STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK • THE WORLD IN A SEA SHELL • 1968 STEREO LP UNI 75035 NM

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• SEA SHELL • BLUES FOR A YOUNG GIRL GONE • AN ANGRY YOUNG MAN •
• A MILLION SMILES AWAY • HOME SWEET HOME • LADY OF THE LAKE •
• BAREFOOT IN BALTIMORE • WOODEN WOMAN • HEATED LOVE • LOVE ME AGAIN •
• EULOGY • SHALLOW IMPRESSIONS •

“STRAWBERRY  ALARM  CLOCK”  OCCUPIES  A  PECULIAR  NICHE  IN THE   HISTORY  OF  ROCK.
THEIR   NAME   IS   AS  WELL  KNOWN  TO   ANYONE   WHO   LIVED   THROUGH   THE   LATE  SIXTIES
PSYCHEDELIC   ERA   AS   THAT   OF   ALMOST   ANY   GROUP   ONE   WOULD   CARE   TO   MENTION,
MOSTLY   OUT   OF   ITS   SHEER,   SILLY   TRIPPINESS  AS   A   NAME  AND  THEIR  ONE  MAJOR   HIT,
“INCENSE    AND    PEPPERMINTS”,  WHICH   TODAY    IS    VIRTUALLY    THE    TONAL    EQUIVALENT
OF   A   SUMMER   OF   LOVE    FLASHBACK.   BUT   THERE   WAS   A   REAL    GROUP    THERE,   WITH
MEMBERS   WHO   HAD   PLAYED   FOR   A   LONG   TIME  ON  THE  SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA   BAND
SCENE,   WHO    WERE    PROFICIENT  ON  THEIR   INSTRUMENTS   AND    WHO    SANG    WELL    AND
GENERATED  FOUR   WHOLE   ALBUMS   OF  WHICH   AT   LEAST  THREE   WERE   WORTH   HEARING
MORE   THAN  ONCE.    THE   BAND’S   ORIGINS   GO   BACK   TO   GLENDALE, CA,   IN   THE   MID-’60s,
AND   A   GROUP   THEN   KNOWN   AS  “THE SIXPENCE”.   IT  WAS   1965   AND  ALL   THINGS   BRITISH
WERE  STILL  A  SELLING  POINT,   SO  THE   NAME   MADE  AS  MUCH   SENSE  AS   ANYTHING   ELSE.
THE THIRD LONG-PLAYER FROM “STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK” RUNS THE GAMUT OF POP MUSIC.
THIS  UNFORTUNATELY  DETRACTS  FROM   THE  ALBUM’S   COHESION  INSTEAD  OF  UNIFYING  IT...
AS WITH THEIR PREVIOUS RELEASE,  “WAKE UP...IT´S TOMORROW”,  “THE WORLD IN A SEA SHELL”
OFFERS   A   FEW   CRIMINALLY   OVERLOOKED   TRACKS.   HOWEVER,   FOR  THE  MOST  PART, THE
CONTENTS  VACILLATE  BETWEEN  THE  SACCHARINE  SWEETNESS  OF  THE  MID-TEMPO  OPENING.
TRACK    “SEA   SHELL”   AND    THE    OVERLY    ORCHESTRATED   “AN   ANGRY   YOUNG   MAN”   AND
“HOME SWEET HOME”. ANY COHESIVE  MOMENTUM  FROM  THE  FIRST  TWO  LPS HAS SEEMINGLY.
BEEN   DISCARDED   FOR   THE  EXTERNAL   INPUT   OF   DIFFERENT  WRITERS.   INCREASINGLY,  THE
BAND BEGAN  TO  TURN  EXTERNALLY  FOR  MATERIAL. THIS  WAS  PARTIALLY  DUE  TO  PRESSURES.
FROM  PRODUCERS  BILL  HOLMES   AND   FRANK  SLAY ... THIS   1968   STEREO   ISSUE   COME   WITH
STRONG   COVER  DISPLAYING  A  PROMO  STICKER  ON  FRONT  SIDE   WHILE  THE  VINYL  RECORD.
LOOKS IN BRIGHT CONDITION AND APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN PLAYED A FEWER TIMES