KALEIDOSCOPE Tangerine Dream (Fontana (S)TL 5448) 11/67
‘One of the best albums to come from a new group lately. The songs are good and catchy, and given a sophisticated enough treatment to make them sound very current’ (Record Mirror, 01/12/67)
‘A young and widely-praised British group. Title is fitting, as all the self-penned tracks follow a dream pattern. Could easily be labelled pretentious, but nevertheless worth an intent listen’ (Disc & Music Echo, 02/12/67)
‘Lightweight fairytale music and narration, heavily influenced by literature like Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings creations, even down to the sleevenotes’ (Melody Maker, 09/12/67)
‘This is it! Kaleidoscope have presented us with a masterpiece for their first LP. Their fantastic single didn’t make it, but this will set that to rights – quality like this just can’t go unnoticed. Every track would make a better single than 90% of the present Top 30… The sounds on this record are shifting colours, settling for a moment into a beautiful stained-glass pattern, then shifting again into a fresh and still more beautiful pattern. All wondrous stuff’ (Intro, 16/12/67)
Kaleidoscope | Kaleidoscope | Fontana | 1967
Seemingly out of nowhere, Kaleidoscope appeared on the scene with a debut LP that, in retrospect, is one of the masterpieces of Britain’s early psych era. Like the Hollies‘ two great albums from the same period, this is beat music examining the potential of psychedelia with the curiosity of a gifted child, powered by a fearless and upbeat zeitgeist. The album has no weaknesses: the songwriting and arrangements are terrific, the vocals are good, the balance between melody, mood and experiment is ideal, and even the recording quality is top-notch. This is the sound of 1967. (PL)
Tangerine Dream‘s status as one of the most praised and beloved albums of the psych era is well deserved. It’s a brilliant collection of wonderfully crafted, creatively produced songs, brimming with clever ideas, lovely melodies, sparkling guitars and memorable lyrics. It has the most childlike feel of the major psych classics. Indeed, heard out of context, the eight minute closer ‘The Sky Children’ sounds like the centrepiece of a children’s album, not an adult rock record. Yet it fits beautifully with the rest, even the nightmare scenario ‘Flight From Ashiya’ and the equally disturbing ‘In The Room Of Percussion’ ‘My God, the spiders are everywhere!”.
The singing isn’t quite perfect throughout, which may or may not be a valid criticism (some will say it has more personality than an album full of perfect harmonies). I think it contributes to the overall feel of another world being represented, something furthered not only by the horror and child-fantasy songs, but even the old-fashioned story-songs about watch repairers and people named Lewis and Nellie. Like most of the best concept albums, Tangerine Dream creates its own world, and transports the listener there for an enthralling 40 minutes. (AM)
Kaleidoscope – ’Kaleidoscope’ / ‘Dear Nellie Goodrich’ (Fontana STL 5448) 1967
Fontana missed a trick by not releasing the pure psychedelic pop perfection of “Kaleidoscope” as a single. This memorable tune would have been unbeatable in the Summer of 1967, not only promoting the talent of the group but creating trippy patterns in listeners minds with the group’s moniker.
More imaginary singles:
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