Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Fame was not kind to Kula Shaker, largely because Crispian Mills could not keep his mouth shut. Speaking like the child of privilege he is, Mills alienated a fair segment of the British pop audience and music press with presumptuous, misguided comments about mysticism and spirituality, as well as a general arrogance. A mere eight months after the release of their debut, K, Kula Shaker was dreadfully overexposed and the group's hippy-dippy neo-psychedelicism and rock classicism were falling out of favor, leaving them with little choice but to retreat to work on their second record. It wasn't quite as easy as that. After rejecting their original producer, John Leckie, and George Drakoulias, they brought Bob Ezrin aboard and began a lengthy recording process. By the time their second record, Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts, was released in the spring of 1999, it had been two-and-a-half years since K appeared in stores -- enough time to regulate the group to footnote status for many observers. You wouldn't know that from the grand, theatrical sound of Peasants, however. The record comes on as a blockbuster, deluging the listener with layers of psychedelic effects, swirling guitars, appropriated chants, Indian instruments, Deep Purple jams, Beatles references, and mystical babble. On a purely sonic level, it's easy to admire what Kula Shaker achieve. They have no shame in recreating the summer of love in a '90s studio and, with Ezrin's help, they've created some enticing, sugary Technicolor treats. The problem is, the high fades away pretty quickly, leaving very little of substance behind. As a songwriter, Mills, for all his portentous posturing, doesn't have a whole lot to say and he doesn't really know how to say it. Only a handful of songs -- "Shower Your Love," "108 Battles" -- are memorable outside of their sonic trappings, which leaves Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts in pretty much the same position as K. It's the kind of record that sounds pretty impressive as it plays, but makes almost no lasting impression.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
Kula Shaker, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Fulton Dingley, Engineer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Composer, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Lyricist, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Fulton Dingley, Engineer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Composer, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Lyricist, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - The Mighty Horn Assortment, Brass - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Composer, Arranger, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Gouri Choundhury, Composer, Arranger, Vocals - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Fulton Dingley, Engineer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass, ComposerLyricist - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Vocals, Harmonica, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Fulton Dingley, Engineer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Composer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Programmer, Backing Vocals, Bass, Producer (Rhythm track) - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Lyricist, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica - Rick Rubin, Producer - George Drakoulias, Producer - Fulton Dingley, Mixer - JIM SCOTT, Engineer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Sylvia Massy, Engineer - Graham Pattison, Arranger - The Mighty Horn Assortment, Brass - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Lyricist, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Himangsu Goswami, Vocals - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Composer, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Lyricist, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Composer, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Lyricist, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Andy Jackson, Engineer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Composer, Arranger, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Hariprasad Chaurasia, Flute - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Kula Shaker, Producer, Instruments, MainArtist - Alonza Bevan, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Jay Darlington, Keyboards, Organ - Crispian Mills, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer - Paul Winter-Hart, Drums - Simon Mills, Arranger - Graham Pattison, Arranger - Himangsu Goswami, Vocals - Hoodoo Music Ltd administered by Interstellar Music Services Ltd, MusicPublisher
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Album review
Fame was not kind to Kula Shaker, largely because Crispian Mills could not keep his mouth shut. Speaking like the child of privilege he is, Mills alienated a fair segment of the British pop audience and music press with presumptuous, misguided comments about mysticism and spirituality, as well as a general arrogance. A mere eight months after the release of their debut, K, Kula Shaker was dreadfully overexposed and the group's hippy-dippy neo-psychedelicism and rock classicism were falling out of favor, leaving them with little choice but to retreat to work on their second record. It wasn't quite as easy as that. After rejecting their original producer, John Leckie, and George Drakoulias, they brought Bob Ezrin aboard and began a lengthy recording process. By the time their second record, Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts, was released in the spring of 1999, it had been two-and-a-half years since K appeared in stores -- enough time to regulate the group to footnote status for many observers. You wouldn't know that from the grand, theatrical sound of Peasants, however. The record comes on as a blockbuster, deluging the listener with layers of psychedelic effects, swirling guitars, appropriated chants, Indian instruments, Deep Purple jams, Beatles references, and mystical babble. On a purely sonic level, it's easy to admire what Kula Shaker achieve. They have no shame in recreating the summer of love in a '90s studio and, with Ezrin's help, they've created some enticing, sugary Technicolor treats. The problem is, the high fades away pretty quickly, leaving very little of substance behind. As a songwriter, Mills, for all his portentous posturing, doesn't have a whole lot to say and he doesn't really know how to say it. Only a handful of songs -- "Shower Your Love," "108 Battles" -- are memorable outside of their sonic trappings, which leaves Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts in pretty much the same position as K. It's the kind of record that sounds pretty impressive as it plays, but makes almost no lasting impression.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:49:14
- Main artists: Kula Shaker
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
(C) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP (P) 1999 Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.