Maybe this will also balance this out a bit. For one reason or another, I find Kaleidoscope playing in my house/car all the time that I'm really sick of it but still want to hear it over and over. I think it's still my least favorite or third favorite TA album, but I really do like it.
It's not as good as the other albums only because the title track is not as cohesive and interconnected- it feels just a little disjointed. Then Into The Blue is great, but just too slow to be as good as the other 25 min songs. Also, I really hate all the vague, meaningless (as in the lyricist may have had a meaning but it is not expressed well through the lyrics in a logical or precise way) lyrics that I think come mostly from Stolt that are worst on Kaleidoscope. Just a ton of "they"s and "evil ways" and telling not showing of really broad concepts. Luckily he makes up for it with his incredible singing style, so I find myself listening to (and imitating) the Black Gold section and BATS constantly anyway.
But really-
"There is no place to hot to mine the blackest gold
You gave her birth and now you watch her growing old
If life is leaving tomorrow, we'll turn our backs to all sorrow
And in a dancing ghost town, that's the end of story"
It may very well have a meaning, but nothing that is possible to be derived from just the music and lyrics themselves. Unless I'm really missing something, these aren't something that is poetic or just takes time to decipher (like say Lifting Shadows or something), rather, they're just vague and poetic like someone broadly stating something about not falling into superficial desires. Theres no direction for these lyrics other than that broad topic.
But anyway, I do love this album.
Ranking:
Kaleidoscope
Into the Blue / BATS (considering their lengths, one is a 23/25, and one is a 5.5/6 so they both rank like 92% - hope that makes sense) (Also ITB might raise higher than BATS on some days, I'm not sure)
Beyond the Sun
Shine