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Kasabian (album)

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Kasabian
Studio album by
Kasabian
Released6 September 2004
Recorded2004
Genre
Length53:16
Label
Producer
Kasabian chronology
Kasabian
(2004) 		Empire
(2006)
Singles from Kasabian
  1. "Reason Is Treason"
    Released: 23 February 2004
  2. "Club Foot"
    Released: 10 May 2004
  3. "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)"
    Released: 9 August 2004
  4. "Processed Beats"
    Released: 18 September 2004
  5. "Cutt Off"
    Released: 3 January 2005

Kasabian is the debut studio album by British rock[5] band Kasabian, released on 6 September 2004. The album's highest chart position on the UK Albums Chart was number 4, making it the band's only studio album not to reach number one. Five singles were released from Kasabian.

This is the only full album to feature the lead guitarist and lead songwriter Christopher Karloff, who left the band during the recording sessions of their next album, Empire. The album features a rotating cast of drummers, with full-time drummer Ian Matthews joining the band after the release of the album.

Release

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Different geographical regions had different colours for their album cover. The British version is black and white, the European import is black and red, and the American version is black and blue. The Japanese "Ultimate Version" is silver and white. The UK limited edition version is a double-sided DualDisc and has a glow-in-the-dark cover. The DVD element contains a making-of documentary and several music videos.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. In the United States and Canada it uses the MediaMax CD-3 system.

The Canadian version of the album does not contain the songs "Orange", "Pinch Roller" and "Ovary Stripe", with the exception of digital releases.

Composition

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Tracks

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The opening track "Club Foot" features a signature distorted bass riff, played by Christopher Karloff and features "a quilt of relentless beats, hissing electronic noises, buzzing guitar and Tom Meighan's breathless, menacing vocals", and lyrics inspired by the Iraq War.[6] "Processed Beats", one of eventual drummer Ian Matthews' two contributions to the album has been compared to The Stone Roses with its "shambolic beat" and unison chorus from Meighan and Pizzorno.[7] "Reason is Treason" was branded as an "indie rock seducer", with a sound resembling "Stereolab backing Ian Brown".[8] 

"L.S.F (Lost Souls Forever)" features prominent use of the electronic instrument Omnichord, played by Karloff and was described as featuring "massive backswells of low-end punch overlaid with Tom Meighan's monotonic snarl and Sergio Pizzorno's swirling guitars and electronics."[9] "Test Transmission", the first of two songs to feature Pizzorno on lead vocals was branded as "prog rock danced in baggy jeans"[8] and "Chemical Brothers-esque psychedelic electronica".[10] Noted for its opening lyric 'John was a scientist, he was hooked on LSD',[11][12] the fifth and final single "Cutt Off" "pitches space-age synths to the sort of psycho-babble only usually risked by Orb".[10]

"Butcher Blues" was described as "cinematic"[8] and featuring "hazy dissolves, tube station announcement vocals, and head-nodding electronic percussion".[7] After the instrumental track "Ovary Stripe", "U Boat" closes out the album, featuring Pizzorno's vocals over "layered organic and electronic bliss",[7] resulting in "space rock meeting angst rock".[8] After a long gap, a hidden track plays, the Jacknife Lee remix of "Reason is Treason".

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[15]
The Guardian[4]
The Irish Times[3]
Mojo[16]
NME7/10[2]
Pitchfork5.2/10[17]
Q[18]
Rolling Stone[19]
Uncut[1]

Kasabian received generally favourable reviews but music critics were mixed on the band's mixture of alternative rock and electronica. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, based on 21 reviews.[13]

AllMusic's David Jeffries praised the album for its take on different rock genres and compared them favourably to The Stone Roses and Tangerine Dream, saying that "Painting them as rock's saviors just makes the overly ambitious moments of the album look all that much bigger."[14] Paul Moody of NME praised the album for its aggressive instrumentals and space rock sound resembling that of The Libertines. He singled out "Test Transmission" as the standout track, calling it "an indication that once they've purged the violent tendencies, a future as space-rockers in the Spiritualized mould awaits."[2] Betty Clarke of The Guardian praised the album's overall sound for resembling baggy music, saying that it "sums up Kasabian's affection for experimentation of every description."[4]

Johnny Loftus, writing for Pitchfork, commended the album's high-energy tracks for containing production that will grab listeners' attention but felt that it loses steam in places and will send said listeners away to better records that inspired it, concluding that "Kasabian is brash, loutish, and seems liable at times to cut you; the consistent kick drum beat throughout it is like a great party's heartbeat. But like the roustabout in the corner, drinking all the lager and scratching up your old records, it can be more loudmouthed than substantial."[17] Tom Edwards of Drowned in Sound criticized the album's songs for lacking any hooks and nuances to grab the listener's attention concluding with, "Sure this album may well sound awesome if you've just snorted a metre of charlie or recently breakfasted from a menu of 'shrooms and LSD, but for sober ears it's enough to drive anyone to drugs."[20] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone criticized the band for filling the album with half-baked ideas based on influences from Happy Mondays and Primal Scream, saying that "Kasabian make the mistake of trying to be revolutionary by quoting revolutionaries."[19]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Sergio Pizzorno; all music is composed by Pizzorno and Christopher Karloff

No.TitleLength
1."Club Foot"3:34
2."Processed Beats"3:08
3."Reason Is Treason"4:35
4."I.D."4:47
5."Orange"0:46
6."L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)"3:17
7."Running Battle"4:15
8."Test Transmission"3:55
9."Pinch Roller"1:13
10."Cutt Off"4:38
11."Butcher Blues"4:28
12."Ovary Stripe"3:50
13."U Boat" ("U Boat" ends at 04:07, continues with hidden track "Reason Is Treason (Jacknife Lee Version)", which begins at 07:07)10:51
Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Reason Is Treason" (Video) 
2."Club Foot" (Video) 
3."L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" (Video) 
4."Club Foot" (Making of) 
5."L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" (Making of) 
6."Field of Dreams" (Documentary) 
Japan Only Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Club Foot" (Jagz Kooner Vocal Mix)3:19
15."Sand Clit"3:57
16."55" (Live from Brixton Academy)4:26
17."Out of Space" (The Prodigy cover) (Live Lounge Version)2:28
18."The Duke"3:37
19."Bang"9:49
Japan Only Bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Club Foot" (Live from Brixton Academy) 
2."2004 Tour Documentary" 
German Limited Edition Bonus Disc
No.TitleLength
1."L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)"3:17
2."Lab Twat"3:20
3."Doctor Zapp"3:34
4."L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" (Jagz Kooner Mix Edit)3:13
5."L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" (Music Video)3:50

Personnel

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Adapted from the Kasabian liner notes.[21]

  • Tom Meighan – lead vocals (tracks 1–4, 6, 7, 10, 11), backing vocals (tracks 8, 13)
  • Sergio Pizzorno – rhythm guitar (tracks 1–4, 6–8, 10–13), synths (all tracks), lead vocals (tracks 8, 13), vocals (track 3), backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10–12)
  • Christopher Karloff – lead guitar (tracks 1–4, 6–8, 10–13), synths (all tracks), omnichord (tracks 2–4, 6, 10–12), bass (tracks 1, 3, 8)
  • Chris Edwards – bass (tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 10–13)
  • Ian Matthews – drums (tracks 2, 11)
  • Ryan Glover – drums (tracks 3, 8)
  • Daniel Ralph Martin – drums (tracks 6, 10)
  • Mitch Glover – drums (track 12)

Production

  • Kasabian – production
  • Jim Abbiss – additional production and mixing (tracks 1–4, 6–8, 10–13)
  • Barny – mixing and engineering (tracks 5, 9), mix engineer (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13)
  • Damian Taylor – programming (tracks 6, 11)
  • John Dent – mastering
  • Simon Corkin – design, illustration
  • Jill Furmanovsky – band photography

Charts and certifications

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Kasabian – Kasabian". Uncut (89). October 2004. Archived from the original on 20 December 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Moody, Paul (4 October 2004). "Kasabian : Kasabian". NME. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b Carroll, Jim (3 September 2004). "Kasabian: Kasabian (RCA)". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Clarke, Betty (3 September 2004). "Kasabian, Kasabian". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Kasabian's Serge: I'm no indie boy". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. September 2011.
  6. ^ "mtv.com - News - Kasabian Mix Big Riffs And Dance Beats To Make Noisy Love During War". MTV. 18 April 2005. Archived from the original on 18 April 2005. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Kasabian: Kasabian". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Kasabian - Kasabian | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 16 April 2024
  9. ^ Loftus, Johnny (3 November 2004). "Kasabian". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  10. ^ a b "NME Album Reviews - Kasabian : Kasabian - NME.COM". NME. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  11. ^ "We're going to blow people away". The Telegraph. 6 January 2005. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  12. ^ Clarke, Betty (3 September 2004). "Kasabian, Kasabian". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Reviews for Kasabian by Kasabian". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  14. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Kasabian – Kasabian". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  15. ^ Divola, Barry (11 March 2005). "Kasabian: Kasabian". Entertainment Weekly. p. 104.
  16. ^ "Kasabian: Kasabian". Mojo (131): 97. October 2004.
  17. ^ a b Loftus, Johnny (23 November 2004). "Kasabian: Kasabian". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  18. ^ "Kasabian: Kasabian". Q (218): 111. September 2004.
  19. ^ a b Walters, Barry (10 March 2005). "Kasabian: Kasabian". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  20. ^ Edwards, Tom (10 September 2004). "Kasabian – Kasabian". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  21. ^ Kasabian (liner notes). Kasabian. RCA Records. 2004. 82876 63838 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kasabian – Kasabian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  23. ^ "Lescharts.com – Kasabian – Kasabian". Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 4, 2005". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  25. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Kasabian – Kasabian". Hung Medien.
  26. ^ https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/326500/products/559279/1/
  27. ^ "Kasabian | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  28. ^ "Kasabian Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  29. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2004". officialcharts.com.
  30. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2005". officialcharts.com.
  31. ^ "2006 UK Albums Chart" (PDF). ChartsPlus. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  32. ^ Hanley, James (17 March 2017). "Kasabian announce new album and UK tour". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  33. ^ "British album certifications – Kasabian – Kasabian". British Phonographic Industry.
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