"Alright" is a song by British

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

band

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

, released as the third single from their third studio album, ''

Travelling Without Moving ''Travelling Without Moving'' is the third studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 28 August 1996 in Japan, then on 9 September 1996 in the United Kingdom under Sony Soho Square. Front-man Jay Kay intended for th ...

'' (1996). The song, written by Jamiroquai, contains samples from

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

' "It's All Right Now" and

Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians s ...

's "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This". "Alright" was released on 28 April 1997 via Sony Soho Square in the United Kingdom, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart and at number two in Iceland. It is the group's only single to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 78, thus becoming their highest charting single in the U.S. The music video, directed by Vaughan Arnell, features the band performing the song at a party.

Critical reception

Shaun Carney from ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' stated that "speedier workouts" such as 'Alright' "succeed". J.D. Considine from ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' commented, "So when the bassline in 'Alright' slips into a pattern reminiscent of the Yarbrough and Peoples oldie ' Don't Stop the Music', the reference comes across less as theft than as a "gosh, that sounds familiar" reminder. Obviously, credit for some of that belongs with the band itself, which clearly has enough ideas of its own not to need to borrow." Paul Verna of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine named 'Alright' a highlight of the album, describing it as "upbeat". Dennis Kelly from ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second-longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. The newspaper is owned by Alden Global Capital ...

'' felt the band's "mimicking of '70s

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

is well executed" on tracks like 'Alright'. A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it four out of five, constating that "with its delicious retro funky grooves and pleasing chorus, this latest gem from ''

'' will land Jay Kay and co with one of their biggest hits to date." Ted Kessler from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' declared it as a "bittersweet" gem, with Kay's "fairy-lit disco". He added further that ''We'll spend the night together/Wake up and live forever'' is "the epitome of Jay's romantic lyrical vision." Sam Taylor from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' remarked its "effortless swank". Aidin Viziri from ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'' said the singer "keeps the party alive with unbridled enthusiasm" exploring lust.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Alright" was directed by British director Vaughan Arnell, and takes place at a luxury party. Jay Kay is filmed singing in an elevator with the rest of Jamiroquai. Then, they perform the song, and at the end of the clip, the crowd were singing the chorus taken from live footage in Argentina. The video starts as a sequel of " Cosmic Girl", with Jamiroquai appearing in sports cars, and Kay was driving the same Lamborghini while parking it at the entrance of the party.

Legacy

In a 2016 retrospective review, Justin Chadwick from Albumism named 'Alright' the "strongest song" on ''

'', describing it as "headnod-inducing" and a "bass-fueled reverie that celebrates the myriad possibilities of newfound love", with a "refreshingly optimistic"

Jay Kay Jason "Jay" Kay (born Jason Luís Cheetham, 30 December 1969) is a British singer and songwriter. In 1992, he co-founded the acid jazz and funk band Jamiroquai and still serves as their lead vocalist. As of 2017, the band had sold more than 26 ...

proclaiming to the object of his affection". He added, "Without question, it's still my personal favorite, not just from ''Travelling'', but across the band's entire recorded repertoire." In 2017, ''

'' magazine ranked it number 73 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997". ''Billboard'' editor Andrew Unterberger wrote, "Sure, '

Virtual Insanity "Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 19 August 1996 by Sony Soho Square as the second single from their third studio album, ''Travelling Without Moving'' (1996). The song was written by Jay Kay ...

' is the Jamiroquai hit people remember, but that's 80% because of the brilliant domestic suffocation and dope-ass choreography of the music video; real Jay Kay heads know that the

of follow-up single 'Alright' was really where it's at. Sadly, the song's popping bass and squelching synths got it stuck somewhere in between Top 40 and alternative radio at the time; a half-decade later, it would prove the

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

-laden model for any number of watered-down

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

smashes."

Track listings

* UK CD1 # "Alright" (radio edit) – 3:40 # "Alright" (version – vocal) – 6:04 # "Alright" (dub – vocal) – 5:34 # "Alright" (D.J. – Version Excursion) – 6:47 * UK CD2 # "Alright" (full-length version) – 4:23 # "Alright" (

Tee A tee is a stand used in sport to support and elevate a stationary ball prior to striking with a foot, club, or bat. Tees are used extensively in golf, tee-ball, baseball, American football, and rugby. Etymology The word tee is derived from t ...

's in House Mix) – 7:20 # "Alright" (Tee's Digital Club) – 7:15 # "Alright" (Tee's Radio Jay) – 3:27 * 2006 digital EP # "Alright" (

Fred Falke Frédérick Falke (; born 7 January 1973) is a French house and dance music producer and DJ. Biography Falke started out as a bass player before moving to production work. His first record, a collaboration with Alan Braxe named ''Intro'', whi ...

Alan Braxe Alain Quême (), known professionally as Alan Braxe (born 9 July 1971), is a French electronic musician. He is most widely known for his collaborative work with the musicians Fred Falke and Kris Menace, and for being part of the musical trio St ...

Remix) – 6:10 # "Alright" (

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. His productions helped define the New York house scene in the 1990s and used extensive samples that blend the sounds of classi ...

's in House Remix) – 7:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alright (Jamiroquai Song) 1996 songs 1997 singles Epic Records singles Jamiroquai songs Music videos directed by Vaughan Arnell S2 Records singles Songs written by Jason Kay Songs written by Toby Smith