Kaleidoscope - Tangerine Dream
Cherry People - Cherry People

Kaleidoscope (the British one) may have detected the oncoming psychedelic era with their band name and titles, but stylistically (at least this early) they were still dominated by the pop of the mid 60s and present a series of very short and upbeat 2-3 minute pieces that are so happy you’ll either be drawing smilies for the next hour on your notebook or using the disc as the bottom of your shoe. I tend to love some of the bubblegum psych from the era, but this reminds more of bands like Gerry and the Pacemakers, Herman’s Hermits, The Dave Clark Five and the like, all of which were, at least initially, precursors to psychedelia. It’s almost the same for the Cherry People across the Atlantic, similar influences yet starting to get that bit of LA that ended up spawning the Monkees or maybe the Beach Boys. Very little of this is of initial interest, and while they don’t seem to have their faces frozen in clownlike grimaces like Kaleidoscope, the results fall in about the same category, basically two very forgettable 60s era pop groups whose songs never really caught on before the Beatles went in and changed the game. 

Edgar Broughton Band - Sing Brother Sing

And on the other other end of the 60s musical spectrum we have heavy, freakout outfit Edgar Broughton Band who can resemble anything from early Black Sabbath-like riffrock to bizarre Captain Beefheart-like bluesrock all wrapped in a certain, almost theatrical sensibility. They’re truly a creative force that had a very British festival circuit sort of feel, I can imagine them on bills with Hawkwind, Man, Arthur Brown and others, playing to hillsides of very stoned British hippies. This version of Sing Brother Sing seems packed with extra tracks and the like, so by the end of it all, one will likely to be exhausted unless you’re already familiar with the group’s music. Pretty exhilirating music by a versatile group.