K (album)

K is the debut album by 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.[11] The album reached the #1 position in the UK charts, however in America it stalled at #200 in the Billboard charts.

K
Studio album by
Kula Shaker
Released16 September 1996 (UK)
22 October 1996 (US)
RecordedJanuary–May 1996
StudioEden, RAK, Townhouse, Chipping Norton, Livingston, The Pierce Room, Wessex, Maison Rouge, Eastcote Studios
GenrePsychedelic rock, raga rock, Britpop
Length48:51 (not including 13:04 silence)
LabelColumbia
ProducerJohn Leckie, Shep & Dodge, Crispian Mills
Kula Shaker chronology
K
(1996)		 Summer Sun E.P.
(1997)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Alternative Press5/5[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
The Guardian[4]
NME9/10[5]
Q[6]
Record Collector[7]
Uncut[8]
USA Today[9]
The Village VoiceC[10]

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.

It was voted number 879 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[12]

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., 2 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 Hardin3:42
17."Hush" ("Hush" is 2:58; plus 1:25 hidden track at the end, an extended version of the original hidden track)Joe South17:20
15th Anniversary Japanese Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Raagy One (Waiting for Tomorrow)" 4:27
15."Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix)"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

  • Wajahat Kahn - sarod (on "Sleeping Jiva")
  • Himangsu Goswami - tabla (on "Govinda" and "Jerry Was There")
  • Gauri - backing vocals (on "Govinda")
  • The Kick Horns - horns (on "Start All Over")

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "K – Kula Shaker". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  2. "Kula Shaker: K". Alternative Press. No. 124. January 1997. p. 73.
  3. Pepper, Tracey (25 October 1996). "K". Entertainment Weekly. p. 116. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  4. Sullivan, Caroline (20 September 1996). "Kula Shaker: K (Columbia)". The Guardian.
  5. Patterson, Sylvia (14 September 1996). "Kula Shaker – K". NME. p. 50. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  6. Cranna, Ian (October 1996). "Kula Shaker: K". Q. No. 121. p. 165.
  7. Tuscadero, Inky (Christmas 2011). "Kula Shaker – K". Record Collector. No. 396. p. 95. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  8. "Kula Shaker: K". Uncut. p. 90. Their 1996's debut, K, is still a good pop-rock LP... 'Hey Dude' remains an enjoyable period rock song.
  9. Gundersen, Edna (26 November 1996). "Kula Shaker, K". USA Today. Archived from the original on 5 May 1999. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  10. Christgau, Robert (3 December 1996). "Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  11. "Kula Shaker Classic Rock Archive". Classic Rock. March 2000. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  12. Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 270. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  • K at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
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