Rock Dust Light Star

Rock Dust Light Star
Jay Kay (seen in a green jacket holding a microphone on his right hand) stands on a stage with multicolored lights glowing on the stage. A large audience is seen looking towards Jay, with photographers behind him on the background.
Studio album by
Released1 November 2010
Recorded2009–2010
Studio
  • Chillington Studios, Buckinghamshire
    Hook End Manor, Oxfordshire
    Karma Studios, Thailand
Genre
Length52:06
Label
ProducerCharlie Russell and Brad Spence
Jamiroquai chronology
Multiquai
(2006)
Rock Dust Light Star
(2010)
Automaton
(2017)
Jamiroquai studio album chronology
Dynamite
(2005)
Rock Dust Light Star
(2010)
Automaton
(2017)
Singles from Rock Dust Light Star
  1. "White Knuckle Ride"
    Released: 31 October 2010
  2. "Blue Skies"
    Released: 1 November 2010
  3. "Lifeline"
    Released: 24 January 2011
  4. "Smile"
    Released: 9 June 2011

Rock Dust Light Star is the seventh studio album by English band Jamiroquai. It was released on 1 November 2010 in the United Kingdom by Universal Music/Mercury Records and on 24 April 2012 in the United States by Executive Music Group.

Background

[edit]

The album was recorded at Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay's home studio in Buckinghamshire, as well as Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire, and Karma Studios in Thailand. The album was written entirely by the band, and produced by first time collaborators Charlie Russell and Brad Spence. The band revealed that the musical style of the new album would be more centred on funk and rock; however, Kay claimed that the tone and style of the album were hard for him to describe.[4] Promotion of the album began in October 2010, with a press conference involving Kay and fellow band members Derrick McKenzie, Sola Akingbola, Matt Johnson, Paul Turner, and Rob Harris. They announced that the group were to play two concerts, in Colombia and Brazil, to promote the album, before discussing plans for a possible world tour in 2011.[5] In a review for The Daily Telegraph, the album was described as "blistering, poetic, meaty, reflective and inspiring".[6] For this album, Kay took inspiration from Rod Stewart, Roxy Music, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones "in their more rock/disco phase".[7]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Consequence of SoundB[1]
The Daily Telegraph[9]
The Guardian[10]
PopMatters7/10[11]
musicOMH[12]
Slant Magazine[13]
Sputnikmusic (staff)[14]
The Times[15]

Upon release, the album debuted at number seven on the UK Albums Chart with sales of about 34,378 copies.[16][17] As of December 2010, the album has sold 210,000 copies worldwide. On 17 December 2010, the album was certified Gold in the UK for reaching sales of 100,000 copies. In March 2011, Jamiroquai announced plans for the speculated worldwide tour, starting with dates at Hallenstadion in Zürich on 18 March 2011, and ending with two shows at the SECC in Glasgow on 20 April 2011. And in June 2011, another string of tour dates were confirmed on the band's website for June and July.[18]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rock Dust Light Star"Jay Kay, Rob Harris, Matt Johnson4:39
2."White Knuckle Ride"Kay, Johnson3:33
3."Smoke and Mirrors"Kay, Johnson, Harris4:30
4."All Good in the Hood"Kay, Paul Turner, Harris3:35
5."Hurtin'"Kay, Harris4:15
6."Blue Skies"Kay, Johnson3:51
7."Lifeline"Kay, Johnson, Harris4:39
8."She's a Fast Persuader"Derrick McKenzie, Kay, Johnson, Turner, Harris, Sola Akingbola5:16
9."Two Completely Different Things"Kay, Harris4:25
10."Goodbye to My Dancer"Kay, Johnson, Harris4:06
11."Never Gonna Be Another"Kay, Johnson4:08
12."Hey Floyd"McKenzie, Kay, Johnson, Turner, Akingbola5:09
Total length:52:06
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."That's Not the Funk"3:22
Total length:55:28
Deluxe Edition bonus tracks[19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."All Good in the Hood" (acoustic version) 3:39
14."Angeline"McKenzie, Kay, Harris3:29
15."Hang It Over"Kay, Harris4:50
16."Rock Dust Light Star" (Live at Paleo) 5:42
17."White Knuckle Ride" (Alan Braxe remix) 3:17
18."Blue Skies" (Fred Falke remix) 4:08
Total length:77:12

Outtakes

[edit]

Although a total of 40 songs were recorded for the album, the studio only requested and wanted 15 tracks of those track to appear across all editions of the album. A video for the album, posted just before release, showed recording of the tracks "I've Been Working" and "Super Highway"; however, neither of those tracks appeared on the final track listing. "All Mixed Up in You" appeared to be the original and working title for "Angeline", which was released as a bonus track in the deluxe version of the album.[20] Upon the album being made available to pre-order, several retail websites listed the standard album containing thirteen tracks, with track No. 8 called "Your Window Is a Crazy Television". However, upon the album appearing in stores, the track was nowhere to be seen.[citation needed] On 2 June 2011, a competition began to design artwork for a brand-new Jamiroquai single, "Smile", an outtake from Rock Dust Light Star. On 9 June, the winner of the competition was announced, and the song was initially made available for free download via SoundCloud and was later published for free download on music journalism sites such as Earmilk.[21] On 6 January 2018, Kay announced that he would be releasing a couple of the outtake tracks once every month as a new year's gift. On 16 January 2018, "Now We Are Alone" was released to the public in streaming format, but other the tracks were never released as stated.[22]

Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from the Jamiroquai Universal website.[23]

  • Malcolm Strachan – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Jim Corry – saxophone
  • James Russell – saxophone, flute
  • Matt Johnson – keyboards
  • Rob Harris – guitar
  • Paul Turner – bass guitar
  • Simon Hale – strings
  • Derrick McKenzie – drums
  • Sola Akingbola – percussion
  • Jay Kay – vocals
  • Valerie Etienne – background vocals
  • Hazel Fernandez – background vocals
  • Kate Sutherland – background vocals on 'Rock Dust Light Star' Live Version

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[50] Platinum 60,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[51] Gold 10,000*
Portugal (AFP)[52] Platinum 20,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[53] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[54] Gold 100,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Jamiroquai – Rock Dust Light Star – Album Reviews – Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound. 16 December 2010. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "Rock Dust Light Star". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Jamiroquai - Rock Dust Light Star Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Accueil – funkytivis jimdo page!". Funkytivi.jimdo.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Considera Jamiroquai freak a Lady Gaga". Milenio.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  6. ^ Source: Penny Newton (26 October 2010). "Jamiroquai Coming To Oz!". MTV Australia. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Jamiroquai". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  8. ^ Matt Collar. "Rock Dust Light Star". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  9. ^ Thomas H Green (29 October 2010). "Jamiroquai: Rock Dust Light Star, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. ^ MacInnes, Paul (4 November 2010). "Jamiroquai: Rock Dust Light Star – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Jamiroquai". PopMatters. 9 November 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Jamiroquai – Rock Dust Light Star". musicOMH. November 2010.
  13. ^ Huw Jones (1 November 2010). "Jamiroquai Rock Dust Light Star – Album Review – Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine.
  14. ^ Stanciu, Raul. "Review: Jamiroquai – Rock Dust Light Star | Sputnikmusic". Sputnik Music. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  15. ^ Burgess, Kaya (30 October 2010). "Rock/pop albums". The Times. Retrieved 13 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
  16. ^ Garrido, Duarte (20 January 2017). "Jamiroquai tease comeback with sample of first album in seven years". Sky News. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  17. ^ Ruby, Jennifer (17 January 2017). "Jamiroquai announce comeback as they tease first new video in seven years". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
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  22. ^ 2018 UNRELEASED TRACK: "Now We Are Alone", retrieved 9 July 2023
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  45. ^ "Jamiroquai Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
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