The band membership included David Lindley, who later released numerous solo albums and won additional renown as a multi-instrumentalist session musician, and Chris Darrow who later performed and recorded with a number of groups including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Lindley was an experienced performer on a variety of stringed instruments, notably the banjo, winning the Topanga Canyon Banjo Contest several years in a row in the early 1960s. While studying at La Salle High School in Pasadena, California, he formed his first group, the Mad Mountain Ramblers, who performed around the Los Angeles folk clubs. There, he met Darrow, who was a member of a rival group, the Re-Organized Dry City Players.
Soon afterwards, around 1964, the pair formed a new group, the Dry City Scat Band, which also included fiddle player Richard Greene (later of Seatrain), but Darrow soon left to set up a new rock group, the Floggs. Lindley also began forming his own electric group. In the course of this he met Feldthouse, who had been raised in Turkey and, on returning to the US, had performed flamenco music and as an accompanist to belly dancing groups. Lindley and Feldthouse then began performing as a duo, David and Solomon, when they met Chester Crill. They invited him to join their band, and by the end of 1966 added Darrow and drummer John Vidican, so forming the Kaleidoscope.
Incredible! Kaleidoscope is Kaleidoscope's third album. The line-up had changed, with original bassist Chris Darrow and drummer John Vidican replaced by Stuart Brotman and Paul Lagos. It was the only Kaleidoscope album to chart, reaching number 139 on Billboard, and it's still remembered fondly by members of the band, especially David Lindley.
Incredible! (1969) was the combo's third album and first to boast contributions from newest members Stuart Brotman (bass/vocals) and Paul Lagos (percussion), flanking David Lindley (guitar/banjo/violin/vocals), Solomon Feldthouse (guitar/oud/clarinet/saz/jumbas/vocals), and Chester Crill (harmonica/violin/organ/vocal). In the absence of Chris Darrow's commanding songwriting, each member projected himself into the material, which adopts a discernible country-rock lilt accompanying Kaleidoscope's established Eastern-informed psychedelia.
Nowhere do the two seemingly disparate styles fuse as effortlessly as the upbeat opener, "Lie to Me." Similarly the rural feel of "Let the Good Love Flow" could be easily mistaken for the New Riders of the Purple Sage or Commander Cody, with Lindley pulling off a convincing faux steel guitar lead. On the other side of the spectrum is the funky workout on Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor," as it slithers and slides around Lagos' solid rhythm.
The bayou-tinged "Petite Fleur" hearkens to a sound the band explored on the cover of Doug Kershaw's "Louisiana Man" from their previous long-player, A Beacon from Mars. The appropriately titled "Banjo" provides Lindley with a vehicle for his remarkable virtuosity, likewise adding stimulation from Feldthouse's strong East-meets-West vibe. The traditional "Cuckoo" is one of Kaleidoscope's heavier numbers, reinforcing Lagos' muscular interjections.
The album concludes with the lengthy and adeptly crafted "Seven-Ate Sweet," a reference to the time signature of the 11-plus-minute instrumental. It offers nothing short of a consistently inspired example of the power and prowess within this incarnation.
Track listing
1. "Lie to Me" (Lindley, Feldthouse, Brotman, Lagos, Parcely) - 2:47
2. "Let the Good Love Flow" (Smith, Lindley) - 2:11
3. "Killing Floor (aka Tempe Arizona)" (Chester Burnett) - 2:44
4. "Petite Fleur" (Lindley, Feldthouse, Brotman, Lagos, Parcely) - 3:31
5. "Banjo" (Lindley) - 3:34
6. "Cuckoo" (Traditional; arranged by Kaleidoscope) - 4:16
7. "Seven-Ate Sweet" (Lindley, Feldthouse, Brotman, Lagos, Parcely) - 11:31
Personnel
- David Lindley – guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin
- Stuart Brotman – bass, vocals
- Solomon Feldthouse – vocals, saz, bouzouki, oud, dulcimer, guitar, jumbus
- Chester Crill (as Templeton Parcely) – violin, organ, vocals; also (appearing as "special guest Max Buda") harmonica
- Paul Lagos – drums, percussion, vocals
- Violin [Lead], Organ, Vocals – Templeton Parcely
Companies, etc.
- Produced For – Wednesday's Child Productions
- Published By – Hagg Music
- Mastered At – Customatrix
- Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman
- Manufactured By – Epic Records
Credits
- Arranged By – Kaleidoscope
- Design – Richard Mantel
- Engineer – Bob Breault
- Liner Notes – Tom Donahue, Tom Donahue
- Photography – Ivan Nagy
- Producer – Jackie Mills
Notes
Released: June 1969
Recorded: 1968, 1969
Genre: Folk, psychedelic rock, country, Arabic
Length: 30:39
Label - Epic Records
No comments:
Post a Comment