STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK SONGS FULL
It’s evident the SAC is a full band and not one or two leaders with backing instrumentalists. Their strengths are their individual talents as players. Their lyrics, as with “World Citizen” and “Drifting Away,” are less than subtle flower power dreamscapes.
Then and now, the Strawberry Alarm Clock doesn’t benefit from strong vocal leads although their harmonies are polished and professional. In fact, the psychedelia is one of the most alluring aspects of the production, with guitar work that emulates leads from fellow California axmen from the Airplane and Quicksilver. “Lose to Live” is a joyous bit of bubblegum that bounces around from one rhythm to another with an overt psychedelic middle. “Charlotte’s Remains” begs to be heard under strobe lights while inhaling, ah, your favorite incense. But other songs don’t need to be from the ‘60s to sound like they could fit on old fashioned vinyl releases.
“Barefoot in Baltimore” was culled from the SAC’s third album, The World in a Sea Shell, a co-composition of Weitz and two early mainstays of the band, Roy Freeman and band founder Ed King. Other songs from 1968 include “Sit with the Guru,” featuring sitar-like guitar lines. From their first album, Incense and Peppermints, we get the Bunnell, Bartek-penned “Strawberries Mean Love,” “Hummin’ Happy,” and “Birds in My Tree” which ended up as the B-side for the Clock’s second single, “Tomorrow.” Speaking of, while I’m not familiar with many of the original versions of these tracks, I do know “Tomorrow” and the redo here is a more organ oriented arrangement showcasing Weitz. Mainly, the strongest signal we’re going back in time is that the bulk of the offerings are re-workings of album tracks from SAC’s own past. (The Electric Prunes version of The Seeds “Pushin Too Hard,” also planned for the tribute, was released last year.) Farmer,” a cover that will be included on a tribute anthology to the late Sky Saxon. The second clue is the opening song, the band’s reworking of The Seeds’ “Mr. The first clue that the collection is a bit of a time capsule is the title, an obvious reference to the group’s second album, 1968’s Wake Up…It’s Tomorrow. The producer is Steve Bartek who, back in the day, co-wrote many of the SAC’s songs along with his partner, Bunnell. The long-awaited collection features long-time members Mark Weitz (keyboards, vocals), George Bunnell (bass, rhythm guitar), Randy Seol (vocals, vibes, percussion), Gene Gunnels (drums, vocals) and Howie Anderson (lead guitar) who joined the band back in 1986. At least, in terms of the recording studio.įorty years later, SAC goes back to their past in Wake Up Where You Are.
STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK SONGS SERIES
After cranking out a series of unsuccessful albums, other than various live re-unions on the nostalgia circuit, SAC called it a day. They fell into duels with their management which led to a series of line-up changes. In addition, the group never nailed down a consistent musical direction. Such is the stuff of rock and roll lore.īut after their auspicious debut, SAC never again captured the magic of “Incense and Peppermints.” In part, that’s because the song wasn’t really representative of their sound.
The Strawberry Alarm Clock, of course, is best remembered for their iconic 1967 hit, “Incense and Peppermints.” It’s well known the song was intended to be only a B side for their “Birdman of Alcatrash” single and the lead singer, 16 year old Greg Munford, wasn’t even a member of the band.
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