Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts

Kula Shaker

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 22, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 22, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000JBE9
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #167,544 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Great Hosannah

2. Mystical Machine Gun

3. S.O.S.

4. Radhe Radhe

5. I'm Still Here

6. Shower Your Love

7. 108 Battles (Of the Mind)

8. Sound of Drums

9. Timeworm

10. Last Farewell

11. Golden Avatar

12. Namami Nanda-Nandana

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing follow up to a great debut!, August 29, 1999

By A Customer

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!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars what britpop should have sounded like..., March 24, 2001

By	O. Buxton "Olly Buxton" (Highgate, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake up! And Discover the Kula Shaker Experience!, January 11, 2000

By	Krishnan Narendran "Krrish" (Bangalore, India) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.