Kaleidoscope: “The Sky Children” (1967)
Settle in, children. It’s time for psychedelic folk hour. Smoke ’em if you got ’em.
Kaleidoscope, who later morphed into Fairfield Parlour (Songs You May Have Missed #113) were fancifully dressed purveyors of trippy, fantasy-laced–if compositionally repetitive–music with a strong purple streak. Exactly like Nicki Minaj, come to think of it.
Not only was 1967 the height of the Beatles’ influence on popular music, but J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings became a cultural phenomenon at about the same time. British folk and rock acts like Donovan, The Moody Blues, and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd soaked up the vibe of both. And Kaleidoscope were no different.
“The Sky Children” in fact bears strong resemblance to two Donovan tracks…
the wondrous “Legend of a Girl Child Linda”
…and the gentle ballad “Voyage of the Moon”
If you’re a fan of fantasy and narrative folk song (and have a decent attention span) you’ll appreciate both. If you’re not, they make a nice introduction, along with “Sky Children”, to a genre that’s about as far removed from contemporary pop as Nicki is from sensible clothes.
…and the children stayed children/and they lived in their dreams…
Every Moment Has A Song 