Listen: Frenzy / The Fugs
Frenzy

Thanks Howie Gabriel, my pal who found this, The Fugs first 7″ from ’66, when sorting out his newly sold house for a move. Only friends pass on gems like these. There’s good karma coming your way, Howie.

Although Fugs fans know the track, there’s something forever magical about a familiar song issued on the saint-like 7″ single. Specific to the 60′s, those pressings meant a mono mix, always sounding different, often sounding better. During that period, utmost care was invested into getting the mono version correct, just in case the song needed to squeeze through a handheld transistor radio while clamped to any teenager’s ear.

Funny how in the matter of a few decades, our consumer society went from a palm sized device, to a most cumbersome boom box calamity, and eventually right back to the streamlined handheld, wondering what the fuck were we ever thinking.

My favorite Fugs album, hands down, is IT CRAWLED INTO MY HAND, HONEST from ’68. I admit to being partial towards their Reprise years. Amongst other things, the sleeves were superb, plus the music drastically well recorded without losing too much grime.

‘Frenzy’ frames The Fugs perfectly alongside the garage band royalty from ’66, although seldom revered as such. The Sonics, The Music Machine, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Wailers, the list goes on. Why aren’t The Fugs ever mentioned with their counterparts?