地球上的紧急情况 (1993)

Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 14 June 1993 under Sony Soho Square. Prior to its release, the band debuted in 1992 with "When You Gonna Learn" under Acid Jazz Records, and front-man Jay Kay was given a major-label deal with Sony Music. The album was produced as Toby, Stuart and Kay formed the band and is characterised by its acid jazz foundations, layers of instrumentation and socially charged lyrics.

Critical reviews of the album were generally positive and noted its 1970s stylings. It reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1,200,000 copies worldwide. Its single "Too Young to Die" peaked at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. A remastered version of the album was released in 2013 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the album's release, including a new vinyl release.

Background and composition

While Jay Kay was sending songs to record companies, he wrote the first track "When You Gonna Learn" after taking inspiration from Native American and First Nation peoples and their philosophies, and from his anger towards the shooting of elephants in a television programme. The song also "takes on everything from racism to corporate greed," according to Interview. Kay said the track laid down "the sound, the flavor [and] the concept" of the album. After he had it recorded, Kay fought with his producer, who took out half the lyrics and produced the song based on what was charting at the time. With the track restored to his preference, the experience helped Kay realise he "wanted a proper live band with a proper live sound". The band would be named "Jamiroquai", a blend of the words "jam" and the name of a Native American confederacy, the Iroquois.

Kay gradually gathered band members, including Wallis Buchanan, who played the didgeridoo, and Stuart Zender, who became the band's bassist by audition. Kay's manager scouted keyboardist Toby Smith, who joined the group as Kay's songwriting partner. Together, they wrote the second track, "Too Young to Die", a song also inspired by Kay's anger towards the wars he had seen on television. Regarding how the track was written, Kay said in 2013: "I have a very limited musical ability in terms of playing", so he would sing the instruments as Smith would work out the chords. The two tracks would shape up the album, which are followed up by the "high-kicking" funk track "Hooked Up". With the fourth track "If I Like It I Do It" Kay said it reminded him of "Harvest for the World" by Isley Brothers. The former song's lyrics have been described as anarchist: "The kids want the system breaking down/Not higher education/If it ain't no natural law/Then you can keep your regulations". "Music of the Mind" is a laid-back Latin fusion track that takes inspiration from Flora Purim's song "Moon Dreams".