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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
Kula Shaker had made their appearance in the British tabloids (more than in the charts) with the exuberant 60s psychedelia of the singles Grateful When You're Dead (though its vigorous soul-rock guitar and organ riffs, roaring vocals, and syncopated cadences were just a happy accident) and Tattva (a snippet of late-Beatles techniques, march-like chorus, classical counterpoint, and lysergic effects).
Mindful of so many "next big things" that were buried within a few months, the record company wisely decided to have them record an album, K (Columbia, 1996), while the tabloids were still hot off the press.
The brashness of Hey Dude (brilliant funky rhythm, cocky rap, rough garage-style chorus) gives a sense of what the Stone Roses might sound like awake. The pounding keyboards and thunderous riff of Knight On The Town summon the ghost of The Who. Smart Dogs makes liberal use of classic signifiers, from Merseybeat choruses to martial cadences, from fiery guitar to soulful organ.
Among the many tributes to Indian music (including the bands name), Govinda stands out as a faithful imitation of contemporary Indian light music. Also notable is the combination in Temple Of Everlasting Light, that whirl of flamenco dissolving into a raga while the rhythm section mimics tabla. The transcendent aspirations, however, serve merely to borrow a few exotic sounds.
The skill of the four musicians is undeniable. Paul Winters tribal rhythms drive constantly and are almost always at the forefront. Jay Darlingtons organ is ever-present in the background with atmospheric lines and retro timbres. These two instruments alone are enough to make the sound dense. Crispian Mills has clearly memorized all the guitar classics, from Hendrix to Clapton, and his genius lies in quoting each for a second while still sounding fluid and cohesive.
Its not nostalgia, and its not necrophilia. Simply another example of opportunistic Brit-pop.
(Original English text by Piero Scaruffi)
Peasants Pigs And Astronauts (Columbia, 1999) is another brilliant
exercise in not playing what they claim they are playing. Sure,
Great Hosannah si propelled by a terrific
Stone Roses dance-psychedelic shuffle and boasts
impressive counterpoints of gospel, organ choir and even Indian tablas,
but ultimately it's the catchy refrain that "sells" the song.
Mystical Machine Gun opens with a solemn Indian hymn that turns into
a mock orchestral ouverture, and soon delves into a reggae-tinted fanfare
soaring in a noisy refrain in crescendo,
as creative as the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour.
Kula Shaker are master of retro-pop, craftmen of stereotype-laden tracks
that sound like a collector's cut-ups of records of the past
(isn't SOS a rip-off of the Jethro Tull's Living In The Past?)
108 Battles is a summation of vocal harmonies styles of the Sixties
(over a bluesy instrumental jam).
No doubt some sleights of hand conjure fantastic transformations.
The pounding rhythm, layered instruments and Beatles vocal harmonies
turn on itself the gentle folk tune of Shower Your Love into an
epic mini-symphony.
But when the band takes off the caricaturist hat and tries to come up
with an original persona, the music sounds just plain unremarkable,
half-baked world-music (the 12-minute Golden Avatar ought to be the
least inspired hare krishna track ever)
or, worse, second-rate soul-jazz ballads.
Crispian Mills later formed Jeevas, that released
1-2-3-4 (Cowboy Musik, 2003), with a less retro` and more mature sound.
Strange Folk (2008) was embarrassing even by their embarrassing standards.
Every single element (lyrics, melodies, playing, arrangements) is awful.
And what is not awful is simply copied from the classics of the 1960s.
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