Biography
The history of Fairfield Parlour remains short yet perplexing, given that the ensemble essentially mirrored the British group Kaleidoscope, distinct from the similarly named psychedelic outfit hailing from California during that period. Near the start of the 1970s the band adopted the Fairfield Parlour name while retaining its signature whimsical, fairy-tale blend of harmony-laden pop, rock, and folk, colored by the psychedelic touches of late-’60s Beatles and Pink Floyd. On Vertigo they released the 1970 album From Home to Home, extending the earlier Kaleidoscope approach through somewhat weightier rock settings. Soon afterward the musicians began shaping a double-LP concept work titled White Faced Lady, centered on a troubled young woman’s rise to movie stardom and subsequent tragic downfall. Negotiations to move the project to RCA collapsed after their key label contact left the company, so the album stayed unreleased until the 1990s. Two decades later, in 2000, the double-CD set The Fairfield Parlour Years appeared, credited confusingly under the Kaleidoscope banner; it paired From Home to Home with White Faced Lady and added bonus material drawn from non-album singles and additional sources.