The Blackwood Apology
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1968-69) - Ron Beckman -- bass - Dennis Craswell
-- drums, percussion, vocals
supporting musicians: - Greg Maland -- keyboards, pipe organ
line up 2 (1969) NEW
- Dick Hedland -- bass (replaced Ron Backman) NEW - Dick Rees -- keyboards (replaced Greg Maland) NEW- Scott Sandsby -- drums, percussion (replaced Dennis Caswell)
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- The Avanties (Greg Maland) - The Best Things (Dale Menten and Ron Beckman) - The Bradleys (Greg Maland) - The Castaways (Denny Caswell) - Crow (Denny Caswell) - Gregory Dee and the Avanties (Greg Maland) - Dudley and the Do-Rytes (Dennis Libby and Tom Husting) - The Gestures (Dale Menten) - The Mad Hatters (Dale Menten) - Dale Menten (solo efforts) - Dale Menten & The Live Bait Band (Dale Menten) - Seraphic Street Sounds (Dale Menten) - The Shambles (Dale Menten)
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: House of Leather Company: Fontana Catalog:
SRF 67591 Country/State: Minnesota Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: uni-sleeve Available: 2 Catalog ID: 2435 Price: $20.00 |
You couldn't be blamed if you didn't believe the back story on this one ...
Blackwood Apology was the product of Minnesota-based guitarist Dale Menten. Menten had been a member of The Gesture who scored a big hit with their first single:
- 1964's 'Run, Run, Run' b/w 'It Seems To Me' (Soma catalog number 1417)
Somewhere in the ensuing long dark Minnesota nights Merten came up with the idea of a rock opera set in a Civil War era house of ill repute. As if that concept wasn't strange enough, the whorehouse just happened to have a munitions plant in the basement, with the product being used to support Union war efforts. To record his concept Menten recruited former Castaways members Dennis Craswell and Dennis Libby, along with bassist Ron Beckman and guitarist Tom Husting, and keyboardist Bruce Pedalty.
Menten and company somehow attracted the attention of Fontana Records which green-lighted the project. Teamed with producer Skeet Bushor, "House of Leather" is definitely an acquired taste. As mentioned, the album was intended as a concept, though having listened to it dozens of times over the years, I still don't have a clear understanding of the plotline, or the underlying themes. I'll readily admit to my intellectual shallowness ... Against that backdrop, I've been forced to enjoy the album for the musical content which bounced between Association-styled pop ('Sarah’s On Her Knees'), to acid-tinged hard rock moves ('Here I Am'). With Menten responsible for penning virtually the entire set, the song structure was too fragmented to make this a great album, but there were quite a few selections that stood on their own and were memorable. One of the most interesting tunes, 'Time Marches On' sounded like a mash-up of The Association and Queen. As mentioned, 'Here I Am' was the album's most conventional rocker and would have sounded good on an FM play list. Kicked along by a melody Ron Beckman bass line, 'Death And Reality' underscored Menten's knack for penning catchy melodies.
Be forewarned, this was one of those albums that didn't have an immediate impact on me. I remember giving it a couple of spins; not thinking much of it, and actually selling two copies I had. It wasn't until a couple of years later when I stumbled on a copy at a yard sale and decided to give it another shot that the album registered with me.
"House of
Leather" track listing: 1.) Medley: (Dale Menten) - 2:06 i.) Swanee River Overture rating: ** stars Hum, The Association take on an American classic ... What did I buy? ii.) House Of Leather Theme rating: **** stars And
just when you started to wonder why you'd plunked down your hard earned cash
for this obscurity, 'House of Leather' kicked in with a nifty dose of fuzz
guitar, organ, and lysergic harmony vocals. Much more like it. Opening
up with dome church organ and pretty acoustic guitar moves,, about a minute
in the tune shifted into a distinctive Beach Boys direction. Nice
Menten lead guitar solo and wonderful harmony vocals which were apparently
intended to clure you in that this was happening in a bordello.. Know
idea how this fit into the plotline and the playground sound effects were a
bit off-putting, but this one literally dripped with lysergic influences.
It was also interesting for the quick nod to The Castaways 'Liar, Liar.' Opening
up with some surprisingly engaging jazzy guitar and organ moves,
'Graduates Of Mrs. Grim’s Learning'
shifted into a fuzz powered ballad. Once again, the lyrics didn't do
much to clarify the plotline for me (I'm guessing the namesake was the
bordello owner), but the tune was pretty rocking. Musically
'There Is Love In The Country ' may have been the album's most mainstream
and commercial tune. Imagine Davy Jones and the Monkees severely
dosed and you'd get a feel for this one. Nice melody (including
the brief not to 'Dixie') and Caswell's martial drumming was interesting. My
favorite performance on the album, kicked along by Menten's blazing guitar,
Uriah Heep-styled organ, and some to-die-for harmony vocals, 'Here
I Am' was an out-and-out rocker that would have sounded nifty on FM radio. Opening
up with what sounded like something pulled off an album of Greek balalaika
music, 'She Lives with Me' was la pretty, if brief, harmony-rich
ballad. Ultimately too short to make much of an impression. Side one ended with a nice continuation of 'There’s Love In The Country (On The Donny Brooks Farm)'. Interesting mash-up of op and psych influences.
(side 2) 1.) Time Marches On (Dale Menten) - 5:23 rating: **** stars Interesting
ballad that offered up a nice mixture of a Freddie Mercury-styled lead vocal
(seriously), a nifty pop melody, and just enough touch of progressive moves
to make it another album highlight. Kicked
along by Menten's driving fuzz guitar, the instrumental
'Dixie And The War' sounded like a studio
jam session, but with a nice melody and harmony vocals kicking in towards
the end. Sporting
a nice Ron Beckman bass line, 'Death
and Reality' was one of the album's prettiest melodies, spotlighting the
band's sterling harmony vocals. like most of the album, the lyrics
have always been a puzzle - lots of death and pain.
rating: **** stars Pretty
acoustic ballad that again brought out the group's Association-styled
pop-psych colorings. In spite of the title, 'Theme From House Of Leather (Epilogue In Suede)' opened with a 'Swanee River' refrain that merged into an organ power 'Dixie' segment; followed by some of Menten's excellent fuzz guitar work.
Menten was interested in touring the album, but the rest of the band passed at the opportunity. In response Menten recruited a group of musicians which hit the road under the abbreviated nameplate "Blackwood."
With the album attracting decent reviews, if few sales, Menten collaborated with playwright Frederick Gaines to adapt album as a stage play. The resulting show ran at Minnesota's Cricket Theater with a revamped version of The Blackwood Apology providing the accompanying music. In 1970 the production moved to New York, but ran into a wide array of problems, including pressure to "sex up" the plotline. After being killed by the critics, the play closed after one off-Broadway performance. Capitol Records apparently planned on releasing a soundtrack, but the project was quickly shelved.
I also read online that Menten wrote a follow-on show entitled "Seventh Indiana Calvary" which had a plotline to do with Wounded Knee. The show actually briefly saw the stage at St. Paul's Crawford-Livingstone Theater.
With a brief mention of the album, Menten has a small website at: http://www.mentenmusic.com/index.html
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