Kaleidoscope - Bernice (1970)

Kaleidoscope were an American psychedelic band originally active from 1966 to 1970.

Kaleidoscope had released three brilliant and unique albums between 1967 and 1969, but by the end of the decade their enthusiasm and imagination had apparently begun to run out. Solomon Feldhouse and Stuart Brotman both departed, to be replaced by singer-guitarist Jeff Kaplan and bassist Ron Johnston, joining drummer Paul Lagos and multi-instrumentalists David Lindley and Chester Crill (the last two being the only founding members left).

Bernice was no doubt something of a disappointment to many fans, as it lacked the eclectic fusion of genres that made their first three albums so special. Instead it was more of a predictable guitar-driven psychedelic rock record. The instrumentation was still superb throughout, but it didn't really have much to make them stand out from any other rock band of the era.

Following its release the band broke up.

Incredible! (1969) <|> When Scopes Collide (1976)
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Kaleidoscope - Incredible! (1969)

Kaleidoscope were an American psychedelic band originally active from 1966 to 1970.

Before their third album, Kaleidoscope went through a small lineup change. Chris Darrow and John Vidican left, and they were replaced by bassist Stuart Brotman (who had been in an early lineup of Canned Heat) and drummer Paul Lagos. This gave them an excellent new rhythm section which was showcased well on 1969's Incredible! It was another experimental fusion of styles, among them psychedelic rock, folk, blues, country, Cajun, and of course the middle-eastern sounds that surely no other rock band were exploring at the time. It featured a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" and a hard-rocking version of the traditional folk tune "Cuckoo",  alongside some excellent band originals. These included the Cajun tune "Petite Fleur" (sung in French), the instrumental "Banjo" (showcasing David Lindley's banjo skills through an echo unit), and the remarkable "Seven Ate Sweet". This song was not only the highlight of the album, but maybe of the band's entire recording career, an 11-minute middle-eastern-rock fusion in 7/8 time, featuring saz, clarinet and Turkish vocals from Solomon Feldthouse.

Incredible! turned out to be maybe their best album, and as was to be expected, didn't give them any pop success. It did become their highest charting album though, albeit only as #139!

A Beacon From Mars (1968) <|> Bernice (1970)
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Kaleidoscope - A Beacon From Mars (1968)

Kaleidoscope were an American psychedelic band originally active from 1966 to 1970.
 

In early 1968 Kaleidoscope released their second album, following in the footsteps of their innovative debut. A Beacon From Mars took their psychedelic fusion of genres to new levels, featuring folk-rock, psychedelia, blues, traditional folk, country, jazz and middle-easten sounds. Standout covers included Doug Kershaw's "Louisiana Man" and Willie Cobb's "You Don't Love Me". Most notably it featured two songs which stretched to over ten minutes in length - the psychedelic title track and "Taxim", which saw them emersing themselves deep in middle-eastern music. The result was an album even more experimental than their debut, and for that reason it fared even worse on the charts. Nevertheless, it endures today as excellent proof of the band's skill, versatility, and musical daring.

Side Trips (1967) <|> Incredible! (1969)
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Kaleidoscope - Side Trips (1967)

Kaleidoscope were an American psychedelic band originally active from 1966 to 1970.

The aptly-named Kaleidoscope were originally formed by the quintet of David Lindley, Solomon Feldthouse, Chris Darrow, Chester Crill and John Vidican. They emerged from the folk-rock era, but their music stood out from that of their peers for its eclecticism and daring. Most of the members were multi-instrumentalists, and they had a love of all things exotic and unusual. Therefore as well as guitar, bass, drums and keyboards, they also used fiddle, banjo, harmonica, dobro, dulcimer and mandolin, as well as ethnic stringed instruments such as bouzouki, saz, vina, and oud. They also incorporated middle-eastern musical themes into their sound, as well as folk, blues, jug band, country and jazz. Their debut album came out in 1967. Whilst much of Side Trips had a familiar psychedelic folk-rock sound, it was the exotic flourishes that made it stand out, and more importantly how they blended all these disparate influences into a cohesive whole is what made it so strong. The result was one of the most interesting and experimental psychedelic rock albums of the decade, and also a fantastic debut. Not many bands would have started their record with the middle-eastern-sounding "Egyptian Gardens", closed it with a rendition of Cab Calloway's jazz standard "Minnie The Moocher", and made it work.

|> A Beacon From Mars (1968)
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