Jamiroquai - High Times: Singles 1992-2006 [2LP]

High Times: Singles 1992-2006 gathers fourteen years of Jamiroquai's slick, funk-loaded hits onto a gatefold 2LP set that plays like the best house party of the nineties.

Jay Kay and his ever-shifting band burst out of London's acid jazz scene with a love of seventies soul, a didgeridoo and a hat collection to rival anyone's. What followed was a run of singles that blended disco strings, wah-wah guitar and a social conscience into something instantly their own, and this compilation captures the whole arc.

The early years arrive in full flight, from the urgent groove of "When You Gonna Learn" to the cosmic jazz-funk of "Space Cowboy." Then come the songs that made them global, as "Virtual Insanity" glides on its rolling piano hook and "Cosmic Girl" races off on a pulsing disco bassline. "Canned Heat" remains one of the most joyful dance records of its era, and the vinyl sequence also finds room for "You Give Me Something," a smooth, late-night groove from the band's later years.

Twenty tracks, and barely a dip in energy from start to finish.

Put it on, turn it up and watch the room start moving, because these songs have never really learned how to sit still.