Kaleidoscope is one of
Les Baxter's earliest 12" albums, an instrumental platter that contains the hits "Blue Tango," "Ruby," "Gigi," "The High and the Mighty," and one of his biggest, "April in Portugal." Even though
Baxter's
Tamboo! and "Quiet Village" were yet to come,
Kaleidoscope shows his abiding interest in international music and instrumentation that contributed to the exotica craze. Most of the songs are drawn from international sources with the exception of four Hollywood film themes. "Atlantis" foreshadows
Baxter's 1957 album
Skins! with its emphasis on percussion, while "Julie" is straight orchestral pop with a wordless chorus.
Kaleidoscope lacks the cohesion of his thematic albums because of its wide mixture of styles, but that is not surprising since most of these songs are taken from previously released singles.