight of the thirteen cuts exceptional and five being substandard.

Jay Kay really brings a unique style of Jazz mixed with Dance that sends you into a world of groovy romantic fantasy, with mind-fuzzing bass and dreamful lyrics. The flourish of various instruments harmonizing into one beautiful sound is enough to keep you excited once you place this album into your player, other than that 'Travelling without Moving' is good album to have due to it's collaboration.

At the pinnacle of their success and creativity.
Jamroquai have done some great versions of the same album and some not so great. However, this looks set to become their finest hour. Their most well crafted and their most varied album as far as style, grooves, instrumentally and lyrically, but most of all every song has a killer hook and melody. This album sums up what a good song-writing is all about, solid, memorable tunes that never age in their appeal and sheers listenability.

Jamiroquai have never quite matched it, well actually few albums have. It is pure pop perfection, up there with Michael and Madonna at their best.

Superfunky...
I have all of Jamiroquai's albums, but in my opinion, Travelling Without Moving is their best.

Practically all of the songs on it are classics, Cosmic Girl being my favourite, partly because of the wicked tune and beat, and partly because every time you listen to it, you're struck by just how much goes into their music- something that I think is true of all Jamiroquai songs. Virtual Insanity, Alright and Everyday also deserve a mention for being similarly catchy and impressive tunes. Use the force and High times call on tribal and reggae influences, while 'Spend a lifetime', one of my favourites, comes as a surprise being the only slow song on the album and distinctly jazzy. Jamiroquai are masters at what they do.

I think part of the album's success is that Jamiroquai draw on so many musical influences, that their style is almost impossible to pin down. The tracks on this album lean towards a mixture of jazz, funk and soul remeniscent of the late 70s/ early 80s, they take on Latino and even tribal influences, and add their own unmistakeably funky musical inventions to create their style.

Jamiroquai have been criticised for being to 'samey', and admittedly, their style isn't for everyone. But Jamiroquai, if you like funk, have it all, and their music is not just classically funky, it's clever too. Here are proper musicians, making this generation's music famous for being new and different, instead of so many bands' hopeless imitations of former greatness from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

A must have for all funk-lovers.