So why is Jamiroquai’s Synkronized on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Jamiroquai’s Traveling Without Moving came out the year that I graduated from college, and played an intrinsic role as part of the general soundtrack of my time living over in England a few years later with my pals Adam and Nirav.
It’s funny, looking back, that while Synkronized was released a relatively short time later, in 1999, it feels like a “later” Jamiroquai album to me. Part of it surely is that as (theoretically) “real” jobs and early adulthood life stuff comes into play, life feels quite distinctive from one’s college or school years, and the music that we listen to becomes attached to a different era of our lives.
But I also think in this case it’s because Synkronized is a more mature and evolved album musically versus Traveling in some respects. I might even argue that it’s a more consistent album all told, though I will relay a slight spoiler alert – best 1,000 albums ever-wise – that the high peaks of Traveling (and the part it played in my life and international travels) give it an ever so slight edge.
But we’re here to get Synkronized, and I can easily say that it has four super strong songs that I’m grateful to Jay Kay and crew for putting out. The best of these is the fast-paced, disco-infused dance track, “Canned Heat.”
I can’t recall if “Deeper Underground” was originally released with Synkronized or if it was solely available on the Godzilla soundtrack* back in the day, but Spotify says it’s on the album, so rock ‘n roll on that score. It’s by far the hardest rocking, deepest funking Jamiroquai song I’ve ever heard, and it absolutely works.
* Was it weird that a Jamiroquai song was on a soundtrack for a not good summer blockbuster reboot about Godzilla? Oh yeah, for sure.
The other two super songs on Synkronized: the methodical funk and boogie of “Black Capricorn Day,” and the old school disco of “Soul Education,” replete with string accompaniment and a fantastic and hummable chorus.
Also see: Jamiroquai – Emergency on Planet Earth: #775 of best 1,00 albums ever
Some stats & info about Jamiroquai – Synkronized
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Dance Music, R&B, Acid Jazz, Disco, Trip Hop
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Synkronized released? 1999
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #512 out of 1,000
Jamiroquai’s Synkronized on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Jamiroquai’s Synkronized that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
You know this boogie is for real.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.