Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Acrobat
Company: TMI
Catalog: TMS 1004
Year: 1971
Country/State: Memphis, Tennessee
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened)
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5495
Price: $25.00
For a city recognized for the blues and soul acts it churned out, Memphis sure seems to have supported a lot of rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s. I've lost track of the number of acts that were unknown to me that trace their roots back to the city. The short lived Acrobat is yet another in the ever lengthening list ...
Singer/guitarist Bob Lehnert's initial brush with success came in Detroit with The Amboy Dukes. Through a series of circumstances in 1966 Lehnert found himself with legal ownership of the 'Amboy Dukes' name. Lehnert and a young guitarist by the name of Ted Nugent subsequently reached an agreement whereby Lehnert relinquished rights to the name in return for a slot as lead singer in Nugent's band. The partnership only lasted a few months with Lehnert dropping out out of the band (he was replaced by John Drake), eventually moving to Memphis in the early 1970s.
In Memphis Lehnert attracted the attention of Trans Maximus Studio who hired him as a photographer and agreed to help him finance a band. Lehnert quickly latched on to slide guitarist Greg Davis, lead guitarist Billy Jones, keyboard Mel Senter (the three having been members of the recently defunct Smiling Phases). and drummer Barry Johnson. Billed as Acrobat the quintet were given rehearsal time at the TMI studios and within a couple of months were ready to record. Co-produced by David Mayo and J.R. Williams 1971's cleverly titled "Acrobat" showcased Lehnert's talents. In addition to handling lead vocals, he wrote, or co-wrote all nine tracks. Propelled by Lenhert's dry, but likeable voice musically material like 'Wake Up', 'Harmony' and 'Feel No Regrets' found the band pursuing an agenda that fell somewhere between Firefall-styled country-rock and CSN&Y/Manassas rock. It wasn't blatant, but 'Be a Man' and several of the songs seemed to have a slight religious flavor to them. Full of strumming guitars and pretty melodies it may not have been the year's most original offering, but was never less than enjoyable. I'm usually not big on religious oriented songs, but in this case propelled by some killer twin lead guitar from Davis and Jones one of the LP highlights was 'Be a Man'. TMI also tapped the LP for a single in the form of the country-rock flavored 'Better Tomorrow' b/w 'Escape' (TMI catalog number 75-0108). If Pure Prairie League scored a top-40 hit with 'Amie', then this one should have charted as well. Naturally it didn't ...
"Acrobat" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Wake Up (Bob Lehnert) - 3:35
2.) Relate (Bob Lehnert) - 2:36
3.) Harmony (Bob Lehnert - David Mayo - David Long) - 3:30
4.) Be a Man (Bob Lehnert) - 5:24
(side
2)
1.) Feel No Regrets (Bob Lehnert - Mel Senter) - 3:13
2.) Better than Today (Bob Lehnert) - 2:11
3.) The Objective (Bob Lehnert - Billy Jones) - 2:32
4.) Escape (Bob Lehnert) - 3:45
5.) Behind Our Eyes (Bob Lehnert) - 5:08
In an effort to support of the album the band relocated to Atlanta, but within a couple of months were back in Memphis where they played occasional local dates and apparently started to record a sophomore LP. Unfortunately personality conflicts and the lack of success saw the group collapse before the second LP was completed.
In case anyone's interested Senter became a pediatrician and still lives in the Memphis area.