Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts is the second album by the British indie and psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker.

Recording

Initial recording sessions for the album were produced by John Leckie but the band soon decided to bring in producers George Drakoulias and Rick Rubin instead. Ultimately, this track was not released on the album but an excerpt of it was included as a hidden track on the 2002 compilation album, Kollected: The Best of Kula Shaker.

| rev2 = Los Angeles Daily News

| rev2score =

| rev3 = Wall of Sound

| rev3score = 89/100

<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->

The album was released on 8 March 1999 and reached #9 in the UK Albums Chart, during a chart stay of 10 weeks. It was less successful in the U.S., however, where it failed to break into the Billboard 200 album chart. It was preceded in April 1998 by the "Sound of Drums" single which reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The 10th Anniversary edition included an expanded running order for the original album, with the outtake song "Strangefolk" included, as the band originally intended.

Track listing

1999 original edition

  1. "Great Hosannah" (Crispian Mills)
  2. "Mystical Machine Gun" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker)
  3. "S.O.S." (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker)
  4. "Radhe Radhe" (traditional, arranged by Crispian Mills, Gouri Choudhury)
  5. "I'm Still Here" (Crispian Mills)
  6. "Shower Your Love" (Crispian Mills)
  7. "108 Battles (of the Mind)" (Crispian Mills, Alonza Bevan)
  8. "Sound of Drums" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker)
  9. "Timeworm" (Crispian Mills, Alonza Bevan)
  10. "Last Farewell" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker)
  11. "Golden Avatar" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker)
  12. "Namami Nanda-Nandana" [aka "Nanda-nandanāṣṭakaḿ"] (traditional, arranged by Crispian Mills)
  13. "Stotra" [hidden track]

2010 deluxe edition

On 20 January 2010 a deluxe edition was re-issued by StrangeFOLK Records Band's Label featured:

  • Numbered CD booklet (this edition limited to 3000).
  • 4 postcards of original ideas for the artwork
  • 2010 artwork box and shrink wrapped

Disc 1 – "The Album"

  1. "Great Hosannah" (Crispian Mills) – 6:07
  2. "Mystical Machine Gun" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker) – 5:41
  3. "S.O.S." (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker) – 2:55
  4. "Radhe Radhe" (traditional, arranged by Crispian Mills, Gouri Choudhury) – 2:49
  5. "I'm Still Here" (Crispian Mills) – 1:31
  6. "Shower Your Love" (Crispian Mills) – 3:39
  7. "108 Battles (of the Mind)" (Crispian Mills, Alonza Bevan) [new ending!] – 3:15
  8. "Sound of Drums" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker) – 4:27
  9. "Timeworm" (Crispian Mills, Alonza Bevan) – 4:02
  10. "Last Farewell" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker) – 2:46
  11. "Golden Avatar" (Crispian Mills, Kula Shaker) – 4:29
  12. "Namami Nanda Nandana" (traditional, arranged by Crispian Mills) – 5:12
  13. "Strangefolk" [the original title track] – 5:58
  14. "Stotra" [Hidden track] – 2:22

Disc 2 – "Astronauts Anthology"

  1. "Sound of Love" (Bearsville Studios Session, which became "Sound of Drums") – 6:10
  2. "Avalonia" (B-side) – 2:17
  3. "Golden Avatar" (band demo) – 4:32
  4. "Strangefolk" (band demo) – 5:05
  5. Roger Morton Interview with Crispian and Alonza recorded on 13 November 2009 in London about the making of Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts (Parts 1–9) – 46:03

Personnel

Kula Shaker

  • Alonza Bevan – bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar loops
  • Paul Winter-Hart – drums, symbols
  • Jay Darlington – Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, Creamy Analog, Farfisa & Acetone Electric Organs
  • Crispian Mills – vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, harmonica, loud cannon

Additional musicians

  • The Mighty Horn Assortment – brass
  • Brett Findlay, Chakrini, Madhava, Mathura Das, Percy, Shep & Dodge, Yogamaya – mrdunga, kartells, congas, bongos, conches, banging things
  • Graham Pattison – loops and soundscapes

Production

  • Bob Ezrin – producer (with Crispian Mills)
  • Fulton Dingley – engineer
  • East End Management – management
  • Stylorouge – art direction, design
  • Dan Abbott – booklet collages, suit design
  • Paula Keenan – suit styling
  • Tim O'Donnell – suit wearing
  • Jeff Cottenden – photography
  • Tim Hetherington – photography assistance
  • Jill Furmanovsky, Sean Alquist – band photography

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Chart performance for Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts

! scope="col"| Chart (1999)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

Certifications

References

<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->

  • Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
  • Various 'Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts' album versions at Discogs.