The Return of the Space Cowboy

File:Jamiroquai in concert.jpg performing with Jamiroquai, {{circa|1995}}]]

Derrick McKenzie auditioned to be the drummer for Jamiroquai by recording the opening track "Just Another Story" with the band in one take. McKenzie replaced the band's original drummer Nick Van Gelder who failed to return from holiday. The track has "a long, squittery, highly rhythmic intro – tight snare drum, Fender Rhodes piano, generic ('70s) synth sound, strings, galloping bass, clonking percussion".{{cite journal|last1=Sinclair|first1=David|date=December 1994|title=Jamiroquai: The Return of the Space Cowboy|journal=Q}} In the song, Jay Kay "extemporises a street tale … midway between rapping and singing."{{cite web|last1=Gill|first1=Andy|date=21 October 1994|title=Return of the Space Cowboy|url=http://www.proquest.com/docview/313265137/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ/|access-date=10 August 2021|website=The Independent|via=ProQuest|archive-date=26 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826063834/https://www.proquest.com/docview/313265137/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ|url-status=live}}

The album was recorded at Townhouse, Battery and Falconer studios.{{cite AV media|title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|type=liner notes|publisher=Sony Soho Square|year=1994|others=Jamiroquai|id=477813 2}} As the band started to record, Kay suddenly fell into a second-album syndrome worsened by his increasing drug use.Kay, Jason (March 2013). The Return of the Space Cowboy 20th anniversary edition reissue booklet – Sony Music Entertainment The songwriting process was complex for the band, as Kay was often dissatisfied with the results, leading songs to be scrapped or rewritten. He also struggled with writing lyrics "because suddenly I wasn't homeless, I had everything I needed. So I found myself creating problems to write about."{{cite journal|first=Lisa|last=Verrico|title=Jay Talkin'|date=5 October 1996|journal=The Times|page=6[S4]|issue=65702}} The Latin-tinged "Stillness in Time" was written when Kay was at his lowest point in recording the album. He said that "the sweetness of [the song] was really wishful thinking; a hope that things would get better."{{cite magazine |title= Reviews: Singles |magazine= Music Week |date= 17 June 1995 |page= 10 |access-date= 9 May 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-06-17.pdf |archive-date= 10 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210510002322/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-06-17.pdf |url-status= live }} "Half the Man" is a mid-tempo track about Kay's twin brother who died shortly after birth: "[In] that sense I always have a part of me being missing, but it also doubles up really nicely as a love song".{{cite magazine |first= Andy |last= Beevers |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-11-12.pdf |title= Market Preview: Dance – Pick of the Week |magazine= Music Week |date= 1994-11-12 |page= 15 |access-date= 2021-04-22 |archive-date= 19 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210819102338/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-11-12.pdf |url-status= live }}

With the band's songwriting going back and forth between harder and softer songs, they shifted to writing "Light Years", a track Kay described as having a "very heavy vibe". The fifth track, "Manifest Destiny", a mellow song with "a brass-heavy coda", was written when Kay read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, telling of the mistreatment and massacres of Native Americans. The sixth track, "The Kids", is an "aggressive" song with "mariachi-band trumpets and snapping bass" meant to "[capture] the feeling of the streets" and is about youth protests against the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, a bill that outlaws unrestricted raves. It is the only track on which Van Gelder played drums.

The seventh track, "Mr. Moon", is a love song with "incredibly complex chord structure[s]" about a girl whom Kay met at a rave but ended up with the band's keyboardist Toby Smith. The following track, "Scam", is said to feature orchestral arrangements "with which Rich Tufo and Johnny Pate once draped Curtis Mayfield's soul-protest funk in stark grace". The next track, "Journey To Arnhemland", is an instrumental that features didgeridoo playing. The tenth track, "Morning Glory", is, according to BBC Music, "laid back, a blissed-out joy; perfect comedown music with percussion darting from speaker to speaker."{{cite web |last1=Easlea |first1=Daryl |title=Review of Jamiroquai – The Return of the Space Cowboy |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3xhf/ |publisher=BBC Music |access-date=7 February 2020 |archive-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215080230/https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3xhf/ |url-status=live }} Halfway through recording the album, Kay found his turning point when he wrote the final track, "Space Cowboy", while his drug use was "completely out of control and I was losing my mind". He further said in 2013:

{{Blockquote|text=Everyone thinks it's a nice song about getting stoned… but for me it went much deeper… Is it about me or someone else? Is it about marijuana or cocaine? What it was about was someone who was very lost, trying to hang on and come back before he drifted off into a blackhole never to be seen again … ['Space Cowboy' gave us] the momentum to push on and finish what I still think is one of our most creative and accomplished albums.}}

The Return of the Space Cowboy was released on 17 October 1994 under Sony Soho Square.{{Cite web|title=The Return of the Space Cowboy Deluxe Version|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-return-of-the-space-cowboy-deluxe-version/600897136|url-status=live|via=Apple Music|access-date=11 August 2021|archive-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811071623/https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-return-of-the-space-cowboy-deluxe-version/600897136}} In the United States, it released in 1995 under the Work Group. The album reached number 2 in the UK Album Chart and was certified platinum, indicating it has sold 300,000 copies in the country. In France, it was number 4 in its SNEP Album Charts, selling 347,000 copies. In the country's year end chart, it ranked number 31. The album peaked at number 9 in the Swiss Album Charts, where it was certified gold. In Japan, it ranked number 23 in the Oricon Charts, receiving a Platinum certification. The album reached number 37 in the Dutch Album Top 100 and sold 50,000 copies, certifying it as gold. Overall, the album sold 1,300,000 copies. In 2013, The Return of the Space Cowboy was one of the first three albums to be re-issued on the band's 20th anniversary campaign, also containing a bonus disc containing remixes and b-sides.

"Space Cowboy" was released as the album's international lead single on 26 September 1994.{{cite magazine|date=24 September 1994|title=Single Releases|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-09-24.pdf|magazine=Music Week|page=25|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419215945/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-09-24.pdf|url-status=live}} The single peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and was their first number one on the US Dance Chart.{{Cite web|title=Jamiroquai {{!}} Full Official Chart History|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28264/jamiroquai/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215080202/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28264/jamiroquai/|archive-date=15 December 2020|access-date=17 January 2018|publisher=Official Charts Company|language=en}}{{cite magazine|date=15 November 1997|title=Hitmakers on Tap For Billboard Music Awards|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QkEAAAAMBAJ&dq=jamiroquai&pg=RA1-PA92|magazine=Billboard|language=en|page=92|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803170108/https://books.google.com/books?id=6QkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA92&lpg=RA1-PA92&dq=travelling+without+moving+chart&source=bl&ots=h5hilCf1vl&sig=ACfU3U1ja5lOmsWx3wcnM5KHzZRLkLmBoQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjx8ZLkk_rkAhVIRK0KHYN4AhM4HhDoATAAegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=jamiroquai&f=false|url-status=live}} The single contains remixes by David Morales, which further put the single in club circulation.{{Cite news|last=Meyers|first=Justin|date=28 March 2017|title=Jamiroquai's Official Top 10 biggest hits revealed|language=en|publisher=Official Charts Company|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/jamiroquais-official-top-10-biggest-singles-revealed__18595/|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-date=3 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303023109/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/jamiroquais-official-top-10-biggest-singles-revealed__18595/|url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Shawnee|date=21 December 1996|title=Work's Group Jamiroquai Sets Sights on U.S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=swkEAAAAMBAJ&q=Jamiroquai+billboard&pg=PA23|magazine=Billboard|language=en|pages=23–24|via=Google Books|access-date=13 August 2021|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813082021/https://books.google.com/books?id=swkEAAAAMBAJ&q=Jamiroquai+billboard&pg=PA23|url-status=live}} "Half the Man" was released as the album's third overall single, on 7 November 1994.{{cite magazine|date=5 November 1994|title=Single Releases|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-11-05.pdf|magazine=Music Week|page=23|access-date=20 August 2021|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422031758/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-11-05.pdf|url-status=live}} The track reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. "Light Years" was released as the album's fourth overall single on 20 February 1995.{{cite magazine|date=18 February 1995|title=New Releases: Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-02-18.pdf|magazine=Music Week|page=31|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=5 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505164835/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-02-18.pdf|url-status=live}} In the United States, the song was number six on the Dance Chart.{{cite magazine|title=Jamiroquai Chart History (Dance Club Songs)|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/jamiroquai/chart-history/dsi/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=13 August 2021|archive-date=6 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606213423/https://www.billboard.com/music/Jamiroquai/chart-history/DSI|url-status=live}} "Stillness in Time" was the album's fifth overall single, released on 19 June 1995.{{cite magazine|date=17 June 1995|title=New Releases: Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-06-17.pdf|magazine=Music Week|page=31|access-date=20 August 2021|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510002322/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-06-17.pdf|url-status=live}} The track peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's highest-charting release to that date. "The Kids" and "Morning Glory" have also been released as singles.{{cite AV media notes |title=The Kids|others=Jamiroquai |year=1993|type=CD |publisher=Epic Records|id=ESCA 5876}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Morning Glory|others=Jamiroquai |year=1995|type=CD |publisher=Work Group|id=OSK 7064}}

{{Music ratings

| subtitle = Contemporary reviews

| rev1 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev1score = B+{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/03/10/return-space-cowboy/ |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=10 March 1995 |access-date=28 August 2011 |last=Woodard |first=Josef |archive-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215080238/https://ew.com/article/1995/03/10/return-space-cowboy/ |url-status=live }}

| rev2 = The Guardian

| rev2score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news |title=Jamiroquai: The Return of the Space Cowboy (Sony Soho Square 477813 2) |newspaper=The Guardian |date=21 October 1994 |last=Sullivan |first=Caroline}}

| rev3 = NME

| rev3score = 6/10{{cite magazine|first=Roger|last=Morton|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53311600536/|title=Long Play|magazine=NME|date=22 October 1994|page=46|access-date=7 November 2023}}

| rev4 = Orlando Sentinel

| rev4score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite web |last1=Gettelman |first1=Parry |title=Jamiroquai: [Metro Edition] |url=http://www.proquest.com/docview/278648362/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ/ |website=Orlando Sentinel |via=ProQuest |access-date=10 August 2021 |archive-date=26 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826063835/https://www.proquest.com/docview/278648362/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ |url-status=live }}

| rev5 = Rolling Stone

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/jamiroquai/albums/album/91600/review/5944044/the_return_of_the_space_cowboy |title=Jamiroquai: The Return of the Space Cowboy |magazine=Rolling Stone |issue=704 |date=23 March 1995 |access-date=28 August 2011 |last=Evans |first=Paul |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506032701/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/jamiroquai/albums/album/91600/review/5944044/the_return_of_the_space_cowboy |archive-date=6 May 2007 |url-status=dead}}

| rev6 = Select

| rev6score = 4/5{{cite magazine |title=Jamiroquai: The Return of the Space Cowboy |magazine=Select |issue=53 |date=November 1994 |last=Hall |first=Matt |page=101}}

| rev7 = Smash Hits

| rev7score = 4/5{{cite magazine|first=Siân|last=Pattenden|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/54032558119/in/album-72177720320712165/|title=New Albums: Funkiest New Album|magazine=Smash Hits|date=26 October 1994|page=55|access-date=5 October 2024|author-link=Siân Pattenden}}

}}

{{Music ratings

| subtitle = Retrospective reviews

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-return-of-the-space-cowboy-mw0000125947 |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy – Jamiroquai |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=28 August 2011 |last=Bush |first=John |archive-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215080341/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-return-of-the-space-cowboy-mw0000125947 |url-status=live }}

| rev2 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2score = {{rating|4|5}}{{sfn|Larkin|2011|page=1987}}

| rev3 = Q

| rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Jamiroquai: The Return of the Space Cowboy |magazine=Q |issue=187 |date=February 2002 |page=122}}

| rev4 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev4score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Jamiroquai |last=Sisario |first=Ben |authorlink=Ben Sisario|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition= 4th |year=2004 |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/420 420] }}

| rev5 = Uncut

| rev5score = 7/10{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=John |title=Jamiroquai – The Return of the Space Cowboy|journal=Uncut |date=April 2013 |issue=191 |page=90}}

}}

Critics have said The Return of the Space Cowboy continues the style of Jamiroquai's 1993 album Emergency on Planet Earth, and some have considered it an improvement in comparison, with Daryl Easlea writing it "captures this first phase of Jamiroquai at their very best." John Bush of AllMusic said the album "offered a better set of songs and more ambitious musical themes … Jason Kay's dead-on impression of Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone drives the group's blend of acid jazz and funky R&B" Paul Evans of Rolling Stone wrote, "Jamiroquai parlay jazzy soul pop so tight it crackles … Nowadays, when most funk comes out of cans, Jamiroquai's live spark glows." Evans also said the album "recall[s] Roberta Flack and Weather Report", and a reviewer of Musician compared it to both Wonder and Mandrill: "with its vintage keyboards, jazz harmonies and fondness for rambling, jam-oriented arrangements".{{cite magazine |title=Jamiroquai: The Return of the Space Cowboy |magazine=Musician |date=June 1995 |page=76}} Entertainment Weekly described the band as "a funk-making machine with a bright future in the past", while The Source said that they "may still be light years ahead of the hip-hop world."{{cite magazine |title=Jamiroquai: The Return of the Space Cowboy |magazine=The Source |issue=67 |date=April 1995 |page=84}} Writing of the lyrics, Sonia Murray of The Atlanta Constitution opined that "Jamiroquai challenges our numb response to violence, the lure of material trappings, even 'the shame of [his] ancestry' with a spirit so unencumbered and personal that these searing messages feel like engaging talks over coffee."{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=Sonia |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy |journal=Atlanta Constitution |date=22 April 1995 |page=Section WL, p. 20}}

Neil Spencer of The Guardian commented: "Most of this second album still sounds like vintage Stevie Wonder and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, but Kay's vocals are as snappy and engaging as his extrovert persona".{{Cite web|last=Spencer|first=Niel|author-link=Neil Spencer|date=23 October 1994|title=Return of the Space Cowboy|url=http://www.proquest.com/docview/293518765/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ/|url-status=live|work=The Guardian|via=ProQuest|access-date=10 August 2021|archive-date=26 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826063836/https://www.proquest.com/docview/293518765/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ}} David Sinclair wrote that the album "combines intricate arrangements with several long, free-form workouts crammed with virtuoso performances." He also considers Stuart Zender's bass-playing "the most telling contribution to the album's relentless bustle and drive." He however wrote that "the album is marred by a tendency to substitute technique for tunes."{{Cite web|last=Sinclair|first=David|date=14 October 1994|title=Down among the demons; New Albums|url=http://www.proquest.com/docview/318186817/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ/|url-status=live|website=The Times|via=ProQuest|access-date=10 August 2021|archive-date=26 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826063836/https://www.proquest.com/docview/318186817/6E5CBB03EAF1429FPQ}} Andy Gill of The Independent found several of the tracks too long. In a negative review, Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post described the album as "one of 1995's least digestible servings of leftovers."{{Cite news|last=Jenkins|first=Mark|date=1 September 1995|title=Jamiroquai's Stale Leftovers|newspaper=The Washington Post|pages=Section WW, p. 16}}

All tracks are written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith, except where noted.

{{Track listing

| headline = Standard edition{{Efn|1=US releases switch the tracks "Just Another Story" and "Space Cowboy".{{cite AV media notes |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|others=Jamiroquai |year=1995|type=CD |publisher=Work Group|id=OK 66982}}|group=nb}}

| total_length = 65:44

| all_writing =

| title1 = Just Another Story

| note1 =

| writer1 =

| length1 = 8:49

| title2 = Stillness in Time

| writer2 =

| length2 = 4:15

| title3 = Half the Man

| writer3 =

| length3 = 4:48

| title4 = Light Years

| writer4 =

| length4 = 5:53

| title5 = Manifest Destiny

| writer5 =

| length5 = 6:19

| title6 = The Kids

| writer6 =

| length6 = 5:08

| title7 = Mr. Moon

| writer7 = Kay, Smith, Stuart Zender

| length7 = 5:28

| title8 = Scam

| writer8 = Kay, Zender, Smith

| length8 = 7:00

| title9 = Journey to Arnhemland

| writer9 = Kay, Wallis Buchanan, Smith

| note9 = instrumental

| length9 = 5:19

| title10 = Morning Glory

| writer10 = Kay, Zender

| length10 = 6:21

| title11 = Space Cowboy

| note11 =

| writer11 = Kay

| length11 = 6:25

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japanese edition bonus track{{cite AV media notes |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|others=Jamiroquai |year=1994|type=CD |publisher=Epic Records|id=ESCA 6066}}

| total_length = 72:16

| title12 = Space Cowboy

| note12 = Stoned Again Mix

| writer12 = Kay

| length12 = 6:32

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = American edition bonus track{{cite AV media notes |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|others=Jamiroquai |year=1995|type=CD |publisher=Work Group|id=OK 66982}}

| total_length = 71:37

| title12 = Light Years

| note12 = Live at the Theatre Du Moulin, Marseille, December 1994

| writer12 =

| length12 = 5:53

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 20th anniversary reissue bonus disc{{cite web|url=http://sonymusic.ie/news/jamiroquai-20th-anniversary-reissues |title=Jamiroquai 20th Anniversary Reissues | The Official Sony Music Ireland Site |publisher=Sony Music Ireland|access-date=2014-08-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530163240/http://sonymusic.ie/news/jamiroquai-20th-anniversary-reissues |archive-date=30 May 2013 }}

| total_length = 58:25

| title1 = Light Years

| note1 = 4 to Da Floor Mix

| writer1 =

| length1 = 5:21

| title2 = Space Cowboy

| note2 = David Morales Mix

| writer2 = Kay

| length2 = 7:51

| title3 = Space Cowboy

| note3 = Demo

| writer3 = Kay

| length3 = 4:18

| title4 = Morning Glory

| note4 = instrumental

| writer4 = Kay

| length4 = 6:21

| title5 = Stillness in Time

| note5 = Edit

| writer5 =

| length5 = 4:15

| title6 = Space Clav

| writer6 = Smith, Zender, Gary Barnacle

| length6 = 4:54

| title7 = Light Years

| note7 = Live at the Theatre Du Moulin, Marseille, December 1994

| writer7 =

| length7 = 5:53

| title8 = Scam

| note8 = Live

| writer8 = Kay, Zender

| length8 = 5:13

| title9 = Journey to Arnhemland

| note9 = Live

| writer9 = Kay, Smith, Buchanan

| length9 = 5:19

| title10 = We Gettin' Down

| note10 = Live

| writer10 =

| length10 = 9:46

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = French edition bonus disc{{cite AV media notes |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|others=Jamiroquai |year=1994|type=CD |publisher=Sony Soho Square|id=477813 9}}

| title1 = Space Cowboy

| note1 = Classic Radio

| writer1 = Kay

| length1 = 4:00

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = LP edition{{cite AV media notes |title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|others=Jamiroquai |year=1994|type=LP |publisher=Sony Soho Square|id=477815 1}}

| total_length = 67:42

| all_writing =

| title2 = Stillness in Time

| writer2 =

| note2 = Vinyl Version

| length2 = 6:13

}}

Credits adapted from album liner notes.

{{div col|colwidth=40em}}

Jamiroquai

• Jay Kay – vocals
• Toby Smith – keyboards
• Stuart Zender – bass
• Derrick McKenzie – drums
• Wallis Buchanan – didgeridoo

Additional musicians

• Nick Van Gelder – drums {{small|(track 6)}}
• Simon Katz – electric guitar {{small|(tracks 4, 7)}}
• Jeffrey Scantlebury – percussion {{small|(track 9)}}
• Maurizio Ravalico – percussion
• Gary Barnacle – saxophone
• Richard Edwards – trombone
• John Thirkell – trumpet
• Matthew Scrivener – violin
• Iain Mackinnon – violin
• Owen Little – viola
• Robert Bailey – cello
• Colin Davy, Sean Quinn, Komodo, DC Lee – backing vocals {{small|(track 1)}}

Production

• Jay Kay – production, arrangement, engineering
• Michael Nielsen – engineer, co-producer
• Al Stone – additional recording (vocals), mixing{{cite magazine |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/al-stone-recording-jamiroquais-supersonic |title=Al Stone: Recording Jamiroquai's 'Supersonic' |date=December 1999 |magazine=Sound on Sound |access-date=March 5, 2021}}
• Adrian Bushby – engineering {{small|(track 11)}}
• Martin Harrison – mixing on "Light Years" (Live at the 'Theatre du Moulin', Marseille, December 1994)
• Creative Hands – design
• Eddie Monsoon – photography
• Chris Nash – photography

{{div col end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for The Return of the Space Cowboy}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|refname=frcert|artist=Jamiroquai|title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|region=France|award=Platinum|certyear=1997|source=infodisc}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|type=album|artist=ジャミロクワイ|title=スペース・カウボーイの逆襲|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=1999|access-date=15 September 2013|certref={{cite web|url=http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/1999/199909.pdf |title=RIAJ > The Record > September 1999 > Certified Awards (July 1999) |work=Recording Industry Association of Japan |language=ja |access-date=2014-01-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116130756/http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/1999/199909.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2014 }}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|type=album|refname=nlcert|artist=Jamiroquai|title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|award=Gold|relyear=1995|certyear=2000}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|type=album|refname=chcert|artist=Jamiroquai|title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|award=Gold|relyear=1995|access-date=15 September 2013}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|refname=ukcert|artist=Jamiroquai|title=The Return of the Space Cowboy|award=Platinum|relyear=1993|access-date=15 September 2013|certyear=1996|id=7253-1616-2}}

{{Certification Table Summary}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|nocert=true|salesamount=1,300,000|salesref={{cite magazine|date=17 February 1996|title=Who's Selling Here|url=https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_Gw8EAAAAMBAJ#page/n57/search/jamiroquai|language=en|magazine=Billboard|pages=58|via=Wayback Machine}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC&q=jamiroquai+funk+movement&pg=RA2-PA1986|authorlink=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|last=Larkin|first=Colin|year= 2011|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0857125958|language=en|via=Google Books}}

• {{Discogs master|69946|The Return of the Space Cowboy|type=album}}

{{Jamiroquai}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return of the Space Cowboy, The}}

Category:Jamiroquai albums

Category:1994 albums

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