#47

#47 Kula Shaker – Drop In The Sea

This acoustic beauty came to me from 2002’s Kollected: The Best Of.

I don’t know why, but I kept expecting silly lyrics, like this was some sort of goofy Monty Python song… maybe it was his accent, I don’t know. Of course, now I’ve ruined it for you. Sit back and enjoy!

 

Kula Shaker – Kollected: The Best Of Kula Shaker

A sweet Taranna find…

I do enjoy Kula Shaker’s albums, but this disc has all the tracks you wanna hear the most all in one place. Pretty damn hard to argue with that!

You know, I shouldn’t like these guys, really. I don’t dig on the Britwave too much, and there are many times they edge towards Oasis territory in their sound. But for whatever reason, I can tolerate this stuff quite well, while I just can’t stomach Oasis. Ah well, chaçun à son goût!

I loved the sounds here. It’s bluesy, worldly, retro-60s, and just spaced out funky enough to be a party in every track. On top of the band’s own album work and b-sides, you get covers too.

Hit It Or Quit It? Hit!

 

Check it out… (lazily copied from Wiki)…

1. “Sound of Drums”
2. “Into the Deep”
3. “Grateful When You’re Dead/Jerry Was There”
4. “108 Battles (of the Mind)”
5. “Start All Over”
6. “Hey Dude”
7. “Drop in the Sea”
8. “Shower Your Love”
9. “Hush” (Joe South)
10. “Tattva”
11. “303”
12. “Light of the Day”
13. “Mystical Machine Gun”
14. “Ballad of a Thin Man” (Bob Dylan)
15. “Dance in Your Shadow”
16. “Govinda” (includes untitled/unknown/not verified hidden track) ^{Confirmation needed}

• There is a 1 minute and 50 seconds hidden/ghost song at the end of “Govinda”, about 13 minutes after it has finished. This is actually mentioned in the booklet that comes with the CD, the chorus is mentioned: “It seems there was no more room left on the album for ten minute long tracks with choruses like: ‘In the beginning was the word, and the word was … “Aum Keshavaya namah aum” …'” (Possibly misprinted, “om keshavaya namah” means “O my Lord Keshava, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”) The iTunes Music Store states that this clip is named “Strangefolk”, which was the original title of their second album before Kula Shaker changed it to Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts.

The clip from Kollected is part of the original ‘Strangefolk’ track, which was left off “Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts”, and was only made available on the 10th anniversary limited edition. Five years after the release of Kollected, Kula Shaker would go on to name their third album Strangefolk. Included on this album is a track titled “Strangefolk”. .

• Cover of the Joe South classic “Hush” was previously only available on the soundtrack to the film I Know What You Did Last Summer.
• The tracks “Drop in the Sea”, “Light of the Day” and “Dance In Your Shadow” were previously released as B-sides.
• “Ballad of a Thin Man” was a track intended for a Bob Dylan tribute album which was never released. The song was finally released on the soundtrack to the film Stoned.

Kula Shaker – Summer Sun EP

Yet another $0.99 find at Sonic Boom!

The 5th Annual Toronto Expedition Series, Part 29 (CD)

Govinda (’97, Hari & St. George) (from K) has a lovely Indian eastern sound while still building into rock bliss. Gokula is a bouncy bluesy rocker that’s tons of fun. Dance In Your Shadow sounds like Norwegian Wood done KS-style.

Raagy One (Waiting For Tomorrow) noodle-builds into a bit-too-like-Oasis for me. Moonshine is 70s lovechild pop-rock, and Troubled Mind is kinda-like-Oasis again. Oh dear.

Still: Eastern thread and cool instrumentals = cool EP.

Kula Shaker – Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts

I always knew about this band, but never bought an album. When I found it at work for cheap, it was worth a shot. I also remember this album cover as a huge poster hanging at the top of the escalator in the 333 Yonge St. HMV in Toronto. Get it? Because the dude’s coming up the escalator? Anyway.

So many influences here, I mean, most of classic rock, from the Beatles up through Pink Floyd and some other prog stuff too. There’s also some great heavier rock edges mixed in. Throw some Eastern sounds, some bagpipes, hammond organ, horns, acoustic and buzzing electric guitars, and lots of backing vocals into the soup and you have a really, really cool record.

The musicianship here is the major selling point, for me. It’s flawless. The band grooves and those guitars just soar (I really liked the guitar work). It totally sounds like the 60s, but updated to its current time (1999).

I should note, I have never cared much at all for the Britpop wave. The only ones I could stand out of all of it were Radiohead and Stone Roses, and I’d put this one in that latter category if I had to… but these guys are their own animal, and it’s all friggin’ beautiful.

The sound is superb (production-wise), the album flows from one track to the next like one giant party, and if you’re a fan already, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

There’s a joy here, something in making the music that comes across as just truly happy to be doing it, instead of it being a calculated move into a genre.  I liked this spacey, rocking jam CD very, very much!

Two thumbs way up.