During the 1960s, there were actually a couple of different psychedelic rock bands known as Kaleidoscope: one from America, and one from Britain. Tonight, I’m going to be listening to the British band known as Kaleidoscope. In particular their first album using the Kaleidoscope name, which is known as Tangerine Dream (1967). Today, the album is considered a classic psychedelic rock album, and has been compared to other albums like Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). Though the album is considered a classic today, and the good reviews and radio attention the album received, the album didn’t actually make the charts. I’m pretty excited to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Kaleidoscope” starts with some delicate, bright, and plucky acoustic guitar, followed by some gentle vocals. Oh wow, the guitar fades away and is replaced by some piano playing the same melody, and then is joined by some psychedelic pop/rock guitar work and a groovy beat. The sound really reminds me a lot of the sounds of pop and rock from 1967. Great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Please Excuse My Face” starts out gently with some really sweet, folksy acoustic guitar set to a gentle beat, while a chorus of sweet vocals gently wave into the soundscape and create a gentle psychedelic element in the track. Super sweet tune.
“Dive Into Yesterday” starts out with some rapid picking of a guitar with a good amount of twang, creating a sort of psychedelic garage rock sound with a guitar style that seems to incorporate styles of some of the earlier rock guitarists like Link Wray or Duane Eddy. Holy smokes, the tune changes up a ton into a super sweet melodic section with a big sounding drum and the raining in of sweet guitar notes that when combined almost sound like a modern indie rock band. I’m really digging this track so far. The really melodic section almost has a math rock type of vibe that’s pulling me even further into the listening experience. I really dig the mixture of different twangy and melodic movements in this particular song. Great track.
“Mr. Small, the Watch Repairer Man” starts with someone playing a recorder, which is soon followed by an interesting beat and a mixture of what sound to be horns of some sort. There’s a really interesting whimsical sound in this track that I’m really digging, like a sort of high school marching band meets a local fair of some sort. The track sort of reminds me of a sort of garage rock/pop version of something from The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Flight From Ashiya” begins with a really interesting folksy movement that feels somewhat influenced by raga. Oh wow, the song seems to venture into some sort of darker psychedelic territory set to a folksy march. I’m really digging the interesting blend of psychedelia, pop, and folk elements in this song. Great tune.
“The Murder of Lewis Tollani” starts out with some big bass drums that sound like a heartbeat, which is soon joined by some electric guitar that has flavors of something along the lines of a pop-oriented garage rock, while some interesting spacey sound effects seem to enter and exit the soundscape. I really dig the upbeat chorus of the tune too. Super sweet track.
“(Further Reflections) In the Room of Percussion” starts with some really groovy psychedelic pop guitar that reminds me of The Beatles’ Revolver (1966), or some of their singles like “Rain” (1966). I’m really digging this track so far. Oh wow, there’s some spacey sound effects at one point that seem to evoke stronger feelings of psychedelia. I really dig the chorus of this track as well, which seems to break through to even more flavors reminiscent of The Beatles’ “Rain”. Wow, great track.
“Dear Nellie Goodrich” begins with some gentle acoustic guitar that right away reminds me of some of the folk guitarists like Bert Jansch in the British folk revival movement from the mid-to-late 1960s. Oh wow, some really bright piano enters the soundscape, and reminds me a lot of Van Dyke Parks’ album, Song Cycle (1967). I’m really digging the bright pop flavors while still having a distinct psychedelic pop/rock groove. In my experience, a lot of psychedelic pop songs can become very bright and venture into sunshine pop territory, but Kaleidoscope firmly sticks to psychedelic pop and psychedelic rock without really venturing into that sunshine pop territory. Great track.
Oh wow, “Holidaymaker” starts out with some really interesting sound effects of what sounds to be some recordings from a beach, and then gets grooving into a really sweet psychedelic pop movement that includes some really interesting horns that seem to match the pop flavors produced by the band really nicely. Super sweet track.
Holy smokes, “A Lesson Perhaps” starts out with a super folksy acoustic guitar chord, and is soon joined by a narration of what sounds to be an old English fable, spoken by someone with an English accent. The acoustic guitar continues on in what seems to be a traditional British folksy style. I’m really digging the direction this track is taking, both as a song by itself and for the album as a whole. Wow, great track.
“The Sky Children” starts out with a really groovy mixture of folk and psychedelic pop flavors. I’m really digging this track already, and I can really understand why the album is considered a classic by many today. The upbeat pop flavors meld nicely with the different folk elements for a really groovy psychedelic pop flavor. The guitar never seems to venture very far from the position the player is playing in, but the different variations in the playing continue to keep me listening closer. There’s a really melty instrument, either a guitar or a keyboard, which accentuates the rhythm guitar chords really nicely. Oh wow, there’s a vocal line in this track that catches my ear really nicely. I’m really digging the storytelling aspect of this track, which brings about what seems to be a classic folktale in a folksy psychedelic pop soundscape. Oh wow, the track sets up expectations and gradually diverts from them in a manner that’s keeping me more and more interested as the music continues. Wow, great track, and a great way to finish the listening experience that is this album.
Holy smokes, this album is sweet. I mentioned it at least once while writing my live reactions to the album, but I understand how this album could be considered a classic psychedelic record. As a fan of The Beatles, I really dug the guitar work throughout the album, which reminded me a lot of both Rubber Soul (1965) as well as Revolver (1966) with the psychedelic pop and folk flavors throughout. I also really enjoyed that the album truly felt like a psychedelic pop record, which sometimes ventured into psychedelic rock territory, but never really into sunshine pop territory. Sunshine pop is enjoyable in its own right, but hearing an album that reminds me of the psychedelic pop stylings of The Beatles is super sweet. If you’re into psychedelic pop at all, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A