Customer Reviews

Kollected: Best of

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Kollected derives from two Kula Shaker LPs and some singles. This collection makes it easier to get the singles like "Hush", but you'll miss out on songs like "Great Hosanna" and "S.O.S." from their Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts album.

Review of songs on Kollected: Best Of

1. Sound of Drums - A good opening track, played with fervor.
2. Into the Deep - Influences of the Beatles. A little airy, but still full of energy.
3. Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There - A medley. The former with a hard, classic rock style. The latter a Doors-esque jam. The song titles are obviously in reference to the Grateful Dead.
4. 108 Battles (Of the Mind) - Leads off with harmonica, and starts rocking. It would make a good song for a 60s Go-Go dance.
5. Start All Over - A mid-pace pop song.
6. Hey Dude - Picks up the pace, with a tempo similar to "Hush".
7. Drop in the Sea - Easy, mellow.
8. Shower Your Love - A pretty pop/rock song.
9. Hush - Nice intensity. A cover of a song penned by Joe South. KS does it similar to the popular version by Deep Purple.
10. Tattva - KS's most recognizable song. A lot of energy, with a touch of Beatles in the slower parts.
11. 303 - Rocks, rolls, 60s style.
12. Light of the Day - Another easy, mellow tune.
13. Mystical Machine Gun - A taste of India throughout, building to a quicker pace.
14. Ballad of a Thin Man - A Bob Dylan cover. Somewhat bluesy. [Previously unreleased]
15. Dance in Your Shadow - Might be a good song to waltz to.
16. Govinda - Heavy Indian influences, with a nice beat. There's also a hidden song on the last track if you wait long enough.

Evaluation:
Since this is a best of, there's not much filler here. The music may sound familiar, because it borrows from the Beatles and other classic rock. However, there's not a problem of the songs sounding the same. All around, it's a good listen.

Kula Shaker became somewhat popular in 1996 with their debut simply entitled K, but these guys are as pretentious as all get-out, and for no reason. They basically rode in on the coattails of early-90's bands like The Happy Mondays, Soup Dragons, Jesus Jones, and The Farm. In other words, Kula's a band of doofus Brits trying to sound enlightened and happy, when in actuality all they are is high on Ecstasy and/or pot. The difference between Kula and those bands I mentioned who first popularized the Manchester Sound was the fact that Kula features less emphasis on electronic noises and more emphasis on making sh*tty music that wanders on forever. Kula didn't even have the instantly-memorable hit that each of those Manchester Sound bands had. The bottom line is that Kula Shaker is just something for those of us with a steady nine-to-five job to laugh at. Kula's fans are something to pity. The band's meandering, faux-Eastern music combined with dumb British vocals and nonsensical lyrics make for one funny album... until you get bored with it. Oh, and I just love how the band purposely misspelled "Collection" with a "K" where the "C" should be. The only time I thought I'd ever see that kind of spelling was in a Mortal Kombat game compilation, er "kompilation".

In closing... Anybody else notice Kula stole the album cover from the Spin Doctors' Turn It Upside Down album?