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"Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out" is a song by Norman Cook's acid jazz group Freak Power, released in October 1993 by Island Records and 4th & Broadway as the debut single from their first album, Drive-Thru Booty (1994). The song features a smooth jazz sound and the baritone vocals of lead singer Ashley Slater. The single originally charted at number 29 in the United Kingdom. However, two years later, the song was used in the popular Levi's advertisement "Taxi", and it was re-released on 6 March 1995. This time, the single was a success, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart and becoming the group's only top-20 hit. The song was also a moderate hit in western Europe and New Zealand.
Critical reception
Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian described the song as "a cynical post-modern shopping anthem with a dash of singalong soul." In October 1993, in his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton stated that the song had "the potential to be a major hit". Upon the 1995 release, a reviewer from Music Week commented, "Levi's ads have a habit of spawning Top 10 hits and Freak Power's groovy number is set to become the latest." NME's review said, "Stuffed with vocals that croakily doff their cap to Sly Stone, wah-wah guitar and a chorus that seems to be fully aware of its '70s-crazed ludicrousness, it's an insidious rare groove drip-feed that'll soon be connected to the veins of thousands."
Andy Beevers wrote in the Record Mirror Dance Update, "With his excellent Mighty Dub Cats and Pizzaman projects, Norman Cook has been sending out low-key signals that something is stirring down in Brighton. Now comes the real deal. The best starting point is the Radio Mix which emphasises the wonderfully mellow and husky male vocal. The weird trippy lyrics, which are nowhere as corny as the title would suggest, are set against a great bassline and plenty of funky touches. The whole thing has a very Seventies feel but it is done with a great deal more understanding and intelligence than all the current disco pastiches." Another Record Mirror editor, James Hamilton, described it as "Norman Cook's Gil Scott Heron-ishly crooking jaunty excellent Donny Hathaway 'The Ghetto' based". Garry Mulholland from Select wrote, "Their 'Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out' provides the low-slung funk backing for that ad's shameless exploitation of shock-horror transexuality."
