K (album)

Last updated

K
KulaShaker K.jpg
Studio album by
Released16 September 1996
Studio Eden, RAK, Townhouse, Chipping Norton, Livingston, The Pierce Room, Wessex, Maison Rouge, Eastcote Studios
Genre Psychedelic rock, raga rock, Britpop
Length48:51 (not including 13:04 silence)
Label Columbia
Producer John Leckie, Shep & Dodge, Crispian Mills
Kula Shaker chronology
K
(1996)
Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts
(1999)
Singles from K
  1. "Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix)"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Grateful When You're Dead" / Jerry Was There"
    Released: 1996
  3. "Tattva"
    Released: 24 June 1996 [1]
  4. "Hey Dude"
    Released: 26 August 1996 [2]
  5. "Govinda"
    Released: 11 November 1996 [3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Alternative Press 5/5 [5]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [7]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
NME 9/10 [9]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [12]
The Village Voice C [13]

K is the debut album by English psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker, released on 16 September 1996. A concept album, themed on Indian mysticism, it became the fastest selling debut album in Britain since Elastica's debut the previous year, [14] selling over 105,768 copies in the first week. [15] The album reached the number-one position on the UK Albums Chart and number 200 on the US Billboard 200. It was voted number 879 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). [16]

Contents

The Grateful Dead's psychedelic rock style is an influence on Kula Shaker's first and second albums. The hidden track after "Hollow Man" is a recording of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, speaking about his own guru.

Artwork

The cover art (by comic-book artist Dave Gibbons) consists of various images related to the letter K, including: John F. Kennedy, Lord Kitchener, Karl Marx, Gene Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, Ken Dodd, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Danny Kaye, Kal-El (Superman), Boris Karloff (as Frankenstein's monster), Krishna, King Kong, Martin Luther King Jr., two Knights (a pair of Keys on one of them), a Kettle, Kali, the Kaiser, Nikita Khrushchev, Grace Kelly, the number 11 (symbolizing K), and Rudyard Kipling's book Kim .

Track listing

All tracks are written by Crispian Mills except where indicated

Original track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hey Dude" 4:10
2."Knight on the Town" 3:25
3."Temple of Everlasting Light"Mills, Alonza Bevan2:33
4."Govinda" 4:57
5."Smart Dogs" 3:16
6."Magic Theatre"Mills, Bevan2:38
7."Into the Deep"Mills, Bevan3:49
8."Sleeping Jiva"Mills, Bevan, Jay Darlington, Paul Winterhart2:02
9."Tattva" 3:46
10."Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There" 5:42
11."303"Mills, Bevan3:08
12."Start All Over" 2:35
13."Hollow Man (Parts 1 & 2)" (plus 0:12 hidden track after – 13:04 silence) 6:10
15th anniversary edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Tattva" (Lucky 13 Mix)Mills, Bevan, Darlington, Winterhart3:59
15."Into the Deep" (unreleased John Leckie version)Mills, Bevan4:45
16."Red Balloon (Vishnu's Eyes)" Tim Hardin 3:42
17."Hush" ("Hush" is 2:58; plus 1:25 hidden track at the end, an extended version of the original hidden track) Joe South 17:20
15th anniversary Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Raagy One (Waiting for Tomorrow)" 4:27
15."Tattva"Mills, Bevan, Darlington, Winterhart3:59
16."Into the Deep" (unreleased John Leckie version)Mills, Bevan4:45
17."Red Balloon (Vishnu's Eyes)"Tim Hardin3:42
18."Hush" ("Hush" is 2:58; plus 1:25 hidden track at the end, an extended version of the original hidden track)Joe South12:53

Personnel

Kula Shaker

Guest musicians

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for K
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] 2× Platinum600,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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