Kasabian is the debut studio album by British rock band Kasabian, released on 6 September 2004. The album's highest chart position on the UK Albums Chart was number 4, making it the band's only studio album not to reach number one. Five singles were released from Kasabian.

This is the only full album to feature the lead guitarist and lead songwriter Christopher Karloff, who left the band during the recording sessions of their next album, Empire. The album features a rotating cast of drummers, with full-time drummer Ian Matthews joining the band after the release of the album.

Release

Different geographical regions had different colours for their album cover. The British version is black and white, the European import is black and red, and the American version is black and blue. The Japanese "Ultimate Version" is silver and white. The UK limited-edition version is a double-sided DualDisc and has a glow-in-the-dark cover. The DVD element contains a making-of documentary and several music videos.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. In the United States and Canada it uses the MediaMax CD-3 system.

The Canadian version of the album does not contain the songs "Orange", "Pinch Roller" and "Ovary Stripe", with the exception of digital releases.

Composition

Tracks

The opening track "Club Foot" features a signature distorted bass riff, played by Christopher Karloff and features "a quilt of relentless beats, hissing electronic noises, buzzing guitar and Tom Meighan's breathless, menacing vocals", and lyrics inspired by the Iraq War. "Processed Beats", one of eventual drummer Ian Matthews' two contributions to the album has been compared to The Stone Roses with its "shambolic beat" and unison chorus from Meighan and Pizzorno. "Test Transmission", the first of two songs to feature Pizzorno on lead vocals was branded as "prog rock danced in baggy jeans" the fifth and final single "Cutt Off" "pitches space-age synths to the sort of psycho-babble only usually risked by Orb".

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score =

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = C+

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score =

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = 7/10

| rev8 = Q

| rev8score =

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9score =

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = Barry Walters of Rolling Stone criticized the band for filling the album with half-baked ideas based on influences from Happy Mondays and Primal Scream, saying that "Kasabian make the mistake of trying to be revolutionary by quoting revolutionaries."

  • Tom Meighan – lead vocals , backing vocals
  • Sergio Pizzorno – rhythm guitar , synths , lead vocals , vocals , backing vocals
  • Christopher Karloff – lead guitar , synths , omnichord , bass
  • Chris Edwards – bass
  • Ian Matthews – drums
  • Ryan Glover – drums
  • Martin Hall-Adams - drums
  • Daniel Ralph Martin – drums
  • Mitch Glover – drums

Production

  • Kasabian – production
  • Jim Abbiss – additional production and mixing
  • Barny – mixing and engineering , mix engineer
  • Damian Taylor – programming
  • John Dent – mastering
  • Simon Corkin – design, illustration
  • Jill Furmanovsky – band photography

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

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! Chart (2004–05)

! Peak<br/>position

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|-

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!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| style="text-align:center;"|17

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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

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! Chart (2014)

! Peak<br/>position

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Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|-

!Chart (2004)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)

|style="text-align:center;"|77

|-

!Chart (2005)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)

|style="text-align:center;"|44

|-

!Chart (2006)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)

|style="text-align:center;"|164

|}

Certifications

References

  • Official site