A Funk Odyssey

Untitled

A Funk Odyssey is the fifth studio album by British acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 3 September 2001 in the United Kingdom, and 11 September 2001 in the United States.

Background

Combining features of disco, funk and electronica, the release of the album represented the peak of international commercial success for Jamiroquai, and in the ensuing world tour the group became a household name in many countries. The sleeve art of A Funk Odyssey features Jay Kay posed in front of a series of lasers that form the famous "Buffalo Man" logo, making it the first Jamiroquai album not to feature the logo prominently on its cover. The album marks a departure from the band's previous acid jazz sound; the band finds themselves in a disco funk vibe, and is also very focused on an electronica sound, evident especially in "Twenty Zero One" and "Stop Don't Panic". A popular fan interpretation is that "Main Vein" is a song written about Denise van Outen, Jay's ex-girlfriend, but from her perspective; the song would have thus featured a female vocalist and would showcase the same fight shown in "Little L" but from Denise's perspective. A test pressing of the album features an instrumental of "Main Vein", which supports this theory.

Reception

Initial critical response to A Funk Odyssey was generally mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 58, based on 13 reviews. Q magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, claiming "A certified thoroughbred. This time, there's a bankable chorus or barbed sentiment for every mirror-ball moment....demonstrating that no-one does sci-fi boogie quite as well as he does sci-fi boogie." CMJ described the album as "The perfect mixtape to snap your fingers to on your way to another universe."

Tracklisting

1. "Feel So Good" – 5:21 (Kay, Smith)
2. "Little L" – 4:55 (Kay, Smith)
3. "You Give Me Something" – 3:23 (Kay, Harris, Fyffe)
4. "Corner of the Earth" – 5:40 (Kay, Harris)
5. "Love Foolosophy" – 3:45 (Kay, Smith)
6. "Stop Don't Panic" – 4:34 (Kay, Harris, Fyffe)
7. "Black Crow" – 4:02 (Kay, Harris, Fyffe)
8. "Main Vein" – 5:05 (Kay)
9. "Twenty Zero One" – 5:15 (Kay)
10. "Picture Of My Life" – 4:11 (Kay, Harris, Smith)
11. "So Good To Feel Real" (Hidden Track) – 2:04

• Japanese Bonus Tracks

12. "Do It Like We Used To Do" - 6:49

13. "Deeper Underground" - 4:44

• Australian Bonus Disc

1. "Do It Like We Used To Do" - 6:49
2. "Everybody's Going To The Moon" - 5:22
3. "Little L" (Video)

• Australian Tour Edition Bonus Disc

1. "Space Cowboy" (Classic Club Mix) - 7:52
2. "Supersonic" (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Vocal) - 7:00
3. "Deeper Underground" - 4:44
4. "Little L" (Bob Sinclair Remix) - 7:28
5. "You Give Me Something" (Full Intention Remix) - 3:03
6. "Main Vein" (Live) - 5:14

• Asian Tour Edition Bonus Disc

1. "Everybody's Going To The Moon" - 5:22
2. "Do It Like We Used To Do" - 6:49
3. "Deeper Underground" - 4:44
4. "Little L" (Bob Sinclair Remix) - 7:28
5. "You Give Me Something" (Full Intention Remix) - 3:03
6. "Main Vein" (Live) - 5:14

• South African Tour Edition Bonus Disc

1. "Main Vein" (Live) - 5:14
2. "Do It Like We Used To Do" - 6:49
3. "You Give Me Something" (Full Intention Remix) - 3:03
4. "Little L" (Blaze Remix) - 5:55
5. "Love Foolosophy" (Mondo Grosso Love Acoustic Version) - 4:44
6. "Corner Of The Earth" (Milk & Sugar Short Club Mix) - 4:13

• French Tour Edition Bonus Disc

1. "Everybody's Going To The Moon" - 5:22
2. "Do It Like We Used To Do" - 6:49
3. "Main Vein" (Live) - 5:14
4. "Titan" (Live At Telewest Arena) - 3:15
5. "Feels So Good" (Knee Deep Vocal Dub) - 7:34
6. "Love Foolosophy" (Mondo Grosso Love Acoustic Version) - 4:44

Original Test Pressing

1. "Feel So Good" (Uncut) – 6:24
2. "Little L" (Extra Percussion) – 4:55
3. "You Give Me Something" (Uncut) – 5:16
4. "Interlude #1" – 0:35
5. "Main Vein" (No Vocals – Cut) – 4:51
6. "Corner Of The Earth" (Vocal Variation) – 5:40
7. "Twenty Zero One" (Uncut) – 8:29
8. "Black Crow" (Vocal Variation) – 4:02
9. "Interlude #2" – 1:22
10. "Do It Like We Used To Do" (Edited) – 6:49
11. "Stop Don't Panic" (Uncut) – 5:31
12. "Interlude #3" – 0:20
13. "Picture Of My Life" (Vocal Variation – Cut) – 3:46
14. "So Good To Feel Real" – 2:14

Outtakes

"Cannabliss" was a track which was performed live during a pre-album tour in 2001. The track was scrapped from the project after Jay claimed that it wasn't even half complete at the time of going to press. The track's introduction was re-used for "Corner of the Earth". The album's title track, "A Funk Odyssey", was performed by the group while on tour, however, was not included on the album. It is unknown whether this track is an outtake from the album, or was intended as a live-only track. "Shoot The Moon" was a further outtake from the album, performed live at least twice, once at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2003, and once at a concert in Turkey. A widely-circulated recording of the song being played at the festival exists, and can be found on the group's official website for download. One interesting fact about the song is that it was intended to have a horn section. The band did not have a horn section at the time, so the electric guitar had to substitute the horns. A studio version was never recorded. The test pressing of the album also featured three interludes. The first features band frontman Jay in an electronically manipulated monologue, asking himself why he would want to "shut down the funk assembly unit." The second interlude is a beatbox track, which was later sampled in the single "Feels Just Like It Should", while the third features Strauss' "The Blue Danube" being faded in slowly at a low volume. A case of synchronicity occurs when the test pressing is played to Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Charts

Year	Chart	Position
2001	Australian ARIA Albums Chart	1
2002