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. Kay also faced backlash from the press for his use of sports cars in this period despite his environmental beliefs.
"Tongue" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released on July 17, 1995 by Warner Bros. Records, as the fifth and final single from their ninth studio album, Monster (1994). The song was only released in the US, UK, and Ireland. In the song, lead singer Michael Stipe performs in falsetto; he has stated on several occasions that the narrator of the song is female. Stipe has also said the track is "all about cunnilingus".
"Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk band Jamiroquai, released on 19 August 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song interpolates parts of Jocelyn Brown's post-disco hit "Somebody Else's Guy" (1984), and its award-winning music video was released in September 1996, garnering 10 nominations and winning four, including for "Video of the Year", at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Wind It Up (Rewound)" is a song by British electronica act the Prodigy, released as their fifth single on 5 April 1993. A remix of "Wind It Up", it is significantly different from the version featured on their debut album, Experience (1992), though does appear on CD2 of the Experience Expanded special edition. B-side "We Are the Ruffest" features a sped-up banjo riff. The Elektra Records version of the single in the United States was never re-released as some of the previous singles were, making it a rarity and much sought after. The Elektra version also exclusively contained four remixes never released on any other work by the band.
"Voodoo People" is a song by British electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 12 September 1994 as the third single from their second studio album, Music for the Jilted Generation (1994), and as their eighth single overall. It was released as a 12-inch single and in EP format in the United States in 1995 through Mute Records. The guitar riff, based on "Very Ape" by Nirvana, is played by Lance Riddler. The music video for "Voodoo People" was directed by Walter Stern and Russell Curtis.
"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 achieved 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.
High Times: Singles 1992–2006 is a compilation album by the British band Jamiroquai that was released on 6 November 2006 in the United Kingdom and 8 November 2006 in Japan.
"Midnight at the Oasis" is a song written by David Nichtern. It was recorded in 1973 by American folk and blues singer Maria Muldaur for her self-titled album (1973) and is her best-known recording; it peaked at #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #21 in the UK Singles Chart in the spring of 1974. Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song for 1974. It was also nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 1975. In Canada, the song reached #2 in the RPM magazine singles charts and #45 in the year-end chart.
"Too Young to Die" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released in March 1993 as the second single from their debut studio album, Emergency on Planet Earth (1993). 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 lead singer Jay Kay to Stevie Wonder.
"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, 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.
"The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" is a song by English singer-songwriter Morrissey, co-written by Boz Boorer released as a single on 28 February 1994. It was taken from the then-unreleased Vauxhall and I album and was the first Morrissey single to be produced by Steve Lillywhite. The extra B-side "I'd Love To" features Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals.
"Emergency on Planet Earth" is a song by British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released 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 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. The music video, directed by Vaughan Arnell, features the band performing the song at a party.
"Light Years" is a song by the British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, originally released in 1994 as a song from their second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy. It was released as a single on 12 February 1995 but failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart due to little promotion of the track.
"Half the Man" is a song by British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released in November 1994 as a single from their second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994). The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. "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's accompanying music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton.
"Sunshine After the Rain" is a song originally written and recorded by Ellie Greenwich in 1968, titled as "The Sunshine After the Rain" and released on her album Composes, Produces and Sings. It was covered by Elkie Brooks in 1977 and Berri in 1994.
"Dream On Dreamer" is a song by British acid jazz and funk group the Brand New Heavies, released in March 1994 by FFRR as the lead single from the group's third album, Brother Sister (1994). The song is also featured on their remix album, Excursions: Remixes & Rare Grooves (1995), that was released in the US. It remains one of their most successful hits, peaking at number 15 in the UK and number 19 in Scotland. In the US, it reached number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, while in Canada, it hit number 47 on the RPM Top Singles chart. The accompanying music video for "Dream On Dreamer" was directed by American director Josh Taft.
"U R the Best Thing" is the debut single of Northern Irish musical group D:Ream, included on their first album, D:Ream On Volume 1 (1993). Originally a club hit released in 1992, the song has been remixed and re-released twice: in 1993 and in 1994. The 1994 version, also known as the Perfecto mix, was most successful peaking at number three in Scotland, number four on the UK Singles Chart and number six in Ireland. It also peaked at number 13 on the Eurochart Hot 100. The 1993 version reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. There were made three different music videos to promote the single.
