TANGERINE DREAM

THE SETTING:

So I take one look at the album cover, don my crushed velvet loons and kaftan, weave some flowers in my hair and light a joss-stick...

On first listen, this is light, throwaway pop psychedelia, and it's easy to see why it sold in such low quantities - and hence is so incredibly rare. Think of the black and white video of Spinal Tap in their earliest incarnation singing "Listen to the Flower People", and you've just about got it.

So it seems to be a complete joke at the expense of record collectors - because the humour in the delivery seems almost non existent - the sincerity makes your jaw drop, aghast, and the lightweight music makes you think of Barrett Pink Floyd without the overdrive.

But then you listen again, and things start popping out at you. You listen again, and your attention is even more strongly held - and so it goes on. For this is an album crammed with subtleties almost hidden behind songs that border on the twee, but in actual fact are full of poetic depth and disturbing imagery.

In the year that saw "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band", "Piper At The Gates of Dawn" and "Forever Changes" (among others), it's not hard to see how this gem got overlooked.

The character of this album is peculiarly English - in much the same way that "Piper..." is, but different... kind of musty, and filled with visions of middle class Victorian houses with manicured lawns and slightly overgrown borders, tea and cakes at 4, that sort of thing - giving more a warped yet perspicacious view of a solid reality, than some befuddled LSD-fuelled fantasy.

It's not really Prog Rock - but it IS incredibly progressive, even for 1967, when everything was progressive for the time, or so it seems.

THE MUSIC:

The introduction gives little clue as to the nature of the song that will follow; "Relax your eyes, for after all, we can but share these minutes", over an urgent "tick tocking" guitar... but then it all goes kinda Pete Tong. "Kaleidoscope, kaliedoscope, kaleida...". All very quaint and archetypally flower power - and that is it's strength.

The highlight of this track is the drumming, which has some superb "moments", but the overall arrangement is subtle, and the details are easily missed.

But it gets better... Much better. I'd guess the main issue here is that the opening track sets you off in the wrong direction, and every track can end up sounding like a dippy hippy tree-hug fest.

But "Tangerine Dream" is an album to discover, little bit by little bit - you simply need to allow the music to breadcrumb you into the depths of the forest, never to return...

"Please Excuse My Face" is an entertaining psychedelic pop tune, distinguished by the intro, which is remarkably similar to "Old Friends (Bookends Theme)" by Simon and Garfunkel. The open, airy arrangement is pleasing - but there are several songs by Love, The Byrds and Jefferson Airplane that are more imaginative and progressive.

"Dive Into Yesterday" is a lot more like it - possibly because by now I'm longing fo rsomething even half overdriven - with an imaginative introduction, nice drive and odd overall arrangement - largely caused, it would seem, by a bassist who is not too sure of what's happening, man. The riffing is cool, and there are some nice production touches and tangible psychedelic madness. Again, the drumming particularly stands out.

At 2:00 there are references to the lyrics of "Kaleidoscope", maintaining a subtle continuity that is easily missed, and around 2:55 there is a nice surprise - a return to the introduction of "Kaleidoscope", then some nice Floyd style development - along the lines of "The Gnome", but with some seriously odd experimentation on the guitar. The scooping attack on the word "Dive..." gives added propulsion to the most interesting track so far - although why water pistols should be filled with lemonade, and why that shuold interest the jester and the goldfish I'm still not sure...

"Mr Small The Watch Repairer Man" has even more production details verging on psychedelic (reefer?) madness - and quite insane drumming - it's like the stops are being slowly pulled out further and further as the album progressses. The vocals are practlcally Syd Barrett to a T.

"Flight From Ashiya" is much more experimental in terms of structure, with bass pedals a plenty to up the drama - and I get flavours of the Small Faces' "Ogden's Nut Gone", with added Nut Gone... A wall of sound is produced with a jangling Byrds-style guitar propelling the whole artifice in a disturbingly controlled way to the edge of oblivion.

"The murder of Lewis Tollani" begins with a drum heartbeat, then the story is narrated over slithering guitars - this is no ordinary song. For the next verse, the guitars undulate uncomfortably, and pauses add tension to the drama. This use of space in the music is what makes this really stand out.

"(Further Reflections) In the Room Of Percussion" seems like a return to standard song form - I was hoping for some great things from the very talented and precise Danny Bridgman, but this is, nonetheless, an enjoyable but very dark song; "My God - the spiders are everywhere!!!".

"Dear Nellie Goodrich" and "Holiday Maker" are great entertaining and startlingly observant songs, with more hidden depths, and "A Lesson Perhaps" is a poignant story of the King with no Kingdom, told in an appropriate style, with nice Mediaeval-flavoured guitar accompaniement.

But it's the 8:00 "The Sky Children" that I really wanted to get stuck into - all Proggers like the long tracks ;o). This is a strong that's very strong in melody - which is fortunate, as it's also very well endowed with lyrics...

For this song, a lyric sheet is very helpful for the first few listens, as it helps you realise that this is an incredibly well constructed and orcestrated piece, and highlights the main difference between Kaleidoscope and other 1960s psychedelic bands.

As for the bonus tracks, the MONO mixes are nicely dynamic and give a better feel of the impact the songs could have had, but for the competition, "Dream For Julie" (Julia Dream?) is a kind of heavy dance song with some odd jangly arrangements that really work and gives the song an edge that takes it well out of the 1960s and into the 1970s, "Jenny Artichoke" has more of a Rolling Stones jive flavour to it and "Just How Much You Are" is back in the Byrds folky mould - but far more English and genteel, with a wonderful string arrangement and sumptuous, swirling intstrumentation in the bridge.

THE SUMMARY:

A wonderful, dreamy set of songs with a surprising bite that passes almost unnoticed on the first few listens. The bonus tracks are a nice addition, but the album is best taken in its original form to get a feel for how it was conceived (bearing in mind that some tracks were recorded considerably earlier than the album recording sessions)

This is not an album for those who want "hits", nor is it one for fans of the impossibly complex or crushingly heavy. It's not even real Prog Rock... although we are talking about 1967 here - so it could be...

Definitely one for fans of psychedelia and particularly for those who enjoy discovering the very subtle - and anyone who's actually managed to read this far - hey, if my rambling has kept you interested, trust me on this - the music is more interesting by orders of magnitude than my rantings...

:o)

Not a synth in sight

The music of Kaleidoscope is firmly rooted in the 1960's. It is intensely vocal, with little instrumental development and generally short highly melodic tracks. While the song structures are a little more complex than those of their 60's pop peers, it is with bands such as BARRATT's PINK FLOYD, early STATUS QUO, THE BEE GEES, THE MOODY BLUES and THE BEATLES that their music should be compared. Indeed, albums such as "Sgt Pepper.." and "Revolver" clearly had a strong influence on both the melodies and the lyrics here.

It seems to me that history has been kind, indeed over kind, to Kaleidoscope in terms of the retrospective perception of their influence and originality. While their music is well composed and pleasant to listen to, it is far from progressive. Indeed, if any bands were influenced by Kaleidoscope, it is more likely to be vocal combos such as 10CC and KLAATU. Even the eight minute "The Sky Children" on this album is simply an extended vocal performance, with little variation in the melody.

Now don't get me wrong, this is a fine album. Do not however seek it out hoping to find a Piltdown Man who will provide the link from 60's pop to 70's progressive rock. This album needs to be seen for what it is, sophisticated 60's pop. With that in mind, there is much to enjoy about the album. "Dive into yesterday" features evolving moods, while retaining a similarity to "Arnold Layne". Indeed, "Arnold Layne" is a good reference point for the album, with its offbeat lyrics, simple melody and psychedelic atmosphere.

"Flight for Ashiya", the band's first single, has pleasant high harmonies, but listen more closely and you'll find yourself hearing of a plane crash. Likewise, the less subtly titled "The Murder Of Lewis Tollani", which has an early Moody Blues feel, tells of murder in the night. "Mr. Small The Watch Repaired Man" is reportedly based on a true story relating to the father of one of the band members. The vocals here, as elsewhere, resemble Jonathan King's "Everyone's gone to the moon". One of the nicest tracks is the simple love song "Dear Nellie Goodrich" which moves further into Bee Gees territory.

A number of bonus tracks are included on the CD re-release, including an obvious attempt at finding that elusive hit singe (the band were under pressure from the record label to do so) "Jenny Artichoke". The song has so much in common with the Hollies "Jennifer Eccles" it is not surprising the record buying public ignored it. The brief "Just how much you are" is pleasantly orchestrated, bringing to mind a Herman's Hermit's B side "The most beautiful thing in my life". An obscure reference perhaps, but it gives a good indication of the type of music we have here.

For me, there are many other bands who fit the proto-prog definition far more readily than Kaleidoscope. Yes, there are occasional subtleties to their music, and they were clearly intent on going beyond the three verse three chorus structure of the pure pop bands of their era. The music is simple but enjoyable. As for their place in prog history, for me they simply do not have one.

A very, very, very twee album of quintessentially psychedelic pop-rock, Kaleidoscope's debut album is an enjoyably lightweight slice of English whimsy that was released slap bang in the middle of the late 1960's psychedelic revolution. Similar to the likes of Yes guitarist Steve Howe's former band Tomorrow and the earlier material of both The Move and The Small Faces, 'Tangerine Dream'(an album name coined a little earlier than the more famous German electronic pioneers) is very much an album of it's time. Psychedelic music was, albeit briefly, the popular new fad towards the end of the 1960's but was quickly overtaken by the beginning of the 1970's by both prog and various, more muscular forms of rock music. Indeed, by the time Yes, Genesis, King Crimson et al had got around to unleashing their innovative early-seventies output, Kaleidoscope's brand of fluffy psychedelia already seemed dated, and not even a name-change(to Fairfield Parlour) could help them escape their roots. However, despite a sadly-truncated career, Kaleidoscope are fondly remembered by conoisseurs of psychedelic pop - or popsike as some call it today - and 'Tangerine Dream' showcased a talented group who managed to combine catchy pop choruses with genuinely psychedelic effects, such as Eastern-tinged modalities, sitar-esque guitars and multi-layered vocal harmonies that gives the material a vibrant edge lacking in many other so-called psychedelic bands from the era. The stand-out tracks include 'Flight From Ashiya', which features some marijuane-soaked guitar tones and was issued as a single(albeit fairly unsuccessfully), and the album's lengthy, eight-minute-plus closer 'The Sky Children', which again features some beautifully- constructed guitar-led choruses(courtesy of lead-guitarist and the group's main composer Eddy Pumer) and a rousing multi-instrument finale. The in-between material is sometimes a bit too simplistic, relying as it does on the boyish vocals of lead-singer Peter Daltrey, but for those interested in the lighter side of psychedelia there is much to cherish. 'Tangerine Dream' does sound very dated, and when compared to the classic American band's of the era - the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and The Grateful Dead - it seems very lightweight. However, multiple listens reveal a confident band at work whose style has often been aped but rarely - for this genre of music at least - bettered. The actual prog elements are few and far between, but it doesn't stop 'Tangerine Dream' from being a slightly-guilty pleasure from a time far, far away when this kind of thing really did seem new and groundbreaking. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

This one's got every cliché in the book from 1967. Very whimsical, light psychedelic music that's vocal heavy. Peter Daltrey's vocals are pretty good - and the double tracking of them reminds me a lot of Syd Barrett . Unlike 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' - this is a far more straightforward album. Don't expect anything groundbreaking.

Quite frankly, once you get past the nice 1967 Edwardian sound that many bands had around this time, it's actually boring, mainly because all the tunes start to sound very similar. The songs are just too simple and the lyrics are hopeless. In saying that, there are two excellent tracks. 'Holiday Maker' is undoubtedly catchy and a definite step up from the preceding tracks. Unfortunately the next tunes 'A Lesson Perhaps & The Sky Children' made me lose the will to live. Instantly forgettable.

Thankfully the best is left till last with the great ' Jenny Artichoke'. I can never get this damn tune out of my head each time I hear it, but it doesn't make up for the ordinariness of what's gone before. Two stars is maybe a bit harsh on this album, but I'm becoming more critical with each review. I'm sure lots of late 60's psychedelia fans would like this. If you like the look of the front cover then that pretty much looks how it sounds.

Give me 'Piper' or 'Saucerful' any day.

Ok, this is proto-prog and it's 1967. The album is a collection of songs without a concept so going track by track is a natural thing to do.

"Kaleidoscope" sounds like the Byrds of Mr. Tambourine Man or Turn, Turn, Turn. I don't know if the guitar is a Rickenbaker but this is how this two minutes song sounds.

"Please Excuse My Face" is a bit more British and with a light psychedelic mood, but in the end it's just a two minutes song made of voice and guitar.

"Dive Into Yesterday" is the first song that's clearly psychedelic. Closer to the Beatles of Sgt Pepper than to Syd Barrett anyway.

"Mr Small The Watch Repairer Man" is on the same mood of the previous. A Barrett theme on a Beatles/Byrds base.

"Flight From Ashiya" is the first track almost floydian (this is the same year of The Piper at the gates of dawn). If they only had a Rick Wright....

"The Murder Of Lewis Tollani" makes me think to the WHO. Of course can make us think to a lot of bands as this album is very stuck into its age. However this is another light psychedelic track, like Arnold Layne was for PF.

"In the Room Of Percussion " is like early Caravan with Robertson at guitar.

"Dear Nellie Goodrich" is another kind of Byrds song.

"Holiday Maker" is opened by seashore/beach sounds and effectively is like the Beatles singing the Beach Boys. However it's a nice short song.

"A Lesson Perhaps" is made of speech over classical guitar. Interesting, the most experimental (the only let's say) track.

Finally a 8 minutes song: "The Sky Children". Very flower-power has a good melody and is different from the rest of the album. In my opinion the only track that's worth a listen.

It's nice thinking that this album can have inspired the band's name to Edgar Froese, but I don't believe so. It can be a documentayr value but there's a lot of stuff from the same era that's surely more interesting. A collector's item.