Jack's RADIO SHACK
In this monthly column, Jack writes about one album every month, with this month being Jamiroquai's Travelling Without Moving.
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TRAVELLING WITHOUT MOVING by JAmiroquai review
TRAVELLING WITHOUT MOVING by JAmiroquai review
by Jack Brouillette
by Jack Brouillette
Travelling Without Moving, released by funk and disco artist Jamiroquai on Aug. 28, 1996, is the best-selling Funk album in the world. Over 8 million copies have been sold since release, making this album one of the most memorable from the 1990s. It has been praised by many critics, even hitting second place on UK charts, according to the Official Charts website. Travelling Without Moving has a beautiful spacey and funky vibe that fits perfectly with his earlier works. I will be going through my favorite songs off this album, talking about each instrumental, lyrics and background.
"Virtual Insanity"
"Virtual Insanity"
“Virtual Insanity” was the first single release as well as the first track on Travelling Without Moving. Jamiroquai released this single on Aug. 19, 1996, nine days before the album's release. This is a staple of disco music, being Jamiroquai’s most popular song to date; the feel of this song is spectacular, with Toby Smith on the keyboards and the strings in the background perfectly fitting together like musical puzzle pieces. In the forefront of the song, Jay Kay sings about Virtual Insanity, the dystopian future based on technological advancement, while leaving the real world behind. The music video for “Virtual Insanity” was widely renowned because of the setup of the set. Walls were attached to wheels and were moved around a huge studio, with the wall hitting the furniture set up in the room. Jay danced around the furniture, moving with the walls while singing the lyrics. According to Classic Pop Mag, this music video was awarded the MTV music video of the year in 1997.
"COSMIC GIRL"
"COSMIC GIRL"
“Cosmic Girl” is the next track after “Virtual Insanity” on Travelling Without Moving. Going along with the spacey feel of the album, Jay sings about an extraterrestrial girl, one too mystical and ‘out of this world’ for a human. While Jay sings, the instrumental is beautifully placed together with a swing rhythm, the drums perfectly galloping along to Stuartz Zender’s extraterrestrial bass. The music video for this song shows Jay racing top-notch cars while winding through sharp switchbacks on deserted mountains. The three cars in this music video are supposed to represent this “Cosmic Girl”, with the futuristic, top-notch cars being used as a comparison to the cosmic girl Jay talks about.
"USE THE FORCE"
"USE THE FORCE"
One of the funkiest songs off of Travelling Without Moving, “Use the Force” starts with rhythmic drums, starting the song off strong and aggressive, unlike most songs off of Travelling Without Moving. The drums stay with us the whole time while other elements are added, never slowing down or fading out. Jay sings about not stopping and not letting anything slow him down, telling himself “I’m a rocket man” and “I’m a superstar”. These lyrics, paired with the aggressive synth in the background, make “Use the Force” one of the funkiest and hard-hitting songs on this album.
"ALRIGHT"
"ALRIGHT"
The fifth song off Travelling Without Moving, “Alright” placed sixth on the UK Singles Chart and landed at second place in Iceland, becoming one of Jamiroquai’s most popular and well-known songs after “Virtual Insanity”. “Alright” starts with an almost ethereal start, with glitters coming from windchimes acting like stars in the distant horizon. The whole feel of this song is reminiscent of '70s disco and funk, almost perfecting the vibe of old disco records such as “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” By Stevie Wonder. Jay sings on this song about being alright, but also states that he could be better with someone by his side, singing “We’ll spend the night together, we got to live forever”. Overall, this song is one of the more upbeat and feel-good songs on this record.
"ALL I WANT TO DO IS SPEND A LIFETIME WITH YOU"
"ALL I WANT TO DO IS SPEND A LIFETIME WITH YOU"
“All I want to do is spend a lifetime with you” starts with a sad, yet beautiful instrumental written by Toby Smith, the lead pianist for Jamiroquai. It displays a beautifully melancholic piano with the hard-hitting strings of an orchestra. The lyrics are sad, yet hopeful, with Jay trying to express his love for this person; the lyrics “All I want to do is spend a lifetime with you” repeat many times over. This song is a perfect mirror of the album's message as a whole. Most of the songs are fast-paced and are meant to inspire dancing, though this song is different-- making the listener sit and reflect.
"TRAVELLING WITHOUT MOVING"
"TRAVELLING WITHOUT MOVING"
This song starts off raw, with sounds of a car racing on a race track. Stuart Zender’s assertive bass comes in, building up what can only be described as one of the most race track sounding songs I have ever heard. It is assertive, yet still able to stay calm, almost like an F1 driver. The song then cuts down to a groovy feel, with the whole vibe of the song changing back into what this album is about: dance and disco. This is the perfect self-titled track, with Jay being known for loving his cars and with the album cover for Travelling Without Moving utilizing the Ferrari logo but slapping Jamiroquai's own logo on top of where the horse would be.
"DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM"
"DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM"
This was the only track not produced by Jamiroquai but by the famous British Jungle musician M-Beat. M-Beat developed and evolved the Jungle music genre, known for the fast, looped drum samples. “Do You Know Where You’re Coming From” shows the jungle side of M-Beat’s production, integrating Jamiroquai’s funk side and M-Beat’s Jungle side. Integrating the smooth synths and keyboard from Jamiroquai and the harsh, fast-paced drum loops from M-Beat builds a beautifully orchestrated piece of art, making it one of, if not the best song off of Travelling Without Moving.
Overall, Travelling Without Moving is one of the best Funk and Disco records that have been produced. The intergalactic feel of all of Jamiroquai's albums are strong, but this is one of the best at accomplishing that goal. Truly, this is one of my favourite albums of all time, and I am glad I got to talk about it in this article.
Sources:
Sources:
Official CD lyric booklet
Travelling Without Moving Chart Placements - Officalchart.com
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