K - Kula Shaker

It's a very thin line between genius and madman. Admittedly quite often this line will wobble about so one minute you are bragging to your peers about how clever you are and the next people are jeering at you from the sidelines. And throwing stuff. But there is a line and cross it at your peril. In the realm of pop music there are three kinds of people; those that can jump over the line, back and forth, apparently at will without it doing any lasting damage to their standing, those that cross it and never return and those that skirt very close to the line -so close that it's never really clear which side they are on.

David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Bjork (who has to be said has built her HQ in madman land and makes only occasional visits to the other side) are blessed with the ability to do what they like without any question or repercussions.

Then there are those that have bounded over the line and were last seen heading over a hill far in the distance. Take Julian Cope, for example, once a front man to Teardrop Explodes composing top pop tunes but last seen writing about lay lines and ancient stones. Not that this is a bad thing, it's just not something that you would associate with a pop genius. And then there is Syd Barrett....... that story has been told many times so I won't add to it here. Yes there are plenty of examples in this category.

And that brings us to the third category, and the topic of today's album blog. You see I was never really sure exactly which side Crispian Mills, the lead singer of the band, stood. On the face of it 'K' by Kula Shaker is very nearly the perfect guitar pop album; melding eastern mythology with indie beats. Songs that are peppered with sitars, strings, pipes as well as more conventional western instruments. The album really is worth listening to. But then there is the other side. The dark side if you like and one that was never really satisfactorily explained. 'K' had been getting rave reviews, became the fastest selling debut since 'Definitely Maybe' and the band were suddenly pushed into the limelight. Then Crispian appeared to press the self destruct button when the NME published an article where he suggested that the swastika was 'a brilliant image'. Hmmmm. Posh boy loses the plot became the headline of choice. Whether this was taken out of context or not, it does cast a huge shadow on Kula Shaker's achievements. Cracking album or a crack pot lead singer? I'll let you decide.