''The Return of the Space Cowboy'' is the second album by English

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and acid jazz band

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz 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 the ...

. The album was released on 17 October 1994 under

Sony Soho Square Sony S2 Records, formerly named as S2 Records and Sony Soho Square (typeset as Sony Soho2), was a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (SME), which operated as a record label in the 1990s and early 2000s. Sony Soho Square was named after its ...

. The album continues the musical direction of their debut, ''

Emergency on Planet Earth ''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 Rec ...

'' (1993), and is characterised by its complex songwriting as a result of

Jay Kay Jay Kay (born Jason Luís Cheetham; 30 December 1969) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of the acid jazz and funk band Jamiroquai, which was formed in 1992. Early life Jay Kay was bo ...

's creative block mid-production. Its lyrics addressed street life, hope, loss and Kay's drug use, and social matters regarding Native Americans and youth protests. Critical reviews of the album were generally positive, with some considering it an improvement from Jamiroquai's first album. It ranked at number 2 in the UK and was

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

platinum in the country with 1,300,000 copies sold worldwide. Its singles " Half the Man" and " Stillness in Time" reached number 15 and number 9, respectively, on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, while " Space Cowboy" and "

Light Years A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

" peaked at number 1 and number 6 on the US Dance Charts, respectively. The album was reissued in 2013 in

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed form with bonus material.

Background and composition

Derrick McKenzie auditioned to be the drummer for

by recording the opening track "Just Another Story" with the band in one take. McKenzie replaced the band's original drummer Nick Van Gelder who failed to return from holiday. The track has "a long, squittery, highly rhythmic intro – tight snare drum, Fender Rhodes piano, generic ('70s) synth sound, strings, galloping bass, clonking percussion". In the song,

"extemporises a street tale … midway between rapping and singing." The album was recorded at Townhouse, Battery and Falconer studios. As the band started to record, Kay suddenly fell into a second album syndrome worsened by his increasing drug use.Kay, Jason (March 2013). ''The Return of the Space Cowboy'' 20th anniversary edition reissue booklet – Sony Music Entertainment The songwriting process was complex for the band, as Kay was often dissatisfied with the results, leading songs to be scrapped or rewritten. He also struggled with writing lyrics "because suddenly I wasn't homeless, I had everything I needed. So I found myself creating problems to write about." The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

-tinged " Stillness in Time" was written when Kay was at his lowest point in recording the album. He said that "the sweetness of

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

was really wishful thinking; a hope that things would get better." " Half the Man" is a mid-tempo track about Kay's twin brother who died shortly after birth: " nthat sense I always have a part of me being missing, but it also doubles up really nicely as a love song". With the band's songwriting going back and forth between harder and softer songs, they shifted to writing "

", a track Kay described as having a "very heavy vibe". The fifth track, "Manifest Destiny", a mellow song with "a brass-heavy coda", was written when Kay read ''

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West'' is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown that covers the history of Native Americans in the American West in the late nineteenth century. The book expres ...

'', telling of the mistreatment and massacres of Native Americans. The sixth track " The Kids" is an "aggressive" song with "mariachi-band trumpets and snapping bass" meant to "

apture Apture was a service that allowed publishers and bloggers to link and incorporate multimedia into a dynamic layer above their pages. Apture was used by several large organizations and publishers including ''The Washington Post'', ''The Economist'' ...

the feeling of the streets" and is about youth protests against the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, a bill that outlaws unrestricted raves. It is the only track on which Van Gelder played drums. The seventh track, "Mr. Moon", is a love song with "incredibly complex chord structure about a girl whom Kay met at a

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

but ended up with the band's keyboardist

Toby Smith Toby Grafftey-Smith (29 October 1970 – 11 April 2017), known professionally as Toby Smith, was an English musician, most famous for being the keyboardist and co-songwriter for Jamiroquai from 1992 until his departure in 2002. Background and p ...

. The following track "Scam" is said to feature orchestral arrangements "with which Rich Tufo and

Johnny Pate John William Pate (born December 5, 1923) is an American former jazz bassist who became a producer, arranger, and leading figure in Chicago soul, pop, and rhythm and blues. He learned piano and tuba as a child and later picked up the bass guitar ...

once draped

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

's soul-protest

in stark grace". The next track "Journey To Arnhemland" is an instrumental that features

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

playing. The ninth track, "Morning Glory", is, according to

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

, "laid back, a blissed-out joy; perfect comedown music with percussion darting from speaker to speaker." Halfway through recording the album, Kay found his turning point when he wrote the final track " Space Cowboy", while his drug use was "completely out of control and I was losing my mind". He further said in 2013:

Release

''The Return of the Space Cowboy'' was released on 17 October 1994 under

. In the United States, it released in 1995 under the

Work Group The Work Group (stylized as The WORK Group) was an American record label. History In July 1999, founders Jeff Ayeroff and Jordan Harris left the label. Catalog Artists *Tatyana Ali (MJJ Music/Work) *Fiona Apple (Clean Slate/Work) * E ...

. The album reached number 2 in the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and was

platinum, indicating it has sold 300,000 copies in the country. In France, it was number 4 in its SNEP Album Charts, selling 347,000 copies. In the country's year end chart, it ranked number 31. The album peaked at number 9 in the Swiss Album Charts, where it was certified gold. In Japan, it ranked number 23 in the

Oricon Charts , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nove ...

, receiving a Platinum certification. The album reached number 37 in the

Dutch Album Top 100 The Dutch Album Top 100 or Album Top 100 is a weekly hit list of music albums, compiled by Dutch Charts. List shows the 100 best-selling music albums of the moment in the Netherlands. The list has passed through various name changes and has expand ...

and sold 50,000 copies, certifying it as gold. Overall, the album sold 1,300,000 copies. In 2013, ''The Return of the Space Cowboy'' was one of the first three albums to be re-issued on the band's 20th anniversary campaign, also containing a bonus disc containing remixes and b-sides. "Space Cowboy" was released as the album's international lead single on 26 September 1994. The single peaked at number 17 on the

and was their first number one on the

US Dance Chart Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

. The single contains remixes by

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...

, which further put the single in club circulation. "Half the Man" was released as the album's third overall single, on 7 November 1994. The track reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. "Light Years" was released as the album's fourth overall single on 20 February 1995. In the United States, the song was number six on the Dance Chart. "Stillness in Time" was the album's fifth overall single, released on 19 June 1995. The track peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's highest-charting release to that date. " The Kids" and "Morning Glory" have also been released as singles.

Reception

Critics have said ''The Return of the Space Cowboy'' continues the style of Jamiroquai's 1993 album ''

'', and some have considered it an improvement in comparison, with Daryl Easlea writing it "captures this first phase of Jamiroquai at their very best." John Bush of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said the album "offered a better set of songs and more ambitious musical themes … Jason Kay's dead-on impression of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

and

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

drives the group's blend of acid jazz and funky R&B" Paul Evans of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote, "Jamiroquai parlay jazzy soul pop so tight it crackles … Nowadays, when most funk comes out of cans, Jamiroquai's live spark glows." Evans also said the album "recall

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

and

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...

", and a reviewer of ''

Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

'' compared it to both Wonder and

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...

: "with its vintage keyboards, jazz harmonies and fondness for rambling, jam-oriented arrangements". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' described the band as "a funk-making machine with a bright future in the past", while ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' said that they "may still be light years ahead of the hip-hop world." Writing of the lyrics, Sonia Murray of ''

The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' opined that "Jamiroquai challenges our numb response to violence, the lure of material trappings, even 'the shame of isancestry' with a spirit so unencumbered and personal that these searing messages feel like engaging talks over coffee." Neil Spencer of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commented: "Most of this second album still sounds like vintage Stevie Wonder and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, but Kay's vocals are as snappy and engaging as his extrovert persona". David Sinclair wrote that the album "combines intricate arrangements with several long, free-form workouts crammed with virtuoso performances." He also considers Stuart Zender's bass-playing "the most telling contribution to the album's relentless bustle and drive." He however wrote that "the album is marred by a tendency to substitute technique for tunes." Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' found several of the tracks too long. In a negative review, Mark Jenkins of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described the album as "one of 1995's least digestible servings of leftovers."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith, except where noted.

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes. Jamiroquai *

– vocals *

– keyboards * Stuart Zender – bass * Derrick McKenzie – drums * Wallis Buchanan –

Additional musicians * Nick Van Gelder – drums * Simon Katz – electric guitar * Jeffrey Scantlebury – percussion * Maurizio Ravalico – percussion * Gary Barnacle – saxophone * Richard Edwards – trombone * John Thirkell – trumpet * Matthew Scrivener – violin * Iain Mackinnon – violin * Owen Little – viola * Robert Bailey – cello * Colin Davy, Sean Quinn, Komodo, DC Lee – backing vocals Production * Jay Kay – production, arrangement, engineering * Michael Nielsen – engineer, co-producer * Al Stone – additional recording (vocals), mixing * Adrian Bushby – engineering * Martin Harrison – mixing on "Light Years" (Live at the 'Theatre du Moulin', Marseille, December 1994) * Creative Hands – design * Eddie Monsoon – photography * Chris Nash – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Return of the Space Cowboy, The Jamiroquai albums 1995 albums Work Records albums