Fairfield Parlour – From Home To Home 1970 (UK, Proto-Progressive Rock)
The English psychedelic quartet Kaleidoscope recorded their first album, Tangerine Dream, in 1967, followed by Faintly Blowing (1969). The group then changed their name to Fairfield Parlour (to avoid confusion with the American band Kaleidoscope) and, with a slightly heavier sound, refocused on progressive rock, releasing From Home To Home for the Vertigo label in 1970. Unfortunately, the musicians failed to achieve success in this field, and the group disbanded in 1972.Throughout the history of music it’s generally out of the norm for a band to change their name, while remaining the same band. It happens when a band splits, or the creative force buggers off and takes the name with him. Or it happens in the early days when a band’s still finding its musical feet and they’ve yet to hit the big time. The Move falls into the category of “band that changed their name but retained the line-up” when they became the Electric Light Orchestra - for the first album, anyway, as does Fairfield Parlour.
Fairfield Parlour had already released two albums as psychedelic-folk rockers, Kaleidoscope - not to be confused with the American psychedelic folk-rock ?!?!? band of the same name, and it was under this new name, in 1970, that they put out From Home to Home.
Eschewing the overt fairy-tale whimsy that had earmarked Kaleidoscope’s two albums, Tangerine Dream and Faintly Blowing, From Home to Home is an altogether more mature offering that favours the folkiness, with psychedelic elements, that was always at the root of their music.
There is also a sad, mournful feel to much of this album, rendered perfectly by Peter Daltrey’s airily haunting vocals. The opener ‘Aries‘, with its bittersweet memories and sense of regret, sets the tone for what follows, reaching its zenith with the majestic ‘Emily’. With a sentiment reminiscent of The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Emily’ manages to evoke sadness in a way that the more famous song falls short.
It’s not all downbeat though, with ‘The Glorious House of Arthur’ making a return to the fairy-tale atmosphere of previous Kaleidoscope ventures and treading the same ground of Arthurian legend as Donovan’s ‘Guinevere’ from his 1966 album, Sunshine Superman. Tracks:
01. Aries — 0:00
02. In My Box — 3:22
03. By Your Bedside — 5:23
04. Soldier Of The Flesh — 7:59
05. I Will Always Feel The Same - 11:39
06. Free - 13:28
07. Emily - 17:47
08. Chalk On The Wall - 23:04
09. Glorious House Of Arthur - 24:11
10. Monkey - 26:59
11. Sunny Side Circus - 29:20
12. Drummer Boy Of Shiloh - 32:04
Bonuses:
13. Just Another Day – 35:22
14. Caraminda – 37:56
15. I Am All The Animals – 39:58
16. Songs For You – 41:00
Personnel:
Peter Daltrey - vocals, piano, mellotron, harpsichord, organ, tambourine Eddy Pumer – vocals, classical, acoustic twelve string and electric guitars, mellotron, organ, harpsichord Steve Clark - bass guitar, flutes Dan Bridgeman -
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