Emergency on Planet Earth
Encyclopedia
Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut studio album released by British acid jazz band Jamiroquai
. Released in 1993, the album features strong elements of the mixture of the R&B, and funk
genre
s, but it is notable for being one of the group's definitive acid-jazz albums. The recurring theme on the album deals with lyrics about world issues and self-consciousness, along with several jazz
instrumentals that made the album a success in the band's native country, the UK. The album produced several well-received singles, including "Too Young To Die
" and "Blow Your Mind
". The album was listed at number 23 in the music reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
.
described the album as - "...turn out gritty organic grooves with enthusiasm...". Q
magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, describing it "A funky and beautiful record, a contender for best British soul
album of the '90s, and frankly better than anything Stevie Wonder
has made since Hotter Than July
." BBC Music
claims - "...the album was an infectious, funk mezze of trumpets, saxophones, didgeridoos and flutes, spawning the hit singles Too Young To Die and Blow Your Mind which both entered the UK Top 10 in 1993."
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
. Released in 1993, the album features strong elements of the mixture of the R&B, and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s, but it is notable for being one of the group's definitive acid-jazz albums. The recurring theme on the album deals with lyrics about world issues and self-consciousness, along with several jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
instrumentals that made the album a success in the band's native country, the UK. The album produced several well-received singles, including "Too Young To Die
Too Young to Die (Jamiroquai song)
"Too Young to Die" is the second single from British band Jamiroquai's debut studio album, Emergency on Planet Earth. 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 commercial single included all...
" and "Blow Your Mind
Blow Your Mind (Jamiroquai song)
"Blow Your Mind" is the third single from Jamiroquai's debut studio album, Emergency on Planet Earth. The single was released on June 4, 1993, peaking at #17 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was also featured on the group's Greatest Hits album, however, in a very edited form...
". The album was listed at number 23 in the music reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
.
Reception
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
described the album as - "...turn out gritty organic grooves with enthusiasm...". Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, describing it "A funky and beautiful record, a contender for best British soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
album of the '90s, and frankly better than anything Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
has made since Hotter Than July
Hotter than July
Hotter than July is the nineteenth album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on Motown's Tamla label on September 29, 1980. Despite the wide critical acclaim for Wonder's previous works such as Songs in the Key of Life and Innervisions, Hotter than July was his first album eligible for platinum...
." BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
claims - "...the album was an infectious, funk mezze of trumpets, saxophones, didgeridoos and flutes, spawning the hit singles Too Young To Die and Blow Your Mind which both entered the UK Top 10 in 1993."
Track listing
- Note: On the LP version of the album, the running times of three tracks are extended. "When You Gonna Learn" is 6:21, "Too Young To Die" is 10:12, and "If I Like It, I Do It" is 6:54.
Singles
- "When You Gonna Learn?" - October 19, 1992
- "Too Young to Die" - March 1, 1993
- "Blow Your Mind" - May 24, 1993
- "Emergency on Planet Earth" - August 2, 1993
Personnel
- Jason KayJason KayJason "Jay Kay" Luís Cheetham , is a Grammy Award-winning English musician, best known as the lead singer of the band Jamiroquai...
– vocals - Wallis Buchanan – didjeridoo
- Toby SmithToby SmithToby Smith is a musician, most famous for being the keyboardist and co-songwriter for Jamiroquai from 1992 up to 2001....
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, string arrangements - Stuart ZenderStuart ZenderStuart Patrick Jude Zender is an English bassist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass player for Jamiroquai.-Early life:...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Nick Van Gelder – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Gary Barnacle – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, brass Arrangement - Simon BartholomewBrand New HeaviesThe Brand New Heavies are an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing, a suburb of London, England.-Biography:The Brand New Heavies began in the 1980s as an instrumental acid jazz group called Brother International....
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Glen Nightingale – guitar
- DJ Dzire – turntables
- Kofi Kari Kari – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Maurizio Ravalio – percussion
- Richard EdwardsRichard Edwards (musician)Richard Edwards is a London-based classical and jazz trombone player as well as composer/arranger.His professional career includes:* Numerous film, recording sessions, television and radio productions...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - John ThirkellJohn ThirkellJohn Thirkell is a British trumpet and flugelhorn player, who has appeared on hundreds of pop, rock, and jazz recordings. Through the 1980s and early 1990s he was on at least one album in the UK Charts continuously, without a break, for over 13 years...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus... - Gavin Dodds – guitar (on track 1)
- Mike Smith – saxophone, flute (on track 1)
- Linda Lewis – background vocals (on track 2)
- Vanessa Simon – background vocals (on track 9)
- The Reggae Philharmonic Strings – strings