COVER NOTES
The search for musical expression utilizing electricity has gone on almost since the invention of electricity. Most of us remember hearing electronic music for the first time in the film of The Lost Weekend when the Theremin-an early electronic instrument whose pitch was affected by hand positioning in relation to a linear control apparatus-was used so vividly to express the alcoholic delusions of Charles Jacksons unfortunate hero
The present Perrey/Kingsley album-KALEIDOSCOPIC VIBRATIONS-and the first-THE SOUND FROM WAY OUT-are premier recordings utilizing electronic music in the popular field. the main electronic instrument used is the MOOG SYNTHESIZER whose facilities are capable of producing almost any combination of sounds within the range-and indeed,the credibility-of the human ear. The other instrument employed is the JENNY ONDIOLINE
KALEIDOSCOPIC VARIATIONS is a collection of some of the best known contemporary melodies as well as a generous selection of Perrey/Kingsley originals lending themselves uniquely to electronic composition and arrangement. A birds chorus celebrates the end of the rainfall in Umbrellas;such birds have never been heard before the invention of the ondioline. Those Strangers in the Night cough and wheeze asthmatically as they exchange their secret glances. Fallout, a P/K original, suggests an interplanetary proliferation in sound such as would be impossible to achieve with conventional instrumentation
And so it goes. Here are more than a bakers dozen of sonic experiences designed to amuse,surprise and delicate an adventurous musical palate
The duo's second album, as the title indicates, had them adding a Moog synthesizer to their Ondioline and electric keyboards. It was still largely devoted to kitschy electro treatments of standards on the order of "Strangers in the Night," "Lover's Concerto," "Third Man Theme," "Winchester Cathedral," and "Moon River." There was more of a sense of pop orchestration on selections like "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and the eerie "Carousel of the Planets," with their theremin-like tones; there were also rock beats on "Lover's Concerto" and "Pioneers of the Stars," the last of which didn't sound too far removed from the futuristic instrumentals of Joe Meek proteges the Tornados. The entire album was included on the Vanguard Perrey-Kingsley box set The Out Sound From Way In! The Complete Vanguard Recordings.
Review by Richie Unterberger
1 The Savers 1:43
2 Umbrellas of Cherbourg 2:42
3 Strangers in the Night 2:56
4 One Note Samba-Spanish Flea 2:03
5 Lover's Concerto 2:11
6 Third Man Theme 2:09
7 Fallout 1:54
8 Baroque Hoedown 2:24
9 Winchester Cathedral 2:14
10 Carousel of the Planets 2:39
11 Toy Balloons 2:04
12 Moon River 2:38
13 Mas Que Nada 2:19
14 Pioneers of the Stars 2:46
And the best for last I found this review on the net somewhere. It just sums this album up perfectly credit to the reviewer
This may or may not have been a highly serious and seminal work of it's day - it's hard to tell - but now it's hilarious.
Perrey and Kingsley have a ball, squeezing the most fantastical belches, farts, squiggles and squirts out of the newly invented Moog synthesiser and splatting them merrily all over Moog instrumental covers of standard songs of the day.
Excellent.
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