Sure, it doesn’t contain a massive explosion like their classic version of Chip Taylor’s “Wild Thing” from their first LP From Nowhere…The Troggs, but there are gems throughout here. That’s unfair and without a doubt this album is due for reexamination. Unfortunately it is almost always slagged off by critics as being lazy, uninspired and without hits. This was the second record by the great British garage psych band. Do yourself a favor and get smoked with this gem of a record. How about the swinging R&B nugget that is “I Wanna Make it With You”? Put that on at your next party and watch the crowd start moving. Or the high octane stomper “Don’t Lead Me On” that echoes The Capitols’ classic “Cool Jerk” released a year before. Marvel at “You Can’t Catch Me’”s jittery guitar with theremin-like stabs that come out of nowhere to hit you right in your sweet spot. It’s a great little beat blaster that will turn your head every time you listen to it. Many of the opinions on this album say there is nothing here that reaches the high of “My Friend Jack” but I disagree. It was a strange occurrence all around for a British band who started out as The Shots before being signed to Columbia Records and changing their name. The kids knew better and against all odds it became a hit, even reaching #2 on the German charts which might explain why this, their only album, was released in Germany and nowhere else. The BBC weren’t and they banned the song along with other stations throughout Europe. Unless of course you were a “square” in 1967 who didn’t understand what exactly those sugar lumps he was eating was. “My Friend Jack”’s stomping beat and tremolo guitar rave also didn’t do much to hide its drug laced lyrics. Pop psych - or beat psych as it’s often labeled - doesn’t get much better than the opening track here. Speaking of the VU, “Keep Your Mind Open,” the most straight up psych song on here, has a guitar melody that sounds strangely similar to “The Black Angel's Death Song.” Could Lou Reed and John Cale have heard this record when they were doing their LA residency? The album ends with the skittish jug band-like version of Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher.” It is a record that sounds like nothing else from this period and even today still delights in its melting pot of sounds. Single “Please” is Byrdsian light country folk popping up underneath sounds resembling parts of the Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning”, which hadn’t been released yet. Is that a bouzouki in the middle there? One of the pleasures of this record is trying to figure out or at least be amazed by all the different instruments popping up in each song. Starting off with the aptly titled “Egyptian Garden,” it weaves a chugging rock and roll 4 by 4 with an ethereal Eastern melody. There are about a 1000 different instruments used on this record. It was rock and roll and standards mixed with world music. Kaleidoscope melded many different styles into their debut album. So pull up a chair, turn on, tune in and give this a whirl if you dare. ![]() While strange, its obvious influence on the culture at the time cannot be overstated. Calling this a singular work does not do it justice. It’s a freaky listen and one that the first time I heard it, in college on a “cough cough” trip, scared the bejeezus out of me. Although credited to Leary, it also features vocals from Dr Ralph Metzner, Rosemary Woodruff and Maryvonne Giercarz. Unlike the direct plainspoken narration of the earlier record, this sounds as if the voices are beamed down from somewhere in the stratosphere. Like the earlier release, it is spoken word but with sparse haunting mostly guitar and tabla music over it. Recorded a year later, it was a soundtrack to a documentary. ![]() The second one and the one on this list is a whole different beast. The first one was released in 1966 which is simply a spoken word meditation with Dr Leary’s almost mysterious hushed voice discussing his work and the advantages of “dropping out” and expanding your mind.
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