KENSINGTON FOREST Bells RARE SF Psych Garage PROMO 45

$

100

KENSINGTON FOREST Bells b/w Movin' On  

1967 Bay Sound 6901. Promotional copy. Incredibly rare SF Bay Area Psych garage record.

Cover:

The following is from GARAGEHANGOVER:

The Banshees were students at Mills High School in Millbrae, just south of San Francisco. They had started in 1962 as an instrumental group the Black Knights, changing their name to the Banshees when they added a vocalist in '64. Members were Jack Walters, Chris Guiver, Paul Studebaker and his brother Dennis Studebaker, and maybe Mike Hoogner.

They played around Burlingame, and released two records on the Solo label. The first was the crude and energetic They Prefer Blondes / Take a Ride with Me, recorded supposedly in a church rec room and released in July of 1965. They Prefer Blondes was written by Jack Walters, while Take a Ride with Me was by Paul Studebaker, and both songs were arranged by Paul Studebaker.

The second 45, Never Said I Loved You / So Hard to Bear was recorded at Scorpio and released in December of '65. These show the band developing their melodic side which they would improve upon their next incarnation. Both songs were written by Jack Walters and arranged by Paul Studebaker.

In 1966 they changed their name to Ariel, and that fall they released the very beautiful It Feels Like I'm Crying / I Love You on the Brent label. In sound these songs are a world away from They Prefer Blondes, with excellent harmonies, introspective lyrics and a delicate melodic sense. In early 1967 the band had changed its name again to Kensington Forest. I don't know if there were any personnel changes along the way, but at least Jack Walters and Chris Guiver were still in the group. In May of '67 they released their only 45, Bells / Movin' On on Bay Sounds Records. It was produced by Lou Dorren, who was also recording Butch Engle and the Styx and other groups around that time at Bay Sounds studio.

Bells has a rougher sound than the polish of the Ariel 45, but the harmonies and melodic talent are still there, along with some fine guitar work. Movin' On shows the influence of the early San Francisco ballroom groups like the Charlatans and Dead. Interestingly Bells is in stereo, while Movin' On is mono. I don't own the 45 so I can't tell if that's accurate - if anyone has an better quality transfer of Bells, please get in touch.

For now the story ends here, as I don't know what the members did afterwards.

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