A Funk Odyssey Explained

A Funk Odyssey
Type:studio
Artist:Jamiroquai
Cover:Afunkodyssey.png
Alt:A man with a head-dress wearing a fuzzy jacket and sweatpants is leaping, green lasers appear to shoot from behind his head. The artist name and album title are displayed below
Released:3 September 2001
Recorded:2000–2001
Studio:Chillington Studios (Buckinghamshire, England)
Genre:Nu-disco
Length:48:17
Label:Sony Soho Square
Epic
Producer:Rick Pope
Prev Title:An Online Odyssey
Prev Year:2001
Next Year:2003

A Funk Odyssey is the fifth studio album by English funk band Jamiroquai. The album was released on 3 September 2001 in the United Kingdom by Sony Soho Square and 11 September 2001 by Epic Records in the United States.

Background

Combining elements of funk, disco 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 lead vocalist Jay Kay posed in front of a series of lasers in the shape of the Buffalo Man logo, making it the first Jamiroquai album not to prominently feature the logo on its cover.[1]

In a 2001 interview with Billboard magazine, Kay said he wrote the deliberately simple first single "Little L" in 25 minutes, "It would have been so easy to overthink and overwrite that song, because it's so incredibly simple. But that would've killed it."[2] He described the fourth single, "Corner of the Earth", as a "spiritual song" that "speaks for anyone who's in a place or a moment where they're happy." For the tenth track, "Picture of My Life", Kay said, "I cried throughout the process of writing [the song]. It was an act of looking at some major personal issues and understanding their lingering effects."

Reception

Initial critical response to A Funk Odyssey was generally mixed to positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 58, based on 13 reviews.[3] 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." They also listed it as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[4] CMJ described the album as "The perfect mixtape to snap your fingers to on your way to another universe." A.D. Amorosi of The Indianapolis Star wrote that "'Corner of the Earth', with its swirling strings and sunlit happiness, may be Kay's finest moment, matching organic ambience with pure emotion." Tom Moon said that the album recalls the band's interest in "the swooping strings and thumping beats" from Earth Wind & Fire and later disco music, but concludes that "Kay never merely appropriates those devices… he goes back to the future, by Juxtaposing old-school guitars against sizzling house beats."

Personnel

Jamiroquai

Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2001)Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] 4
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[8] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2001)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] 88
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 87
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[12] 154
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 77
French Albums (SNEP)[14] 47
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 51
Italian Albums (FIMI)[16] 22
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[17] 90
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 28
Worldwide Albums (IFPI)[20] 42
Chart (2002)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 50

Decade-end chart

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Albums turning 20 years old in 2021 . Official Charts Company . 29 December 2020 . en.
  2. Book: Flick, Larry. Epic's Jamiroquai Steps Into '2001'. 2001-08-25. Billboard. 1, 82. en.
  3. Web site: Jamiroquai:A Funk Odyssey (2001): Reviews . Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc . 2 April 2009 .
  4. News: The Best 50 Albums of 2001. Q. December 2001. 60–65.
  5. Web site: A Funk Odyssey - Jamiroquai. Massive Music Store. 16 March 2017.
  6. Web site: finnishcharts.com Jamiroquai - A Funk Odyssey. ASP. 2 February 2014.
  7. Web site: ジャミロクワイ-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック. Highest position and charting weeks of A Funk Odyssey by Jamiroquai. ja. oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. 13 January 2014.
  8. Book: Salaverri, Fernando. Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. 1st . September 2005. Fundación Autor-SGAE. Spain. 84-8048-639-2.
  9. Web site: ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2001. aria.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. 31 January 2014.
  10. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2001. nl . . Hung Medien . 25 January 2014.
  11. Web site: Rapports annuels 2001 . fr . . Hung Medien . 1 February 2014.
  12. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20031106085719/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/200-2_2001.html. 6 November 2003. Top 200 Albums of 2001 (based on sales). Jam!. 26 March 2022.
  13. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2001. de. ASP. 1 February 2014.
  14. Web site: Classement Albums - année 2001 . Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . 1 February 2014 . fr . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120125123027/http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259376-Classements-Annuels.html?year=2001&type=2 . 25 January 2012 .
  15. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. de. GfK Entertainment. offiziellecharts.de. 9 October 2021.
  16. Web site: Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 2001 . it . hitparadeitalia.it . 31 January 2014.
  17. Web site: 2001年 アルバム年間TOP100. ja. 31 January 2014.
  18. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2001. hitparade.ch. 9 October 2021.
  19. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2001. Official Charts Company. 9 October 2021.
  20. Web site: Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2001. IFPI. https://web.archive.org/web/20081117003957/http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/top50-2001.pdf. November 17, 2008. February 1, 2023.
  21. Web site: ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2002. aria.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. 31 January 2014.
  22. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2002. Official Charts Company. 9 October 2021.
  23. Web site: 2009 ARIA End of Decade Albums Chart. ARIA. January 2010. 16 January 2020.