Myself also having been a musician for nearly 20 (!) years
now, I find his songwriting very amaturish. IMHO, the focus
*isn't* on the groove, *or* on the melody, but on
"just how many chords can I pack into this phrase and still
try to make it groove?" Don't get me wrong...I'm not against
complicated chord changes if they're there to back up an
intriguing melody (a la Thelonius Monk's "Round Midnight"), and
from the JAZZ standpoint of A.J. chords are pretty cool...
but his changes don't seem to take the listener anywhere.
Besides, a true groove *doesn't* have many chord changes.
Funk is all about the tension of an unresolved 13 chord lasting
for 16 bars with a booming bass chord. It's sex without climax.
Jamiroquai tries to cum every bar, and it just ends up sounding
like masturbation to these ears (excuse my vulgar metaphor).
None of the songs off his first release hooked me. I also find
his vocal style both repetitive in itself, and derivative of
Stevie Wonder (Much more than Terence Trent Darby was
accused of ripping THE MAN off a few years earlier).
Of course, the way I got his first release is a story in itself, and
to be fair I should relate it here. My girlfriend of a year and a few had
cheated on me, lied about it, finally come clean, and dumped me.
She gave me the tape as what seemed like some sort of "consolation
prize" for going out with her. Needless to say, these were not the
ideal circumstances for being exposed to any new band.
$.02
Mike
Michael Faulkner--------pyramus@wavenet.com
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