I've not written many opinions on Ciao yet, so whilst deciding what I could write about, I decided a trip through my record collection would do me good, music being more likely to inspire me than the latest episode of the Tweenies. Then a thought came to me....why don't I actually review the CDs in my collection? Then I thought....no, nobody will be interested in what I have to say about some mid-90s indie band who half of them have probably never heard of (unfortunately, these sorts of bands form the majority of my collection). So I looked through the entertainment section, into music, and into albums, and found to my delight that there was in fact a wealth of reviews for nearly all the albums I possess, so I thought at least someone might be interested. So here's the first CD up for inspection, one of my personal favourites, "K" by Kula Shaker.....

So thats enough of the history, you're here to learn about the album (I hope). K was Kula Shaker's first album, released in 1996, at the height of Britpop-mania. At the time the album was a breath of fresh air when compared to most of the music we were listening to, and in my opinion it is as fresh now as it was back then. It has a totally distinctive sound, which is the mixture of the music of bands like Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead and the Beatles, combined with a very strong Eastern influence, creating an altogether magical listening experience. I'll run through the tracks with you so you have a better idea of what the album is like.........

4:Govinda: If you were wary about track three, you'll probably loathe this. You may well have heard it before, either as a single back in whenever ('97 I think) or more likely being ridiculed on Goodness Gracious Me. Forget Indian influence, this could just as well be an authentic Indian chant......but it works. There is something very beautiful about the song....the combination of birdsong with the sitar (or something) and the female vocals (supplied by Gauri, as I am told in the sleeve). The male vocals and electric guitars soon disturb the peace, but the song retains it's Indianity (is that a word?) throughout and provides the listener with a calming experience. What I haven't mentioned is that the whole song is sung in another language (is it Indian? Tell me if you know) which is the reason you are likely to be cynical about it. And whenever people get cynical about a song, they ignore the real beauty and get critical right away (read my Coldplay review to see what I mean). If you choose to give the album a go, please listen to this track before dismissing it as rubbish....although you probably will anyway.

13:Hollow Man: Starts with a nice bit of piano music, which makes a change from all the guitars, before progressing into a slow, almost country and western sound, which then turns into a more depressing, melancholy piece of music, and then into almost Gospel territory (for the full on Kula-Gospel experience, get the second album). A good end to the album, and if you wait ages you can hear some man's voice........who? what? why? No idea........