Synkronized Jamiroquai

After the jarring reception of 1999's Synkronized, Jamiroquai constructed A Funk Odyssey, something more polished and slick inside the band's own brand of funky disco-rock. Jason Kay and keyboardist/songwriter Toby Smith perfected a maturation that was left keyed in Travelling Without Moving but left open-ended on Synkronized for a wide scope of musical delight. A Funk Odyssey taps into various illustrious grooves of the Latin world, classic rock, and mainstream club culture, and Jamiroquai is tight and eager to make everyone shake their groove thing in their own light. The first single, "Little L," beams with Kajagoogoo-like synths while warping into a funk-driven hue of orchestral whirlpools, but Jamiroquai allows the band's extroverted and unattached personality to shine on the worldbeat-tinged "Corner of the Earth."

With songs that fall exactly in between Michael Jackson's Off the Wall period and A Taste of Honey, Jamiroquai's Synkronized is a funk-disco inferno that is distinguished from its 1970s counterparts only by its 1990s production. It contains all the same ingredients: wah-wah guitar, electric piano, soft-sided strings oozing out melody, pot-bellied bass, and a blasted-out horn section that evokes images of three guys stepping in sync while their sequined flairs swipe over white patent-leather loafers. While the funk is steamy enough to flatten the tallest 'fro, Jay Kay's impeccable ability to emulate Stevie Wonder's vocals brings on the cool side.