Jamiroquai – Dynamite

What an amazing pressing!
There's nothing like original.
It beats the first pressing CD pressing by far.
I don't think the reissue can compete with this soundstage.

jamiroquai my beloved 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖

Not nearly as cool as the original cover like damn, it's soooo much worse.

Esse é demais!!! O Dynamite é aquele álbum que explode com esse groove característico da banda, mas consegue trazer uma sofisticação a mais! De Feels Just Like It Should que é puro funky, a Seven Days in Sunny June que vem como uma brisa nostálgica!! Para mim foi mais uma evolução sem perder a alma da banda, no topo do funk moderno sempre!!

It seems that time has been particularly kind to this one, in my humble opinion. 2005's 'Dynamite' has Jay Kay (already an unfortunate victim of mainstream excess by that time, ugh) finally "sobering up" a bit and getting back to making the kind of soulfully eclectic yet extremely vibrant music that used to be the original Jamiroquai lineup's stock-in-trade during their '90s heyday. I would actually consider this a proper "transition" album between the more electronic dancefloor leanings of 1999's 'Synkronized' and what would eventually become a successful late-career "full-circle" moment for the band on 2010's 'Rock Dust Light Star' (MY favorite post-2000 Jamiroquai release, hands-down). Was originally gonna rate 'Dynamite' a respectable 3.5 stars since Jay didn't have that 2nd lineup officially in place yet (Rob Harris-guitar, Matt Johnson-keyboards, Paul Turner-bass, and Derrick McKenzie-drums), but the quality is so consistently good throughout that it pretty much forced my hand here JUST this once (lol).

I`m not going to go into the individual tracks here as others have done so earlier for me,there isn`t a bad track here really if something doesn`t grab you musically,it probably will lyrically.
The mastering is excellent throughout with very authentic bass,mids and high notes that shimmer very nicely.
My two discs aren`t perfectly flat but play just fine,and sound even BETTER when I use a record clamp to flatten them down.
Pressing wise there`s only one track that my turntable doesn`t track as I would like but this "could" be system dependent.
I own this on cd too and the vinyl is just BETTER for the enthusiast,cd is good,really good too but on vinyl is where you want to hear this fabulous LP!
Highly recommended five stars thank you for taking the time to read this review,purchase with confidence.

Vinyl front-end used for this review:
Rega P3:RB880 tonearm,Denon DL160
Phono Stage:Whest Audio TWO.2 phono stage.

Music 5*
Sound quality 5*
Mastering/pressing 4.5*

There is also a US EMI Publishing promo with Beatbox included that isn't catalogued but is shown here;

https://youtu.be/IkCTCuOLf-Y

Nice pressing with lovely clear and dynamic sound. Seven days in Sunny June and (Don’t) Give Hate a Chance are highlights.

My only complaint is that like most modern pressings it ain’t very flat. How come I have loads of 70’s pressings that are perfectly flat, but modern pressings get the wobbles?

What a horrible cover photo. What’s a millionaire pop star doing in a ramshackle room? Oh I see, playing “ghetto man” for the kids trying to be hip. Ferrari parked outside not pictured! All in all Jamiroquai are great but why slum it?
Anyway, on with the review!
Jamiroquai have been around 13 years by the time Dynamite was released in 2005 and by now anyone could tell it was JKs show. Toby Smith is gone by now and sorely missed. While this album isn’t exactly a bad one, I actually think it’s stronger than the previous A Funk Odyssey. It opens with my least favorite Jamiroquai track of all time, Feels Just Like It Should. Maybe it’s the hip hop flavour, the mouth sampled beatbox or the nasty distorted bass, I don’t know, but I don’t like it. Next up is Dynamite and this is more what I like with its Chic/Sister Sledge disco groove. A welcome breath of fresh air after the poor opener. Then Seven Days in Sunny June gives me confidence I’m for more Jamiric delights. It’s a breezy affair with nice acoustics guitars and piano. It’s like the Isley Brothers and one of the highlights here. Electric Mistress (also the name of a chorus pedal!) has weird bass ring modulation and tubular bells in a nod to Forbidden Lover by Chic, again we’re back on the dance floor but it’s a strange song by any means. Pure artificial disco.
Starchild is another strut and stomp track that only Jamiroquai could make authentic. What year is this? 1977? Love Blind is another dark electronic track with distorted guitars. It’s one of the most interesting musically with its cool sounds and chord progressions, it even slips into a waltz with music hall piano, while Talullah is a soft and low love song with tasty sax by Nathan Haines.
(Don’t) Give Hate a Chance seems to just burst in on the flow and awkwardly so too but it’s a strong disco belter with Sister Sledge style chorus.
World That He Wants is a little Stevie Wonder again, the comparisons are always there for a reason! It opens with JK sounding like he’s on the end of a telephone and then the strings ornate this very serious track.
Black Devil Car is the most rocky track here.
It’s almost like Blur in their post-Britpop days taking the piss and it’s a song that could have been omitted from the album. Hot Tequila Brown is a Jamaican flavoured skank along which showcases tasty guitar chops from Rob Harris but again it’s an easy track to forget. Dynamite ends with Time Won’t Wait, a fantastic Earth, Wind & Fire nod. It’s a got September written all over it and that’s what I love about it as it gets on its way to Boogie Wonderland. Dynamite is not as explosive as the name suggest but there’s just enough TNT to get the party going.
This repress is well presented. Great sound with no distortion or unwanted artefacts. The sleeve is good too. No or sleeve notes to add to it. Just quality.

Terrible album cover. Mono and depressing. A millionaire pop star sitting in a ramshackle room! The US cover is far nicer.