"Light Years" is a song by the 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 ...

, originally released in 1994 as a song from their second studio album, ''

The Return of the Space Cowboy ''The Return of the Space Cowboy'' is the second album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. The album was released on 17 October 1994 under Sony Soho Square. The album continues the musical direction of their debut, ''Emergency on P ...

'' (1994). It was released as a single on 12 February 1995 by Sony Soho Square and

Work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

, but it failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart due to the release being cancelled at the eleventh hour.

Background

In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the ''

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 ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, mainly because the American version of the physical single features three mixes of the song by popular producer

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1961) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Mar ...

. The American release of ''

'' also features a live version of "Light Years", performed in Marseille in December 1994, as a bonus track. Two main versions of the song exist: the radio edit, running at 3:59, and an album version, which lasts for 5:53. The music video for the track shows the band snowboarding down St. Anton. Whilst many of the David Morales mixes remain unreleased in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, an edited version of the True Power Mix was available in the region on a mini 3-inch CD, only available through the

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Euro '96 promotion.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

wrote in a ''

'' review of the single, "Jamiroquai complements a horn-riddled

throwdown with savvy remixes that flirt with mainstream

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

concepts without eliminating the quirky tone of the original version." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' commented, "When J.K quotes his master by saying "''now I get that sunshine in my life''", we don't have to tell you what the best track off '' Space Cowboy'' sounds like. Wonderful, of course, and soulful." Roger Morton 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 ...

'' felt it "gets its funky piano ass out to expose some sunshine-of-my-life spiritedness".

Music video

The Music video shows clips of

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

along with the band partaking in the activity. It was produced to promote the single, directed by Christian Stevenson. It was later made available on Jamiroquai's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel in 2009 and had generated almost 1 million views as of October 2021.

Track listings

* UK CD single # "Light Years" (edit) – 3:59 # "

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" (live) – 5:13 # "Journey to Arnhemland" (live) – 5:39 # " We Gettin' Down" (live) – 9:31 * US 12-inch vinyl :A1. "Light Years" (Way Gone Mix) :A2. "Light Years" (True Power Mix) :B1. "Light Years" (4 to Da Floor Mix) :B2. "Light Years" (album version) :B3. "Light Years" (album instrumental)

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Epic Records singles Jamiroquai songs S2 Records singles Songs written by Jason Kay Songs written by Toby Smith