History:

Lee Keller was a singer-songwriter originally from central Pennsylvania. It’s unclear when he started performing but eventually he relocated to Florida in the late seventies. Performing on the club circuit, Keller stuck to his singer-songwriter roots incorporating elements of psychedelia, folk, and hard rock into his work. Keller eventually recorded and released “State Of The Heart” in 1980. 

On the album, Keller accompanies himself on acoustic six and twelve string guitars, drums, and percussion. Assisting Keller are engineer Tom Palopoly on bass and electric guitars, Cary Altschuer on synthesizer, and saxophonist Mark Woodham. The album is mainly acoustic psychedelic folk rock with some sloppy southern tinge and two extremely out of place (and poorly executed) hard rock tracks. 

The record proved unsuccessful and as a result is extremely rare. There must have been some promotion of the recording because posters of the album release exist (I am the only one to come across one so far). It’s likely that Keller promoted the album in both Pennsylvania and Florida as several copies have been found in both states. My copy, for example, was acquired from a bar where Keller probably played at in northern Pennsylvania. I know at least one copy was also found in Montgomery County. Keller eventually exited the music business and apparently was a teacher for many years.

Review:

State Of The Heart (1980, Not On Label)

Rating: 6.5/10

Solid album. “State Of The Heart” is fantastic with a great 12-string solo. “Where Have You Gone” and “The Old Man” are both good ballads with more great guitar work. “Revenge” is an awesome dark tune with great lyrics and a cool loner vibe. The best song on the album (and one of the best in the genre I’ve heard), “Razor Blades And Steel”, is absolutely flawless with an odd saxophone solo, great lyrics, and an awesome acoustic riff. The remaining tracks, including the instrumental “Feelin’ Free” and the two horrible hard rock songs “I’ll Blame It On You”, and “I Just Wanna Be (a rock-n-roll star)” are out of place and not done very well. They just don’t fit with the theme of the album nor the other songs. Overall though, this is an extremely solid but inconsistent effort that does string up some great trippy songs.