PAUL PARRISH Forest Of My Mind 1968 FUZZ PSYCH LP HEAR

$

32

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS…

PAUL PARRISH "The Forest Of My Mind"

Original 1968 LP on the MUSIC FACTORY label, STEREO MFS-12,001

Cover:  VG++, some ringwear on back, small cutout hole

Vinyl:  Light scuffs from handling, plays crackly at the very start of each side, VG+/VG++ thereafter

Warning, ladies – this album is a real turn on.  It’s Paul Parrish’s exotic folk pop psych mind trip from 1968 called “The Forest of My Mind” – and that’s some deep stuff right there.  But it’s really a turn on because the back cover says it is – “Paul Parrish is turned on the world around him, and the world around Paul Parrish is turning on to him.”  And I can only assume the world around Paul “Turn On” Parrish includes any lovely ladies fortunate enough to come within grasping distance.  If, by “the world…is turning on to him”, Paul’s marketing man meant sales, well then, he lied, because the world did not turn on to Paul Parrish in 1968, which is why neither you nor I have heard of him today.  But, as we’ve learned from the past two Presidential elections, the public’s not always right, and one listen to this great mystical album and you’ll soon understand why big things were planned for Paul and his cosmic porn mustache.  “English Sparrows” opens the album with a classic slice of huge Fading Yellow popsike, and you’ll notice someone sank some big bucks into the production of this little black Frisbee too – check out the big booming tympani that shakes the floor, or the triple tracked lush wall of Turn On vocals.  Much like a dinner date with Mr. Parrish, this album seems so rich and alive.  “Walking in the Forest (of My Mind),” despite the dumb title, is absolutely killer trippy popsike in the grand British toytown tradition, with an edge.  There’s some incredible distorted fuzz guitar in here, like the knife-scraping freakbeat fuzz shards that permeated the Smoke’s “My Friend Jack” – along with some trippy treated vocals, spiraling disorienting strings and tons of feedback messing with your head.  Paul seems clear on letting you know that his mind ain’t no ordinary run-of-the-mill National Park kinda forest – it’s a full-blown Alice in Wonderland acid-drenched kaleidoscopic forest, where you’ll find “fish swimming up to the moon”, as he wonders quietly to the bevy of scantily-clad turned-out beauties at his feet:

“I wonder where I’m going, and what I’ll find,

Walking in the forest of my mind.

Children ruling from thrones…colors running down to the jagged seas,

And the seagull cri-i-i-i-ies!”

Thankfully, he stops short of describing “laughing purple fishes” for fear of a lawsuit from Pete Brown.  And I don’t doubt for a second that walking through Paul Parrish’s mind would certainly be a psychedelic affair, much like walking through the forest between his nose and upper lip would require a very sharp machete.  “Dialogue of Wind and Lover” continues Paul’s trend of wordy, obtuse titles, but once again he backs it up with the acid-drenched goods.  This one’s set in the smoke-filled tents of Morocco, a mind-altering trippy Far East hookah pipe groover with all the trappings – plucked sitar, mandolin, finger cymbals, big booming ground-shaking tympani, fluttery flute, and that classic “I am so stoned right now” breathy vocal style that gets the ladies of any nation riled up with sexual abandon.  “Sing a song for Mary” he commands, “Children weeping on the wind, and Mary’s there to hear them in.”  Which, okay, is about as coherent as a Lost Season 3 message board, but if you dig those swaying Electric Sitar headswirler vibes, this one’s for you.    Plus you gotta love the way he handles the Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” – taking the song into the street fairs of Marrakesh, as if John wrote it after meeting with the Mahareshi, slowing down the tempo just a tad and wrap ping it in a cloak of double tracked vocals, flute, tablas and more of those exotic Eastern instruments I can’t pronounce or spell.  If all this really is a walk through the forest of Paul Parrish’s mind, then he’s really having trouble forgetting that bellydancer at the hookah lounge down the street from his house, which may account for why he’s been turned on lately.  He’s a man who’s not afraid to bear his soul, if not trim his moustache, in a dizzying array of ragas, fuzz bursts and lush, soaring pop.  Are you feeling weak in the knees yet?

HEAR IT!

The less exciting stuff

Media mail shipping with delivery confirmation starts at $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS REQUIRE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION, WHICH IS AN EXTRA 75 CENTS.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $2 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $16 US, with each additional record only $3 shipping.  ALL FOREIGN ORDERS REQUIRE CERTIFICATE OF SHIPMENT, WHICH IS AN EXTRA $1.10.  I accept payments through Paypal. 

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

And finally, I include delivery confirmation on all shipments inside the US.  This is my proof of shipment, and also helps us to track your package if it doesn’t arrive when it should.  I will email you within 2 days of shipment and give you the confirmation number at that time.  Insurance is always optional, but for larger orders, it’s highly recommended.   I DO NOW REQUIRE THAT ALL FOREIGN BUYERS PAY AN ADDITIONAL $1.10 FOR PROOF OF SHIPMENT.  IT'S A NOMINAL FEE AND THE CHEAPEST WAY FOR ME TO PROVE THAT I ACTUALLY SHIPPED YOUR PACKAGE AND DIDN'T JUST POCKET YOUR MONEY AND SKIP TOWN.  For more security and international tracking, you may request GLOBAL PRIORITY MAIL - but bear in mind the cost of this service is upwards of $30.  For expensive items, however, it may be well worth it.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cost-effective way of tracking parcels to foreign countries yet, and shipping times vary depending on your country’s postal system.   Italy in particular seems to be really bad at delivering packages quickly, or delivering packages at all, now that you mention it.  I will always email you when your package ships, but once it’s on its way, please don’t ask me when it will arrive because I don’t know.  If the world’s postal systems can ever agree on a universal tracking system that’s affordable, I’ll be the first to use it.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.