The Glitterhouse -

The Glitterhouse was an American soul-psych band that released the 1968 album Color Blind on Dynovoice Records. They performed the theme song to the 1968 sci-fi comedy Barbarella. Keyboardist Mark “Moogy” Klingman surfaced in the original lineup of Todd Rundgren‘s Utopia.

Members: Michael Gayle (guitar, vocals), Hank Aberle (guitar, violin, vocals), Al Lax (bass, vocals), Gary Reems (drums, 1966), Mark “Moogy” Klingman (keyboards, 1967-74), Dave Heenan (vocals, 1967), Tommy Weiner (drums, 1965-66), Joel O’Brien (drums, 1967-68)

Background

The Glitterhouse evolved from The Pop Art (initially called The Justice League), which formed in 1965 in Great Neck, NY. As The Pop Art, they cut the 1966 single “Rumpelstilskin” (b/w “Ode to an Unknown Girl”) on Epic. In 1967, they backed English singer Dave Heenan on the Epic single “Alice in Wonderland” (b/w “So Many Roads”), released as the Dave Heenan Set.

Under producer Bob Crewe, they became the Glitterhouse and recorded Color Blind, released on Crewe’s DynoVoice imprint. That same year, they provided vocals for the theme to Barbarella, the 1969 sci-fi comedy adventure starring Jane Fonda.

The Glitterhouse released their singular album, Color Blind, in October 1968 on DynoVoice (DYN 1170). It contains nine originals by Michael Gayle that pair organ-rich psych arrangements with baroque and soul elements.

Color Blind pairs ornate psych-pop with elements of soul, baroque, and folk, anchored by layered harmonies and organ-rich arrangements. Vocalist Michael Gayle leads the material with a blend of spoken-word, falsetto, and multi-tracked choruses, often structured around modal vamps and lyrical motifs of fantasy, longing, and alienation. Across nine tracks, the band navigates slow phasing textures, clipped rhythmic turns, and lush melodic figures that bridge American sunshine pop and late-’60s UK psychedelia.

A1. “Tinkerbell’s Mind” (4:43) – Built on bass ostinato and organ drones, this opens with a slow phasing lilt. Gayle’s verses alternate sung and spoken lines over layered harmonies.
A2. “Princess of the Gingerland” (4:24) – Toybox rhythm with compressed organ tone and chiming figures. Lyrics evoke folk-fantasy with syllabic vocal turns and layered falsetto.
A3. “Sassafrass and Cinnamon” (4:16) – Mid-tempo track marked by sing-song refrains and harmonic counterpoints. Minor shifts frame a lilting pace with clustered voicings.
A4. “Child of Darkness (Journey of a Child Traveler)” (4:22) – Alternates between minor-key vocal blocks and slow soul-psych transitions. Brief instrumental turns lead into a suspended close.

B1. “I Lost Me a Friend” (4:19) – Brisk, two-chord vamp with handclap accents and falsetto backing. The chorus unfolds in overlapping voice lines.
B2. “Times Are Getting Hard” (3:50) – Downbeat rocker with clipped vocal phrasing and modulated string organ fills. Follows a flat structure with brief cadential breaks.
B3. “Where Have You Been Hiding?” (2:25) – Bright major-mode cut with clipped guitar strums and a stacked refrain. Linear progression with limited instrumental variation.
B4. “Hey Woman” (3:55) – Mid-paced soul number with strophic form and organ overlays. Vocals move from unison to stacked harmonies in the chorus.
B5. “Happy To Have You Here Again” (3:25) – Closer in 6/8 meter with a rounded structure. Vocal lines sit atop piano arpeggios and a brief instrumental interlude.

Sessions occurred in mid-1968 at A&R Studios in New York City with Bob Crew and engineer Roy Cicala. Crew produced the album ahead of The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, the psychedelic reinvention of the Four Seasons.

Color Blind appeared in a metallic foil sleeve with a faint red thumbprint and a blue-tinted band image. DynoVoice lifted “Tinkerbell’s Mind” as a single (b/w “I Lost Me a Friend”).

Postlude

After Color Blind, the Glitterhouse folded. Keyboardist Mark Klingman later co-founded Utopia and played extensively with Todd Rundgren. Vocalist Michael Gayle did not reappear on record.

The “Barbarella” single and Color Blind received limited promotion from DynoVoice.

Though short-lived, Color Blind has drawn later comparisons to Love, The Free Design, and British psych-pop due to its choral textures and light-organ framing. A cult artifact of the Bob Crewe production stable, it stands apart from his more MOR work of the era.

Discography: