Jamiroquai made a large initial splash in 1993 with
Emergency on Planet Earth, a psychedelic mélange of tight funky rhythms, acid rock intimations, and '70s soul melodies. Frontman
Jay Kay introduces himself with an environmentally oriented manifesto inside the sleeve, and his lyrics smack of idealist save-the-planet revolution. But this revolution would be held on the dancefloor if the band's impressive rhythm section had anything to say about it. Horns, string arrangements, and a didgeridoo provide full texture on most of the album's tunes, and the socially aware party vibe raged into the U.K.'s number one album slot. For a debut,
Emergency shows quite a range of diversity, from the uptempo jazzy instrumental "Music of the Mind" to the stop-start funk of "Whatever It Is, I Just Can't Stop." [The 2013 reissue of
Emergency on Planet Earth includes a second disc of live performances and remixes.] ~ Troy Carpenter