The House Of Love – The House Of Love

Amazingly great groups miss the mark for a variety of reasons, but one of those reasons should never be because an album lacks a title. Such was the case for The House Of Love, who’s initial outing was self titled, as was this, their second release, which also went by the name The Butterfly Album, The Beatles & Stones Album, and if that weren’t enough, it was also referred to as the Fontana Album, which was the name of their recording label.

So they missed the mark with the name thing, that's certainly no big deal. What was a big deal was the sound that came from this unknown band, who found themselves in America in of this outing, where they found their stride and laid claim to a space on the time line of neo-psychedelic music that belongs to them alone. Before the tensions of drugs were to shatter several of the founding , the lineup read thus: Guy Chadwick holding down guitar and vocals, Terry Bickers also on guitar, Chris Groothuizen on bass, Andrea Heukamp pulling double duty with guitar and vocals, along with Pete Evans on Drums. Together these guy gave us some of the very best psychedelic music of all time, perhaps yes, of all time. Simply listen to "In A Room," where I'm breathless just listening to it as I write.

The music is thick, lush, swirling, dark and deep, with a warm resonance that flows into and out of you as the record weaves it's way into your soul. Single notes have the feeling of lasting for minutes, while the lyrics grab a hold and tempt you with their complexity, demanding your attention in a comforting nurturing manner, then go on to caress you from the first to the last chord on this album. There's a contextual flow to this release, drawing deeply from the sounds, visions and sensibilities born from those heady wasted summer days and cool nights of the mid 1960’s, where House of Love have designed a record with those days in mind, yet in doing so, have created a body of work that to my way of thinking, stands equal footing when compared to my fav Beatle album Magical Mystery Tour. It’s easy to forget how good this record is, leaving me fearful of overplaying it, where this release will always have a place of prominence in my music library.

I happened to see House of Love on tour in of this outing, in a comfortably small club in Philadelphia. I managed to speak with them prior to the show and even so, was totally unprepared for what was to unfold on stage.  Swirling guitars meshed together will elegance and precision, blending and infusing with each other as one song moved into the next, all to a driving rhythm that while understated, certainly carried everything forward, where as if that weren't enough, the entire event was set to a dazzling light show that tripped me right back to my days at the Fillmore in San Francisco, reminding me that I was still very young at heart.

Sometimes I have the feeling that I'd been waiting on this album for my entire life, that I simply needed to make it to that point in 1990 to have my dreams realized, where this record unfolds in response to every musical need I could have ever imagined.  

The Beatles and the Stones
Sucked the marrow out of bone
Put the V in Vietnam
The Beatles and the Stones
Made it good to be alone
To be alone ...

*** The vinyl was never released in the States and is a rather pricey affair if one wishes an exceptionally clean copy.

Review by Jenell Kesler