"You've got to hand it to these guys!Kula Shaker manage to fuse the great rock sound of the late 60s and the melodicism of Indian ragas with a modernism and aplomb that is unparalleled! I have listened to this CD a 100 times and I love it! These guys rock and at the same time have a melodic undercurrent running through all the tracks.Great Hossanah is a great opener of a song with a truly superb guitar into! I loved "Mystical Machine Gun" for the smooth progression from a Indian Sarangi Intro to a great mid-tempo rocker! Radhe Radhe is a continuation of their interpretation of Indian Devotional songs in the rock context (done to great effect with "Govinda" from their last album)But to me the standout track in this CD is the gorgeous "Shower your Love". Right from the first refrains of the Shenai instruments which is used for auspicous occasions in India, this beautiful song progresses to being a melodic tour de force. It's an instant classic in a time of digitally mixed electronica and the same sounding alternative songs that seem to dominate the airwaves these days.The rest of the songs in the CD, though not as great as the above mentioned, still make for a very pleasurable and rocking listen!Kula Shaker may no longer be the flavor of the month here or back in the UK, and they may not sell millions like those sugary boy bands, but to me they are one of the most innovative and creative music acts in a bland and oh so boring musical canvas of the late 90s.A geat album. Way to go guys!!"
What britpop should have sounded like...
O. Buxton | Highgate, UK | 03/24/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Crispian Mills has excellent showbiz credentials, being the grandson of Sir John and the son of Hayley Mills. But unlike, say, Julian or Sean Lennon, he has the talent and wit to stand in his own right. The only legacy of his famous family seems to be his looks and the fact that he seems to be raving mad. Being a fruitloop is, of course, no barrier to making great rock 'n' roll though, and it's surprising Kula Shaker (now defunct) didn't make a better fist of it than they did, especially with a record as sophisticated as this. Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts is a bit of everything - it updates sixties, eastern psychedelia and blends it with the seventies rock ethic and loopy fin-du-siecle spirituality into a trippy, upbeat, musical feast. In terms of direct relations, I think a blend of the Beatles, the Doors, David Bowie and Led Zeppelin in equal measure, with a dash of Floyd to give the album some length. Cheery choruses, sweeping hammonds, bunkum lyrics, grinding guitars and the odd all-out space-jam. Nice job.I suppose ultimately it's too backward looking to really have made waves, even in England, but if a fancy a quick spell of time-warped escapism, you could do a lot worse than Peasant Pigs and Astronauts."
Wake up! And Discover the Kula Shaker Experience!
Krishnan Narendran | Bangalore, India | 01/11/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"2 great albums 1 very good EP and what do they do? Implode like the Stone Roses and The Verve! It's a shame that we won't hear those soaring melodies, swirling organ jams and incessant rock 'n' roll rythms from Kula Shaker again!Too bad 'coz Kula Shaker managed to fuse the classic rock sound of the late 60s and the ragas of Indian music with an aplomb that is unparalleled and without meandering into self indulgence.Peasants... manages to sound melifluous and joyous without losing the edge mainly because the band never loses focus of their objective... to make a great rock album.Great Hossanah is a great opener of a song with a truly superb guitar into! "Mystical Machine Gun" makes a smooth progression from a Indian Intro to a great mid-tempo rocker! "Radhe Radhe" is the only song in the album which gives you the "been there done that" feeling because it's so similar in structure and treatment to "Govinda".But to me the standout track in this CD is the gorgeous "Shower your Love". Right from the first refrains of the Shenai, this beautiful song progresses to being a melodic tour de force. It's an instant classic in a time of digitally mixed electronica and the same sounding alternative songs that seem to dominate the airwaves these days.The rest of the songs in the CD are not as strong as the above mentioned but "108 battles" and "sound of drums" make an impression. This is one strong and consistent album.Kula Shaker may no longer be the flavor of the month here or back in the UK, and they may not sell millions like those sugary boy bands, but to me they are one of the most innovative and creative music acts in a bland and oh so boring musical canvas of the late 90s."
Magical mystery tour
zazoo | maui | 04/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Like the highly acclaimed previous Shaker offering "K", this album is a mystical romp through psychedelia marked by an intoxicating afterglow for the listener. The production value on this record is superior to "K". A riff on one of the songs was given to Mills by George Harrison who was close chums with the Shakers as was David Gilmour of Pink Floyd (the album was recorded on his houseboat/studio). For those unfamiliar with the Shakers think Beatles meets Grateful Dead meets Pink Floyd meets Jimi Hendrix meets the Moody Blues meets Ravi Shankar forming an indescribable heady brew sure to leave you floating.
This record has been trashed in some quarters by people who hate the indian influence and the mystical assuredness of the Shaker sound. They find it pretentious. Too bad, different strokes for different blokes I say. Like one or more reviewers mentioned here there is a mistaken idea that Crispian Mills is some kind of pretentious jerk. This false meme was created by some U.K reviewers who write for big publications in the U.K and who simply hate the way the Shakers songs are so in your face "I have the answers to the mysteries of the ages". That's why they came down so heavily on Mills, not because of Mills personality it's because of his so called arrogant lyrics and musical style, he is in fact a charming very funny bloke. Also the haters came down heavily on Mills when in an interview he mentioned that the swastika is a mystical yantra from India signifying good fortune that was stolen from Hinduism by the nasties and that he wanted to reclaim it, he then joked about wanting to do a concert with swastikas on fire surrounding the stage. This blew the mind of some U.K scribblers who then labled Mills a nasty, go figure."