Kaleidoscope - Faintly Blowing (1969) [Special edition] (2005)

For their second album, Kaleidoscope delivered something an awful lot like their debut, a body of pleasant, trippy, spacy raga-rock, with the main difference that they pushed the wattage a little harder on their instruments -- they'd also been performing pretty extensively by the time of their second long-player, and a lot of the music here was material that they'd worked out on-stage in very solid versions. The result is a record just as pretty as their debut but a little punchier and more exciting within each song than their first album. The title track is also one of the more beautiful psychedelic effects pieces of its period, while "A Story from Tom Bitz" is crunchy folk-rock, "(Love Song) For Annie" represents a more lyrical brand of druggy folk-rock, and "If You So Wish" shifts over to Moody Blues-style ballad territory circa late 1968 and early 1969.

The bonus tracks on this CD are, in some ways, more consistent and accessible than much of the original album -- made up of their chronologically related single sides of the same period, they show off the most accessible and commercial side of Kaleidoscope, with the emphasis on catchy hooks and choruses, and a little less experimentation. The two Philips-issued sides, "Let the World Wash In" and "Medieval Masquerade," are also entertaining incognito pieces showing off their musicianship, the latter offering Kaleidoscope working under the name I Luv Wight, with the latter instrumental showing them stepping into Amazing Blondel territory..