Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts

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.^[1] Eventually Drakoulias and Rubin were rejected by the band and Bob Ezrin was brought in to complete the album.^[1] As a result of this, the production credits for the album's lead single, "Sound of Drums", name Drakoulias and Rubin as producers, while the rest of Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts is produced by Ezrin. Like its predecessor, K, the album continues the band's hybrid of 1960s-style psychedelic rock, groovy indie pop, and Indian instrumentation, albeit with a more progressive rock slant than on previous releases.^[1] Musically, many of the songs make use of Beatles-influenced psychedelic effects, swirling guitars, and Indian chants.^[1] This musical eclecticism prompted the band themselves to refer to Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts as their "kitchen sink album".^[2]

The album was partly recorded at the Astoria recording studio, a houseboat-studio owned by Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour. During production, the album was given the working title of Strangefolk, as lead vocalist Crispian Mills revealed during a BBC Radio 2 interview on 10 September 2007. Mills explained that the album's title was only changed to Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts at the last minute before release. However, the rejected album title was later reused for the band's 2007 comeback album, Strangefolk.

In addition, Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts was originally intended to feature the song "Strangefolk", a 10-minute-long track that began with the spoken introduction "In the beginning was the word, and the word was...'Om Keshavaya namah aum'."^[2] 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.^[2] Another song entitled "Strangefolk" was included on the 2007 reunion album but despite its identical title, this song is not the same as the Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts outtake. The full version was eventually released on the anniversary edition of the album as a bonus track.

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Los Angeles Daily News	[4]
Wall of Sound	89/100[5]

Close

The album was released on 8 March 1999 and reached #9 in the UK Albums Chart, during a chart stay of 10 weeks.^[6][7] It was less successful in the U.S., however, where it failed to break into the Billboard 200 album chart.^[8] It was preceded in April 1998 by the "Sound of Drums" single which reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart.^[7] Two further singles were taken from Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts: "Mystical Machine Gun", which was released concurrently with the album and peaked at #14 in the UK, and "Shower Your Love", which was released in May 1999 and also reached #14 on the UK charts.^[7] None of the album's accompanying singles charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in America.^[8]

Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts was re-released in a 10th Anniversary, 2 CD edition on 20 January 2010.^[9][10] The 10th Anniversary edition included an expanded running order for the original album, with the outtake song "Strangefolk" included, as the band originally intended.^[9] It also featured previously unreleased demos, alternate versions of songs, and new artwork.^[9]

Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts was placed at number 36 in Q magazine's 2006 list, "The 50 Worst Albums Ever!"^[11]

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