"Too Young to Die" | ||||
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Single by Jamiroquai | ||||
from the album Emergency on Planet Earth | ||||
B-side | "Too Young to Die" (instrumental) | |||
Released | 1 March 1993 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 6:05 | |||
Label | Sony Soho Square | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Jason Kay | |||
Jamiroquai singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Too Young to Die" on YouTube |
"Too Young to Die" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai,released in March 1993 by Sony Soho Square as the second single from their debut studio album, Emergency on Planet Earth (1993). The song was written by lead singer Jason Kay and Toby Smith,and produced by Kay. The original version of the track runs at 10:18;however,both the single and album versions were cut,running at 3:22 and 6:05,respectively. The single received positive reviews from music critics,who compared Jay Kay to Stevie Wonder.
Commercially,"Too Young to Die" peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 50 in France,Iceland,the Netherlands,Sweden,and Switzerland. Its music video was directed by W.I.Z. The track's stems were made available to the public in March 2013 as part of a remix competition for the song;as such,there is an abundance of bootleg remixes to the song in addition to the official remixes. The competition was won by Australian DJ and music producer Late Nite Tuff Guy. [2]
The commercial single includes all three versions of the track. The song's lyrics are about the fear of war and death due to political machinations. The single's cover art depicts Jay Kay in the background,looking into the camera,with a sky-blue "grill" of the Buffalo Man in the left,as hollow spots,which are slowly morphing into solid blue crosses (specifically,headstones),which are the polar opposites to the meaning of the buffalo man. This morphing happens as one moves their eyes from left to right over the cover of the single. There is also a banner near the bottom of the sleeve which has several images on it,including a picture of a baby with a caption beside it reading "Too Young to Die",an image of the mushroom cloud,and a Swastika,with the latter having a red "X" over it. The violin from the song was sampled in the drum &bass D'Cruze song "Lonely" in 1994 on Suburban Base Records. [3]
Peter Paphides from Melody Maker named "Too Young to Die" Single of the Week,along with "When You Gonna Learn",adding that it "takes the mood down a touch and sees Jamiroquai daubing a rudimentary batch of anti-war sentiments with an invigorating joie de vivre. [...] "Too Young to Die" complements its predecessor as wonderfully as an Irish coffee after a steak platter." [4] Pan-European magazine Music &Media noted its "uplifting strings intro" and "Jay's "Stevie Wonder"-ful voice [that] grabs the melody and envelopes itself in a warm overcoat of horns,funky guitar and intricate percussion accompaniment worthy of a Roy Ayers set. "Real" music for the acid jazzed amongst you." [5] Alan Jones from Music Week described the song as a "loose and attractive retro-funk workout that owes more to the Seventies than the Nineties." [6] Sam Steele from NME wrote,"'Jam-ir-o-kwai' ... got it? Good. Remember it,because the big voice and even bigger hats are unlikely to go away. Jay,the wearer of the wholly tea-cosy (and son of jazz singer Mary Kay),has one of the most powerful and impressive soul voices to slide across the dance spectrum in a long while." [7]
Kevin L. Carter from Philadelphia Inquirer commented,"Jamiroquai is a big Stevie Wonder fan. His vocal flourishes and hooks on "Too Young to Die" are obvious borrowings,but they're done so earnestly,and the song is so deftly arranged,it just about gets over." [8] Dr Bob Jones from the Record Mirror Dance Update stated,"This is pure soul jazz with the funky bassline. A simple worldly message is scattered over a tight rhythm section with horn stabs Seventies-style. Pure class —one to raise some dust!" [9] Stuart Maconie from Select said,"Full of twitching syncopation and that scat singing line that should have Mr Wonder on the phone to his lawyers." [10] Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave it four out of five,writing,"Led by the young (but still Stevie Wonder sounding) lead singer Jay,Jamiroquai have updated dark and dirty '70s funk. This is a stylish anti-war song that has really got what it takes. The obscenely talented Jamiroquai will go from strength to strength." [11] Another Smash Hits editor,Pete Stanton,noted that it "feature a multitude of enticing grooves (plus plenty of do-do-do-dad-dos)." [12]
A music video was shot for "Too Young to Die". It was directed by British director W.I.Z. (a.k.a. Andrew John Whiston),and consisted mainly of Jay Kay singing in what appears to be a desert military installation. [13]
Weekly charts
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Jamiroquai are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group has addressed social and environmental justice. Kay has remained as the only original member through several line-up changes.
Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 14 June 1993 under Sony Soho Square. Prior its release, the band debuted in 1992 with "When You Gonna Learn" under Acid Jazz Records, and front-man Jay Kay was given a major-label deal with Sony Music. The album was produced as Toby, Stuart and Kay formed the band and is characterised by its acid jazz foundations, layers of instrumentation and socially charged lyrics.
The Return of the Space Cowboy is the second album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. The album was released on 17 October 1994 under Sony Soho Square. The album continues the musical direction of their debut, Emergency on Planet Earth (1993), and is characterised by its complex songwriting as a result of Jay Kay's creative block mid-production. Its lyrics addressed street life, hope, loss, Kay's drug use, and social matters regarding Native Americans and youth protests.
Travelling Without Moving is the third studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 28 August 1996 in Japan, then on 9 September 1996 in the United Kingdom under Sony Soho Square. Front-man Jay Kay intended for the album to have a more universal style, revolving around "cars, life and love". Critics have generally praised the album for being more focused and refined than the band's previous work, while others panned its lyrics and found the album too derivative. Its visual concept of sports cars received backlash from press, as it contradicted Kay's professed environmental beliefs.
Synkronized is the fourth studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. It was released on 8 June 1999 by Work Group in the United States, and on 14 June 1999 by S2 Records in the United Kingdom. Bassist Stuart Zender left the band during recording, and Nick Fyffe was hired as a replacement. The album contains funk, acid jazz and disco elements.
"Feels Just Like It Should" is the first single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's sixth studio album, Dynamite (2005). Mike Spencer and Jay Kay produced the song. The track was built on a bass line created by Kay as a human beatbox. This bassline initially formed part of an interlude intended to feature on the band's 2001 album, A Funk Odyssey. Still, it was dropped for the album's final version, only appearing on the test pressing. The song was their fourth number-one on the US Dance Chart and peaked at eight on the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video at the 48th Grammy Awards.
"Deeper Underground" is a single by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, originally from the 1997 B-Side of the single High Times, then on the soundtrack to the 1998 film Godzilla. The song was also included as a bonus track on the group's fourth studio album, Synkronized, as well as on the special edition of the group's fifth album, A Funk Odyssey (2001).
"Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 19 August 1996 by Sony Soho Square as the second single from their third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song was written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith, and produced by Al Stone. Its music video, directed by Jonathan Glazer, was released in September 1996, garnering ten nominations and winning four, including for Video of the Year, at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. The music video has since become an Internet meme.
"Cosmic Girl" is the second single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song was released in the United Kingdom on 25 November 1996 via Sony Soho Square and in the United States in 1997 via Work Group. It was written by Jay Kay and Derrick McKenzie, and produced by Rick Pope, achieving great chart success, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached No. 3 in Italy, No. 4 in Iceland, and No. 10 in Finland. The accompanying music video was directed by Adrian Moat and filmed in Spain. The B-side to the single is an instrumental, "Slipin' 'N' Slidin'", a song originating from another Jamiroquai track called "Mr Boogie", which was a live-only song. "Slipin 'N' Slidin'", just like "Mr Boogie", also has a vocal version.
"When You Gonna Learn" is a song by British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released as their debut single. It was originally released in October 1992 by Acid Jazz Records before being re-released on Sony Records in September 1993 as the lead single from the band's debut studio album, Emergency on Planet Earth (1993). The lyrical themes, like many of Jamiroquai's early songs, speak of environmental awareness and unfettered capitalism. Its music video was directed by Morgan Lawley and was banned from MTV in its original edit.
"Space Cowboy" is the international lead single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994). Released on 26 September 1994 by Sony Soho Square, the single peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, number six in Italy, and number three in Iceland. In the United States, it gave the band their first number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. In June 2006, it re-entered the UK Dance Chart at number one. Its music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton. The single contains remixes by David Morales, which further put the single in club circulation.
"Little L" is the lead single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fifth studio album, A Funk Odyssey (2001). The song was written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith and was inspired by the break-up between Kay and his former girlfriend Denise van Outen, which occurred due to conflicting work commitments and which led to Kay's cocaine problem. Kay quit his habit in 2003.
"High Times" is a song by British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released as the fourth and final single from their third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). Released on 1 December 1997, the song peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, and reached the top 10 on both the American and Canadian dance charts.
"Love Foolosophy" is the third single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fifth studio album, A Funk Odyssey (2001). The song was written by Jason Kay and Toby Smith. The song's title is a play on words, using a made-up portmanteau of "fool" and "philosophy" to express how he is a fool for love.
"Emergency on Planet Earth" is a song by British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released in August 1993 by Sony Soho Square as the fourth and final single from the band's debut studio album of the same name (1993). The song was written by frontman Jay Kay, and has an environmentalist tone, urging the listener to "stop modernisation going on." The track peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and at number four on the US Dance Chart.
"Alright" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released as the third single from their third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song, written by Jamiroquai, contains samples from Eddie Harris' "It's All Right Now" and Idris Muhammad's "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This". "Alright" was released on 28 April 1997 via Sony Soho Square in the United Kingdom, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart and at number two in Iceland. It is the group's only single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 78, becoming their biggest US hit. The music video, directed by Vaughan Arnell, features the band performing the song at a party.
"Stillness in Time" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released in 1994 on their second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994), and the year after as a single by Sony Soho Square. The track was written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith, and peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's highest-charting release to that date. It also reached number one on the UK Dance Chart and number 14 in Scotland.
"Half the Man" is a song by British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released in November 1994 by S2 Records as a single from their second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994). The song peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Its music video was directed by Paul Boyd. "Half the Man" is in the key of D major.
"Blow Your Mind" is the third overall single to be released from British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai's debut studio album, Emergency on Planet Earth (1993). It was released on 24 May 1993 through Sony Soho Square in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written by frontman Jay Kay with Toby Smith, and produced by Rick Pope. Its accompanying music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton.
"Supersonic" is the third single from British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fourth studio album, Synkronized (1999). The song was written by Jay Kay, Toby Smith, Derrick McKenzie, Sola Akingbola, Wallis Buchanan, and Simon Katz while Jay Kay and Al Stone produced it. The track peaked at No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart and became Jamiroquai's third No. 1 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.