Kaleidoscope: (British Band) Discography

 

Kaleidoscope was an English psychedelic rock band from London that originally were active between 1967 and 1970. The band's songs combined the elements of psychedelia with whimsical lyrics. Having performed since 1963 under the name The Sidekicks, they became The Key in

November 1965, before settling upon the name Kaleidoscope when they signed a deal with Fontana Records in January 1967 with the help of the music publisher Dick Leahy. The group consisted of Eddy Pumer on guitar, Steve Clark on bass and flute, and Danny Bridgman on drums and the vocalist Peter Daltrey, who also played various keyboard instruments. Most of the band's songs were compositions of Pumer's music and Daltrey's lyrics. While the group did not achieve major commercial success in its time, it retains a loyal fan base and its recordings are still held in high regard.
                      

No relation to the far better known American Kaleidoscope, though this British group was also psychedelic, and was active at almost exactly the same time in the late '60s. Highly esteemed by

some collectors, Kaleidoscope epitomized certain of the more precious traits of British psychedelia with their fairy-tale lyrics and gentle, swirling folky sound. At times they sound like a far more melodic and accessible Incredible String Band. Their folky ballads have aged best, and although there's some period charm to be found throughout their two albums, it's all a bit too cloying to rank among the finest unknown psychedelia. Although they had a solid underground reputation in Britain, they never found wide success, and evolved into a similar group, Fairfield Parlour, by the end of the '60s.
                    

In 1967 Tangerine Dream—also produced by Dick Leahy—was released. The album included "Flight From Ashiya", "Please Excuse My Face" and "Dive into Yesterday," now considered some of the band's best songs. Meanwhile, the band performed live on several BBC radio shows. A new single was

released in 1968 called "Jenny Artichoke" (b/w "Just How Much You Are"), inspired by Donovan's, "Jennifer Juniper". After the release the band traveled around Europe, supporting Country Joe and the Fish at the Amsterdam Concert Hall while in Netherlands. Faintly Blowing, also produced by Leahy, was released in 1969 by Fontana Records. This time the band's sound was heavier, but the tracks still included psychedelic elements with striking lyrics but it failed to reach the charts. After the failure of Faintly Blowing, they released two more singles.
                      

By the end of the decade, failing with their last single "Balloon", the band moved on with their new manager, DJ David Symonds, whom they met during the BBC sessions, under the name

Fairfield Parlour, with the same lineup. Although now called a progressive rock band, their music did not change much, still including fairy-tale lyrics with psychedelic harmony. The band's first single as Fairfield Parlour, "Bordeaux Rosé", was released on 17 April 1970 on the Vertigo label. It got a considerable amount of radio airplay, but failed to chart. After releasing several singles, the album From Home to Home was released on 14 August 1970 with Symonds' production. 

                         
While the band was getting ready to release the album, they again used another name for themselves, I Luv Wight, as they were asked to record the theme song for the Isle of Wight Festival, "Let the

World Wash in", which was released a week after the album From Home to Home. They made the opening for the festival as Fairfield Parlour. The band's fourth album, White Faced Lady, which they financed independently, was recorded in Morgan Studios in London. Attempts at finding a record company failed and the album was shelved until 1991 when it was released under the name Kaleidoscope on an independent label. The band's last appearance in the early days was at a concert in Bremen, Germany, in 1972.

LINE - UP

                     

Eddy Pumer – lead guitar and organ (born Kenneth Edmund Pumer, 7 October 1947, Woolwich, South East London, died 21 September 2020)
Steve Clark – bass and flute (born in 1946, died 1 May 1999 Chelsea Bridge, South West London)
Danny Bridgman – drums (born Daniel Bridgman in 1947)
Peter Daltrey – lead vocals and organ (born Peter James Daltrey, 25 March 1946, Bow, East London)
                         

KALEIDOSCOPE - FURTHER REFLECTIONS - THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1967-1969)
                      

Kaleidoscope – Further Reflections - The Complete Recordings 1967-1969
Label: Grapefruit Records – CRSEG023D
Format: 2 x CD, Compilation, Stereo, Mono
Country: UK
Released: 2012
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Pop Rock

DISC 1. TANGERINE DREAM 1967

                      

Tangerine Dream is Kaleidoscope's debut album released by Fontana Records on 24 November 1967. Despite the group’s following, good reviews and radio play it failed to reach the charts. It is considered a classic psychedelic album and has been compared to Nirvana's The Story of Simon Simopath and

Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Peter Daltrey, lead singer of the band was asked about the lyrics and the music of the album, and he wrote the following statement in the sleeve notes: "The collective subject of our songs is simple, life and people. We have written our songs about you. Happy people, sad people, lovely people and a few confused people. We have written of the children, of the king and his queen, and we have also included a few words about ourselves, about our lives, about our loves and about our dreams". 

TRACKS   

        

       

01 .Kaleidoscope    2:13
02. Please Excuse My Face    2:08
03. Dive Into Yesterday    4:44
04. Mr. Small, The Watch Repairer Man    2:40
05. Flight From Ashiya    2:38
06. The Murder Of Lewis Tollani    2:45
07. (Further Reflections) In The Room Of Percussion    3:17
08. Dear Nellie Goodrich    2:45
09. Holidaymaker    2:27
10. A Lesson, Perhaps    2:39
11. The Sky Children    7:59

BONUS TRACKS       
    
12. Flight From Ashiya (Single Version)    2:38
13. Holiday Maker (Single Mix)    2:27
14. A Dream For Julie    2:45
15. Please Excuse My Face (Single Mix)    2:08
16. J enny Artichoke    2:34
17. Just How Much You Are    2:11

NOTES

Tracks 1 to 11 from Kaleidoscope - Tangerine Dream
Tracks 12 and 13 from Kaleidoscope - Flight From Ashiya
Tracks 14 and 15 from Kaleidoscope - A Dream For Julie
Tracks 16 and 17 from Kaleidoscope - Jenny Artichoke

MP3 @ 320 Size: 209 MB
Flac  Size: 451 MB

DISC 2. FAINTLY BLOWING    1969

                

  

Faintly Blowing is Kaleidoscope's second studio album released by Fontana Records in April 1969.

Though not as popular as the U.S. Kaleidoscope, this British band was also a band from the psychedelic movement with moderate domestic success, and just enough international exposure to have this album recognized in the genre's catalogue and regarded as one of the best in the same. 

TRACKS

                     

01. Faintly Blowing    4:07
02. Poem    2:53
03. Snapdragon    2:42
04. Story From Tom Bitz    3:45
05. (Love Song) For Annie    2:33
06. If You So Wish    3:40
07. Opinion    0:18
08. Bless The Executioner    2:58
09. Black Fjord    3:13
10. The Feathered Tiger    5:09
11. I'll Kiss You Once    0:57
12. Music    6:08

BONUS TRACKS       
    
13. Do It Again For Jeffrey    3:14
14. Poem (Single Mix)    2:52
15. Balloon    2:18
16. If You So Wish (Single Mix)    3:40

SPECIAL BONUS TRACKS   
    
17. I Luv Wight – Let The World Wash In    4:11
18. I Luv Wight – Mediaeval Masquerade    4:41

I LUV WIGHT

I Luv Wight was a confusing twist to the already confusing discography of the British psychedelic band Kaleidoscope. In 1970, just after Kaleidoscope changed their name to Fairfield Parlour, they recorded a single for Philips, "Let the World Wash In"/"Medieval Masquerade," under the pseudonym of I Luv

Wight. A typical hippie-ish folk psych-pop Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Parlour composition, the A-side was intended as the theme song for the Isle of Wight festival that year. Adding to its cumbersome details, although it was written by Peter Daltrey and Eddie Pumer of Fairfield Parlour, it was credited to the pseudonyms Newens and Baker. However, it was not used as the festival's theme after all. Both "Let the World Wash In" and the B-side, the instrumental "Medieval Masquerade," were reissued as bonus tracks on the double-CD set The Fairfield Parlour Years, which includes both Fairfield Parlour albums.

NOTES

Tracks 1 to 12 from Kaleidoscope - Faintly Blowing
Tracks 13 and 14 from Kaleidoscope - Do It Again For Jeffrey
Tracks 15 and 16 from Kaleidoscope - Balloon
Tracks 17 and 18 from I Luv Wight

MP3 @ 320 Size: 222 MB
Flac  Size: 417 MB

 
KALEIDOSCOPE - WHITE FACED LADY 1971

                            

White Faced Lady is an album by UK band Kaleidoscope (who by this time were calling themselves Fairfield Parlour). It is a concept album that tells the story of a pale-skinned girl named Angel, from her troubled youth to her sudden rise to fame as a movie star to her tragic decline and

untimely death. Reportedly, it was inspired by the life of Marilyn Monroe, and indeed the final track name-checks Marilyn and Arthur Miller. As a rock opera, it follows the example of The Pretty Things' S. F. Sorrow rather than The Who's Tommy, with the liner notes telling the complete story and the songs expounding on key events. Many of the songs are tied together by brief musical segues. The band worked on the album privately from 1970 to 1971. They had a deal in place to deliver the finished album to a record label for distribution, but the deal suddenly dissolved. The album went unreleased until 1991.
                      

Kaleidoscope – White Faced Lady
Label: Repertoire Records – REPUK 1124
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2009
Country: UK
Released: 1971
Genre: Rock
Style: Prog Rock

TRACKS

                          

01. Overture    2:47
02. Broken Mirrors    2:49
03. Angel's Song: "Dear Elvis Presley..."    2:38
04. Nursey, Nursey    3:47
05. Small Song - Heaven In The Back Row    3:21
06. Burning Bright    2:03
07. The Matchseller    3:50
08. The Coronation Of The Fledgling    2:14
09. All Hail To The Hero    3:09
10. White-Faced Lady    4:46
11. Freefall    5:13
12. Standing    1:47
13. Diary Song: The Indian Head    4:24
14. Song From Jon    7:51
15. Long Way Down    4:05
16. The Locket    2:58
17. Picture With Conversation    3:38
18. Epitaph: Angel    7:54

MP3 @ 320 Size: 168 MB
Flac  Size: 427 MB

FAIRFIELD PARLOUR - FROM HOME TO HOME 1970

                            

From Home to Home is a 1970 album by the English prog-rock group Fairfield Parlour. In 2000 was re-released as double longplay album by "Burning Airlines" and marketed in 2001 by "Get Back" only in Italy.  From Home to Home is quite similar to the albums this group had put out in the late '60s as the Kaleidoscope (the British Kaleidoscope. In fact, it's similar enough to the Kaleidoscope records to make

one wonder why they bothered to change their name. Perhaps there is more polish and sophistication in the production, and a slightly heavier rock sound. But the focus is still gentle, story-like songs with debts to both late-'60s Pink Floyd and late-'60s Beatles, though the songs are not nearly as memorable as the work by those bands, and there is not nearly as much balance between chipper and somber material as the Beatles and Pink Floyd mustered. (Fairfield Parlour are heavily tilted toward the cheery tunes.) Tasteful early synthesizer is heard from time to time, and the debts to 1969 Beatles are heard in the Leslie amplification effects, though there are acoustic folk-psych passages with flute, too.
             

Fairfield Parlour – From Home To Home
Label: Burning Airlines – Pilot 56a
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2000
Country: UK
Released: 1970
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock

TRACKS

                       

01. Aries    3:19
02. In My Box    1:59
03. By Your Bedside    2:34
04. Soldier Of The Flesh    3:37
05. I Will Always Feel The Same    1:46
06. Free    4:16
07. Emily    5:15
08. Chalk On The Wall    1:04
09. The Glorious House Of Arthur    2:44
10. Monkey    2:19
11. Sunny Side Circus    2:42
12. Drummer Boy Of Shiloh    3:15

BONUS TRACKS           

13. Bordeaux Rose    2:37
14. Chalk On The Wall (Mono Single Version)    1:04
15. Just Another Day    2:33
16. Caraminda    1:59
17. I Am All The Animals    1:02
18. Song For You    1:18
19. Bordeaux Rose (Alternate Version)    4:22
20. Baby Stay For Tonight    3:03
21. Eye Witness   4:45
22. Let The World Wash In (As I Luv Wight)  3:02

MP3 @ 320 Size:146  MB
Flac  Size: 408 MB