Emergency on Planet Earth

Emergency on Planet Earth
Studio album by Jamiroquai
Released	17 May 1993 (1993-05-17) (UK) 24 June 1993 (1993-06-24) (JAP) 10 August 1993 (1993-08-10) (US)
Recorded	1992-1993
Genre	Acid jazz, funk
Length	55:22 (CD) 64:09 (vinyl)
Label	Sony Soho Square (UK) Columbia (US)
Producer	Mike Nielsen
Jamiroquai chronology
Emergency on Planet Earth (1993) The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994)

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 genres, 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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+) [2]

Entertainment Weekly described the album as ^[2] - "...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 ^[3] - "...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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"When You Gonna Learn (Didgeridoo)"	Jay Kay	3:50
2.	"Too Young to Die"	Jay Kay, Toby Smith	6:05
3.	"Hooked Up"	Jay Kay, Toby Smith	4:35
4.	"If I Like It, I Do It"	Jay Kay, Nick Van Gelder	4:53
5.	"Music Of The Mind"	Jay Kay, Toby Smith	6:22
6.	"Emergency On Planet Earth"	Jay Kay, Toby Smith	4:05
7.	"Whatever It Is, I Just Can't Stop"	Jay Kay	4:07
8.	"Blow Your Mind"	Jay Kay, Toby Smith	8:32
9.	"Revolution 1993"	Jay Kay, Toby Smith	10:16
10.	"Didgin' Out"	Jay Kay, Wallis Buchanan	2:37

• 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 Kay – vocals
• Wallis Buchanan – didjeridoo
• Toby Smith – keyboards, string arrangements
• Stuart Zender – bass
• Nick Van Gelder – drums
• Gary Barnacle – flute, saxophone, brass Arrangement
• Simon Bartholomew – guitar
• Glen Nightingale – guitar
• DJ Dzire – turntables
• Kofi Kari Kari – percussion
• Maurizio Ravalio – percussion
• Richard Edwards – trombone
• John Thirkell – trumpet, flugelhorn
• 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

References

1. ^ Carpenter, Troy. "Jamiroquai: Emergency on Planet Earth > Review" at Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-88-28.
2. ^ ^{a b} Fox, Marisa (13 August 1993). "Emergency on Planet Earth (1993)". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20294789,00.html. 
3. ^ O'Donnell, David (12 December 2008). "Jamiroquai Emergency on Planet Earth Review". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/n5mq. 

Preceded by What's Love Got to Do with It by Tina Turner

UK number one album 26 June 1993 – 16 July 1993

Succeeded by Zooropa by U2