"The Kids" is the first single taken from British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai's second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994), though it was recorded shortly after the Emergency on Planet Earth sessions and was not a worldwide single release. The single was only released in Japan, on 12 December 1993 by Epic.[1] "The Kids" is a song that deals with the rights of children and their social status in the world. It is written to be absurdly loud and high in tempo, to possibly represent the immaturity of children, and more generally the whole early childhood of a person, which is usually a carefree time of life.
Background
After "The Kids" was recorded with drummer Nick Van Gelder, all Space Cowboy tracks except "The Kids" were re-recorded with Derrick McKenzie on drums.[1]
Critical reception
David Stubbs from Melody Maker wrote, "'The Kids' is both nifty and raunchy, with breakneck bass and a growling, lively fuzzbox chasing its own tail."[2] Roger Morton from NME found that the track "is driven by some cool whiplash wah wah guitars".[3]Siân Pattenden from Smash Hits named it the "best stuff" of the album, with 'Space Cowboy'.[4]
