Customer Reviews

Strawberries Mean Love

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Well, perhaps the Strawberry Alarm Clock could have been one of the greatest of the 60s vanguard bands, but for the lack of charismatic lead singer. That is why the band's big hit, "Incense and Peppermints" became the hit that it was, because someone other than the regular band members sang the lead. In fact, the singer was just a friend of the band's hanging out in the studio when the song was recorded. "Incense and Peppermints" was put on the B side of a garage punk single "Birdman of Alkatrash," soon to be discovered by a DJ with a good ear, and the rest is history. It is truly one of the grooviest of the groovy hits of the 60s. (But yay all these years later, you have to dig "Birdman" too!)

Still, many of these tunes are simply classic of the times, and showcase the excellent musicianship that was the hallmark of the Strawberry Alarm Clock. The Clock really does capture the hallucinogenic mushroom moments better than any band of the late 60s. Check out "Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow" for instance. One can laugh at the lyrics, but I think it was meant to be tongue in cheek all along (just like the magic mushroom that inspired it). "The World's On Fire" is a fantastic improvisational vehicle and is TOTALLY psychedelic, and when guitarist Ed King chimes in, you know you are listening to something special. "Tomorrow" has a classic 60s pop feel to it, yet like most of the Clock's songs, one can imagine the trippy and dark underpinnings of a drug-induced influence. The darkest song is "Black Butter," which has a subversive and paranoid feel to it, hard to know what exactly it's about, but heroin does come to mind.

The Strawberry Alarm Clock seems to me to be a cross between the psychedelic influences of San Francisco rock, and the breezy pop feel of the L.A. scene that spawned Love and the Beach Boys. No surprise then, that the Clock hailed from between the two factions in Santa Barbara. Surely the Beach Boys, Love and the Airplane must have perceived the Clock as musical peers, for truly, they did have a lot going for them. I can only imagine what heights this band could have risen to had they had a stand-out lead singer.

And like the era that inspired it, ...

Next to the Left Banke, the Strawberry Alarm Clock has to be the most underrated group in rock'n'roll history. Their music, sometimes dismissed as period fluff (by caustic critics who should have known better), was as invigorating and incisive as anything else produced during the psychedelic era, circa 1965-1971.

I recall purchasing "The Best Of The Strawberry Alarm Clock" on vinyl, over thirty years ago and was titillated by the way they could literally inject florid images into my mind with their lilting pop tone poems and more frenetic rock songs. It was a transforming rush, because their tone colour, often accented by Indian and Oriental incantations, made me feel that I was, for the moment, somewhere else. The Strawberry Alarm Clock accomplished this by exploiting the full potentiality of their instrumental and vocal arsenal, i.e., harpsichords conveyed rain, xylophones depicted fire, sung harmonies evoked speculation, etc. The themes of their tunes covered a munificent gamut, from the effects of LSD to the future of mankind. Many of their contemporaries tinkered, unsuccessfully, for years to euphoniously achieve that bewitching mood which was the Strawberry Alarm Clock's. After all, this is what psychedelic music, the genre inaugurated by the Byrds on "Eight Miles High," was all about: seeing sounds and hearing colours.

In the past few years I bought all of the Strawberry Alarm Clock compilations available on CD, including the album I am here reviewing, "Strawberries Mean Love," from 1992 (although I first got the vinyl version of same from 1987, in the late '80s, which had eight fewer works), as well as the "Anthology" and "Incense & Peppermints" hits package. "Strawberries Mean Love" is the most generous offering of the three. It features twenty-one cuts, three more than "Anthology" and containing every song on said, save for the lovely "Blues For A Young Girl Gone" and the introspective "Black Butter-Past" and "Black Butter-Future." It includes, as well, every piece but two--the "Good Morning Starshine" cover and the rousing "Starting Out The Day"--from the ten track "Incense & Peppermints" collection. Even owning all three of the aforementioned compilations, one is still deprived of the coquettish "Miss Attraction" and the pensive "Angry Young Man" from "The Best Of," the twelve song, vinyl release alluded to earlier. Four of the band's songs, recorded as A and B sides to singles, are also absent from any of the above ("Me and the Township," "Changes," "California Day" and "Girl from the City"). It seems as if no compilation is ever complete!

All of the group's songs have grown on me over the years, however, "Sea Shell" and "Pretty Song From 'Psych-Out'" (both on the album reviewed) have proven to be the most captivating. I therefore invite you to romantically awaken to "Strawberries Mean Love"--the sweet, rubicund pith of the Strawberry Alarm Clock.

This is great stuff! I fell in love with the original INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS album that a friend of mine happily picked up in a music store in Amsterdam. I have great memories of listening to that record over and over during the 80s. The song that stood out was "The World is On Fire" which is included in this collection! Several other songs worth hearing from that album are in this collection as well and give the listener a good taste of what this group's first album (cd if you can find it) was all about and why it is worth hunting down. What is included in this gathering of tunes doesn't measure up except for a few such as "Barefoot in Baltimore," "Sit With The Guru" and (my favorite) "Pretty Song From Psych-Out" which I haven't heard since I rented the video back in the 80's. That is truly a beautiful song! Other nice surprises are "You Put Me On Standby"
and "Small Package," but it is obvious the "magic" of the group's sound had diminished and they sound more like a rock group trying to produce a hit rather than the pretty-sounding, experimental "American answer to the Beatles" that I believe they at least for a short time really were. I know "Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow," "Strawberries Mean Love," and "Incense & Peppermints" (Not to mention "Sit With the Guru!") sound awfully silly, but those happen to be GREAT songs. If the music of today had that type of charm I would forget all about STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK, but to me they were definitely underrated and measure up with some of the best groups of the sixties and are better than almost every group playing today. If nothing else this collection gives a wide range of their music capabilities and will hopefully break the "one hit wonder" title unfairly put upon them.

'Incense and Peppermints', featuring a lead vocal from a non-band member, had everything to do with their recognition but less to do with the bulk of the rest of their material, largely presented on this CD. Still, 'Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow', 'Pretty Song from Psych-Out' and 'The World's on Fire' are worth a listen, especially if you've seen the late 60's movie Psych-Out(with Jack Nicholson and featuring the Alarm Clock). Great harmony, keys, percussion. Guitar player Ed King(later of Lynard Skynard) contributes some interesting work, and must have had a hand in the very listenable "Three", which sounds like early 70's Southern Rock. "Tommorrow" is excellent and showcases all that was good about this group. Other tracks suffer from flimsy lyrics, indulgent experimentation, bad or uninteresting lead vocals, and clumsy attempts to emulate other groups of the time(listen to 'Black Butter Present' and think Doors). When they stay within their 'sound', they are sensational. If you're a hippy or into some historical perspective, buy it. If you want something special, buy Love's "Forever Changes" album instead.

Don't be turned off by the term bubble gum. This is first class bubble gum. The music is at times enchanting and hypnotic. The harmonies are beautifully intertwined into a sweet brew of sound. Many people including myself don't know a lot about the Strawberry Alarm Clock, except for "Incense and Peppermints". This is the best collection out there of theirs' and the first rate liner notes will fill you in on this groups' history. Check out their web site too. Too bad most of their work is out of print. Maybe someone like Rhino will put some of these things back in print. These guys deserve credit for making some fine music.

Aside from the classic tune "Incense & Peppermints," this album is chock full of goodness. It's sad indeed that this group doesn't get the kind of recognition it deserves. The album is a listening trip back to the psychedelic 60s. A number of less-well-known catchy tunes like "Sit with the Guru," "Tomorrow," "Three," and "Bird Man of Alkatresh" along with more experimental tunes (for the time) have to rank this musical collection as one well worth purchasing.

One might recall the shadow of 1960s psychedelic movies as one listens to this album, as indeed it could well have been used as a soundtrack for such. Many of the pieces on this album are mellow, minimalist, and, well, delightfully strange.

Though the album's draw for you may indeed be Incense & Peppermints (as it was for me), repeated playings will, I am sure, endear you to the myriad other songs on the album. One could argue that not every song here is a winner, in the sense that the radio should have played it. And yet, the music itself has a nostaligic flavor that simultaneously seems progressive -- almost alternative -- in its execution. Just listen to "Small Package." With its quote of ...; placed after a delightful guitar and organ passage a la Jethro Tull, you'll see just what I mean! I find it glorious to listen to.

The album contains liner notes about the band and its music.

This album is definitely one to add to your growing 60s album collection.

This collection does contain 21 tracks culled from their 4 albums and includes their top 100 hits only omitting "Good Morning Starshine" which can be found on the import CD of the same name and the much cheaper budget compilation entitled "Incense and Peppermints" anyway (the name of the compilation taken from track 1 on this CD) which are both available here at Amazon.com. The 8:26 version of "World's On Fire" is a masterpiece and it alone makes it worth buying this CD.

'Incense and Peppermints', featuring a lead vocal from a non-band member, had everything to do with their recognition but less to do with the bulk of the rest of their material, largely presented on this CD. Still, 'Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow', 'Pretty Song from Psych-Out' and 'The World's on Fire' are worth a listen, especially if you've seen the late 60's movie Psych-Out(with Jack Nicholson and featuring the Alarm Clock). Great harmony, keys, percussion. Guitar player Ed King(later of Lynard Skynard) contributes some interesting work, and must have had a hand in the very listenable "Three", which sounds like early 70's Southern Rock. "Tommorrow" is excellent and showcases all that was good about this group. Other tracks suffer from flimsy lyrics, indulgent experimentation, bad or uninteresting lead vocals, and clumsy attempts to emulate other groups of the time(listen to 'Black Butter Present' and think Doors). When they stay within their 'sound', they are sensational. If you're a hippy or into some historical perspective, buy it. If you want something special, buy Love's "Forever Changes" album instead.

This should be the essential SAC disc to own. Big Beat has done a great job putting these tracks together. The sound quality is better than the "Insence and Peppermints" CD on MCA. "Sit With The Guru" and "The World's On Fire" are a great return to the psychedelic era.

FINALLY, WE HAVE A GOOD ANTHOLOGY. LOTS OF REVIEWS HERE SO I WILL JUST SAY THAT AFTER SEVERAL WEAK AND SLOPPY "BEST OF" CDS THESE GUYS HAVE HERE THE BEST COLLECTION SO FAR! WITH 5 ALBUMS THAT TOOK ME YEARS TO DIG UP, THIS FINE BAND COULD USE A GOOD 2-CD ANTHOLOGY, BUT THIS AINT BAD. IF YOU JUST KNOW THE HIT AND ARE CURIOUS YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THIS BAND STRETCH OUT ON SOME PSYCH TRIPS HERE. SAC CAN SOUND LIKE MOBY GRAPE OR QUICKSILVER AT TIMES..SOUND IS GREAT...BY THE WAY,THESE GUYS SHOWED UP ON SEVERAL MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS IN THE 60S... BRITMAN46