Detailed item info | Track listing | 1. Canned Heat
2. Planet Home
3. Black Capricorn Day
4. Soul Education
5. Falling
6. Destitute Illusion
7. Supersonic
8. Butterfly
9. Where Do We Go From Here
10. King For a Day
| | Details | | Producer: | Al Stone, Jay Kay | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording type: | Studio | | Recording mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
| | Album notes | Jamiroquai includes: Jay Kay (vocals); Simon Katz, Irwin Kelles (guitar); Wallis Buchanan (digeridoo); Toby Smith (keyboards); Nick Fyffe (bass); Derrick McKenzie (drums); Sola Akingbola (percussion); Katie Kissoon, Beverley Skeet (background vocals).
Recorded at Chillington Studio, Buckinghamshire, England.
On their fourth record, Jamiroquai continue their quest to drag dance music into the new millennium with a sound that fuses influences from the past with an international spin. This time around, Jamiroquai uses the string-heavy Gamble & Huff arrangements of classic '70s Philly soul as its musical touchstone. Songs such as "Canned Heat" and "Butterfly" establish a mood that moves from booty-shaking grooves to hypnotic head-bobbing thanks to generous dollops of fuzz bass, darting strings and propulsive percussion.
Even though frontman Jay Kay's vocals are a little too reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's upper register, the addition of wicked Clavinet and wah-wah guitar point the musical vibe more towards Curtis Mayfield and Isaac Hayes, particularly on the blaxploitative funk of "Soul Education" and "Black Capricorn Day." "Supersonic" is a multi-cultural smorgasbord that finds Jamiroquai crossing Latin-flavored percussion with the otherworldly sounds of the Australian didgeridoo. The result is an aural playground of bouncing rhythms and electronic effects.
| | Editorial reviews | 3 Stars (out of 5) - ...SYNKRONIZED is fifty minutes of sleek, sexy fun, a party album delviered with something like conviction. It's not exactly irresistible, but, really, what's the point of resisting it?
Rolling Stone (07/08/1922)
6 (out of 10) - ...redirects the band's British tendency toward smoothed-out old black jams....soaring strings, gyrating congas, hell-bent wah-wah's, and an undeniably live rhythm section that'll hustle your muscles and make you freak to the beat...
Spin (08/01/1999)
4 stars (out of 5) - ...[consolidates] the group's irrepressibly catchy old-skool funk with something darker and stranger....the most obtuse and best things the band have put down...
Q (07/01/1999)
...SYNKRONIZED proves Jamiroquai...are capable of knocking up fluid and thrilling grooves at the drop of an enormous hat....Jay's voice is wonderful throughout, delivering his admittedly toe-curling lyrics with...conviction.
Mojo (07/01/1999)
...Imagine if [Stevie Wonder] had made a disco album in 1977!....SYNKRONIZED is a hat trick done with the sharpest chapeau in the store... - Rating: B-
Entertainment Weekly (06/11/1999)
...This incessantly upbeat expedition travels into the regions of Travolta-era disco...feverish funk...and instrumental iridescence...keeping your ears tuned to their funktastic audio adventures...
CMJ (06/07/1999)
Included in Q Magazine's 50 Best Albums of 1999.
Q (01/01/2000)
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