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 Astoriarecording studio, a houseboat-studio owned by Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour. During production, the album was given the working title of Strangefolk, as lead vocalistCrispian 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 & Astronautsouttake. The full version was eventually released on the anniversary edition of the album as a bonus track.
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]
"Namami Nanda Nandana" (traditional, arranged by Crispian Mills) – 5:12
"Strangefolk" [the original title track] – 5:58
"Stotra" [Hidden track] – 2:22
Disc 2 – "Astronauts Anthology"
"Sound of Love" (Bearsville Studios Session, which became "Sound of Drums") – 6:10
"Avalonia" (B-side) – 2:17
"Golden Avatar" (band demo) – 4:32
"Strangefolk" (band demo) – 5:05
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
^ abcBrown, Tony; Kutner, Jon; Gambaccini, Paul; Warwick, Neil (2000). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 484. ISBN0-7119-7670-8.
