Kaleidoscope (American band)
| Kaleidoscope | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Psychedelic rock |
| founding | 1963, 1976 |
| resolution | 1970, 1976 |
| Founding members | |
| Solomon Feldthouse | |
| David Lindley | |
| Chris Darrow (until 1968, 1976) | |
| Charles Chester Crill | |
| John Vidican (until 1968) | |
| former members | |
| Stuart Brotman (1968-1969, 1976) | |
| Rob Johnson (1969-1970) | |
| Paul Lagos (from 1968) | |
| Jeff Kaplan (1969-1970) | |
| Richard Aplan (1970) | |
Kaleidoscope was an American psychedelic rock band from the 1960s . The group around guitarist David Lindley mixed elements of acid rock with Cajun music - and blues - as well as Arab-Asian elements in their songs . In addition to the typical rock instruments, the musicians also used violins , banjos and mandolins . However, only their LP Incredible Kaleidoscope in 1969 was granted a small commercial success.
history
Kaleidoscope originated in California from David Lindley's band The Rodents. He initially called the new formation The Baghdad Blues Band. Thanks to the renaming to Kaleidoscope and a busy producer , the band got a recording deal with Epic Records in 1966 . At the time it consisted of Lindley (banjo, guitar, violin), Solomon Feldthouse (vocals, guitars, kazoo), Chris Darrow (mandolin, bass), Charles Chester Crill (harmonica, keyboards, violin) and John Vidican (drums). With this line-up, the band recorded three singles and two LPs . She was also the backing band on Leonard Cohen's debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen (first published in Dec. 1967, with the song Suzanne ).
In 1967 they played at the Berkeley Folk Festival . The band was also unusual as a rock band because they could play music by jazz musicians like Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington and also built it into their repertoire.
Her piece Stranger in Your City / Beacon from Mars (1967), which was recorded live in the studio , had an impact on other rock musicians. Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin admired Lindley's controlled feedback solo.
Darrow joined the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1968 and was replaced by Stuart Brotman. Paul Lagos came on drums for Vidican. This rhythm section played on Incredible Kaleidoscope . With this line-up, the band could also be heard at the Newport Folk Festival in 1969, and on the original soundtrack of the film Zabriskie Point , for which they recorded two songs.
Another album followed in March 1970, for which the band in Great Britain was renamed American Kaleidoscope to avoid confusion with the British band of the same name, and on which Jeff Kaplan was responsible for guitar and vocals as another band member. The British band of the same name Kaleidoscope was active around the same time (1964-1970) and also played psychedelic rock.
The band split in late 1970. Lindley then worked with Terry Reid and as a session musician for Warren Zevon , Maria Muldaur , America , Linda Ronstadt and many more. In 1976 there was a brief reunion of Kaleidoscope; Brotman, Buda, Darrow, Feldthouse, Lagos, Templeton Parceley recorded the album When Scopes Collide . After the renewed separation, David Lindley also made a name for himself as a solo artist. His collaboration with Ry Cooder ( Paris, Texas ) is particularly well known.
Crill and Darrow organized a second reunion fourteen years later. The album Greetings from Kartoonistan (We Ain't Dead Yet) (and on it Brotman's impressive instrumental Klezmer Suite ) was recorded with the same cast; Lindley was invited but didn't want to participate.
Discography
Albums
- 1967: Side trips
- 1968: A Beacon from Mars
- 1969: Incredible! Kaleidoscope
- 1970: Bernice
- 1977: When Scopes Collide
- 1983: Bacon from Mars (1967-1969) (compilation)
- 1984: Rampé Rampé (Rarities compilation)
- 1993: Blues from Baghdad - The Very Best of Kaleidoscope (compilation)
- 1990/2003: Greetings from Kartoonistan (We Ain't Dead Yet)
- also two tracks on the original soundtrack for the film Zabriskie Point (1969)
Singles
- 1966: Please / Elevator Man
- 1967: Why Try / Little Orphan Annie
- 1967: I Found Out / Rampé Rampé
- 1967: Nobody / B-side by Larry Williams & Johnny "Guitar" Watson
- 1968: Hello Trouble / Just a Taste
- 1969: Killing Floor / Lie to Me
literature
- MC Strong: The Great Rock Discography. 3. Edition. Canongate Press et al. a., Edinburgh 1996, ISBN 0-86241-604-3 , p. 448.
- Anthony Reynolds: Leonard Cohen - An Extraordinary Life. Bosworth Music - The Music Sales Group, 2011, ISBN 978-3-86543-649-8 , pp. 84-87.