CRYSTAL GARDEN Peach Fuzz Forest 1968 East Bay psych 45

$

29

Ultra cool 1968 single by the Crystal Garden, “Flash” b/w “ Peach Fuzz Forest” on the Bay Town label.  The band was from the East Bay (San Francisco) region of California, and several fellow collectors who were fortunate enough to find one of these original singles have noticed just how GREAT it sounds – not only is this in STEREO, but it’s well produced in stereo – that classic late 60’s DRASTIC stereo separation sound.  No lo-fi mono garage recordings here, kids.  “Flash” is a jangly slow-burning slice of folk baroque pop that sounds like “Smell of Incense” if the ’65 Byrds had recorded it.  Dual jangle guitars lay down a chiming sound that rings in both channels, and the bass sound positively RUMBLES on this one!  Remarkable production for such a small label and obscure band.  At about two minutes in, the song takes a little detour and we get a really cool little guitar solo that’s a thing of folk rock beauty.  Of course, that means squat to garage compilers, so “Flash” remains uncomped.  The flipside, “Peach Fuzz Forest”, IS comped (on Turds on a Bum Ride 3), and as you’d expect from the title, this is a whole other ball of fuzz here.  It opens with a rumbling steam train rhythm and some tasty wah wah guitar in the left channel.  As the song races forward on a somewhat jazzy, herky-jerky funk beat, the fuzz guitar gets louder and louder, threatening to envelop the whole song.  But at the 2 minute mark, the song suddenly changes speed and tempo completely, veering off into a nifty little break where the guitarist is really trying to make his guitar sound like a sitar.  At just under 4 minutes, this is quite an exciting little production, the sound of the Orient Express barreling down the Himalayas.  And once again, the production is crisp and imaginative.  What more could you ask for?  Original 1968 pressing on the Bay Town label.  Vinyl plays VG+ with some light pops here and there, but because the production is so loud and upfront, much of the surface noise is buried under the songs. 

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