Good Morning Starshine (1969)
SAC's final album is a major departure from the image and music the band is known for. Hear they attempt a bluesy hard rock sound. Some of the old pop psych magic is still there, but clearly the group is planning for the future. They had the right idea, but there wasn't enough interest to keep them going. Like most psych bands of the 60s, they couldn't find their audience much past 1970 / 71, and ultimately folded. I'm keeping this CD, but not sure if it's for the long haul. Their first two albums are among my all time favorites, so I tend to give more rope to these later and lesser efforts.
Ownership: 2005 Collectors' Choice (CD)
2006 (first acquired); 1/29/24 (review)
Incense and Peppermints (1967)
One looks at that outrageous front cover, crazy band moniker, and even crazier album title, and draws the conclusion that this album is nothing more than period fluff. And if one did that, they would miss out on one of the most thoughtful and brilliant releases ever made. Honestly I do believe its general popularity - especially in its day - is what holds back the appreciation. It's a forward thinking release, far beyond what almost anyone else was doing in 1967, especially coming from the sunny Southern California pop scene. For my tastes, Incense and Peppermints is the greatest pure psychedelic album ever released. The melodies are brilliant and the group truly convey the 1960's sunshine naivete better than anyone before or after. They could even match The Beach Boys in harmony, something they were trained to do, and did not come by accident. The album opens with 'The World's on Fire', which is about 3 to 4 years ahead of its time, especially considering its long Eastern influenced jam cycle - with fuzz guitar, flute, organ... it's the classic cosmic Krautrock sound years before anyone would know what that meant. 'Strawberries Mean Love' is ridiculously great, with its dual fuzz guitar melody that sticks with you for days - quite possibly my favorite psychedelic album track ever. 'Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow' is the definition of trippy mellow psych. 'Paxton's Back Street Carnival' is as off-kilter as the rollercoaster ride it depicts. Even songs that are less known like 'Hummin' Happy' pack more ideas into a 2:25 minute time frame than many bands do on a whole side of music. And then there's the famous title track that is jaw dropping in both melody and lyrical content. I joked on my Wake Up It's Tomorrow review about the alien factor, but albums like this really make you wonder sometimes. For as popular as the album was, it's amazing to me just how under the radar it remains. Not a single wasted minute on here.
The band asks: How many tomorrow's can you see? They almost let this one get away. They almost revealed themselves right here and now. They were partying with the psychedelic set, and who better than with a bunch of turned on kids with a name like Strawberry Alarm Clock. Who are they you ask? Extraterrestrial's of course. Duh.
The debut had already displayed more hair raising harmonies per second than any album in history, so why not up the ante, and mix that with a 6th dimension sound? Real time upon release, few in the world got it of course, and after realizing their potential mistake, this particular strain of ET's left to never return in our time and space. And Strawberry Alarm Clock went on to become an easy listening band based on "advice" from industry execs. Poor kids. They never had a chance.
Don't believe me? Just listen to 'Curse of the Witches'. That sheer burst of fuzz bass, celestial vibes, and harmony all arriving at once is a vision into heaven, followed by all sorts of disorientation including the just-slightly-off-kilter rhythms, but mathematically calculated perfectly to alter your mind. Meditation... "Oooo" is a lyric of pure genius. In fact the song it comes from 'Sit With the Guru', along with hit 'Tomorrow', are the two tracks here that resemble most the pop psych brilliance of the debut. The entire five song sequence that ends the album predicted all sorts of music movements to forth come. They were able to do that in 12 minutes.
Perhaps only 'Soft Skies, No Lies' and 'Go Back You're Going the Wrong Way' are "normal" songs, and even they are excellent.
Look at the artwork and understand who you're dealing with.
Wake Up... It's Tomorrow.
Ownership: 1968 Uni (LP). Uni-pak gatefold; 2005 Collectors' Choice (CD). With full liners.
One looks at that outrageous front cover, crazy band moniker, and even crazier album title, and draws the conclusion that this album is nothing more than period fluff. And if one did that, they would miss out on one of the most thoughtful and brilliant releases ever made. Honestly I do believe its general popularity - especially in its day - is what holds back the appreciation. It's a forward thinking release, far beyond what almost anyone else was doing in 1967, especially coming from the sunny Southern California pop scene. For my tastes, Incense and Peppermints is the greatest pure psychedelic album ever released. The melodies are brilliant and the group truly convey the 1960's sunshine naivete better than anyone before or after. They could even match The Beach Boys in harmony, something they were trained to do, and did not come by accident. The album opens with 'The World's on Fire', which is about 3 to 4 years ahead of its time, especially considering its long Eastern influenced jam cycle - with fuzz guitar, flute, organ... it's the classic cosmic Krautrock sound years before anyone would know what that meant. 'Strawberries Mean Love' is ridiculously great, with its dual fuzz guitar melody that sticks with you for days - quite possibly my favorite psychedelic album track ever. 'Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow' is the definition of trippy mellow psych. 'Paxton's Back Street Carnival' is as off-kilter as the rollercoaster ride it depicts. Even songs that are less known like 'Hummin' Happy' pack more ideas into a 2:25 minute time frame than many bands do on a whole side of music. And then there's the famous title track that is jaw dropping in both melody and lyrical content. I joked on my Wake Up It's Tomorrow review about the alien factor, but albums like this really make you wonder sometimes. For as popular as the album was, it's amazing to me just how under the radar it remains. Not a single wasted minute on here.
Ownership: 1967 Uni (LP); 1997 Universal Japan (CD)
1998 (first acquired); 1999; 6/4/06; 5/10/12; 6/4/21 (review)
Wake Up... It's Tomorrow (1968)
The debut had already displayed more hair raising harmonies per second than any album in history, so why not up the ante, and mix that with a 6th dimension sound? Real time upon release, few in the world got it of course, and after realizing their potential mistake, this particular strain of ET's left to never return in our time and space. And Strawberry Alarm Clock went on to become an easy listening band based on "advice" from industry execs. Poor kids. They never had a chance.
Don't believe me? Just listen to 'Curse of the Witches'. That sheer burst of fuzz bass, celestial vibes, and harmony all arriving at once is a vision into heaven, followed by all sorts of disorientation including the just-slightly-off-kilter rhythms, but mathematically calculated perfectly to alter your mind. Meditation... "Oooo" is a lyric of pure genius. In fact the song it comes from 'Sit With the Guru', along with hit 'Tomorrow', are the two tracks here that resemble most the pop psych brilliance of the debut. The entire five song sequence that ends the album predicted all sorts of music movements to forth come. They were able to do that in 12 minutes.
Perhaps only 'Soft Skies, No Lies' and 'Go Back You're Going the Wrong Way' are "normal" songs, and even they are excellent.
Look at the artwork and understand who you're dealing with.
Wake Up... It's Tomorrow.
Ownership: 1968 Uni (LP). Uni-pak gatefold; 2005 Collectors' Choice (CD). With full liners.
1998 (first acquired); 1999; 2006; 10/8/17 (review)
10/8/17 (new entry)
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