I’m sitting here, staring at my MacBook, trying to find the right word to describe how Path Through The Forest -- the recent Guerssen reissue from obscure 60s Freakbeat-era band The Factory -- sounds to me. Sonically, it’s psych-tinged garage. At the time of its release, it was considered subversive and, dare I say, “trippy.” From a critical standpoint, it’s underrated. But for me? The word that I keep coming back to, strangely enough, is “scholarly.” Okay, if you didn’t already hate me for my blatant Apple product placement, you probably do now. Please, allow me to explain myself.
Path Through The Forest is not a proper album. It’s a collection of seven songs (three originals, three covers, and one alternate take) pieced together from the original sound engineer’s archives. As such, the overall feel is not that of a cohesive work, but of a historical document -- a set of lost outtakes and artifacts from an era only remembered by those already astutely in-the-know. It’s a recording meant to be studied or deconstructed as much as it’s meant to be enjoyed.
Given that fact, it’s no surprise the songs collected here vary in sound and quality from track-to-track. The band’s first single, the original edit of “Path Through The Forest,” could be the best psych track of the 60s that you never heard. Its B-side, a cover of Paul Revere and the Raiders' “Gone,” is good enough, too, drenching the original tune in acid-inspired studio effects without drowning it completely. Similar treatment is given to versions of Fairport Convention’s “Mr. Lacey” and Family’s “Second Generation Woman,” although with less arresting results.
That said, it’s the originals that provide the real interest in this collection. “Try a Little Sunshine” meets the 60s psych-band quota for compositions on the subject of LSD. Sure, it seems a bit cliché now, but it stands up to the tried and true hazy standards of the time all the same. Meanwhile, the song’s B-side, “Red Chalk,” proves to be both the greatest surprise and one of the album’s highlights. It’s their most stripped-down tune, recalling the Byrds at times and proving that The Factory’s dynamics extended beyond their captivating studio prowess.
Perhaps the most interesting track in the collection is its closer, a previously unreleased low-fidelity cut of “Path Through The Forest,” remixed using a destroyed acetate of additional sound effects the band had originally intended to appear on the song. It’s certainly not the best-sounding thing on the album, but the addition of these layers provides a fascinating transformation and shows how truly ahead of their time they were (even if their record company didn’t want anyone to know it). Listening to it now, you realize Path Through The Forest could have been the blueprint for any number of psychedelia-influenced bands, from Jefferson Airplane to The Jesus and Mary Chain to Spacemen 3 and onwards. It all feels a bit like looking at the Venus de Milo -- even though the classic aesthetics feel dated, and the specimen itself is partially destroyed, you’re glad it’s there for the world to experience, if only to help us understand everything that came after.
Simply put, the release of Path Through The Forest is a labor of love compiled by a few dedicated musicologists for an audience of like-minded listeners. If you’re not already interested in psychedelia, garage, or freakbeat music of the 60s and 70s, listening to this isn’t going to do much to change your mind. But for those who are -- whether you're a hardcore completist wanting to flesh out your collection, casual enthusiast looking to recreate a scene from a Richard Linklater film on a sunny afternoon, or part of the larger majority who probably fall somewhere in between, Path Through The Forest provides a worthy and engaging retrospective of yet another unappreciated group of the psychedelic era.
1. Path Through The Forest (original version)
2. Gone
3. Mr. Lacey
4. Try A Little Sunshine
5. Red Chalk Hill
6. Second Generation Woman
7. Path Through The Forest (previously unreleased version)
