Incense And Peppermints / Wake Up It's Tomorrow

It's hard to know what kind of star rating to give in cases like this.The quality of the albums is one factor, of course. INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS is a nice slice of psych-lite, with inventive and appealing melodies and arrangements; if the lyrics are a bit dated, well... it is what it is. Presumably, no-one at this late date would be buying a record called INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS by a band called The Strawberry Alarm Clock without expecting dated lyrics!That said, while second album WAKE UP... makes some intriguing musical advances, the lyrics are so frequently gawdawful that they really drag it down. Still, there are a few highlights here (the unimaginatively titled "Pretty Song From PSYCH-OUT" is a doozy)... enough that, combined with the fine debut and the bonus tracks (from period singles) and the thorough liner notes, I would be inclined to give this reissue four stars.The problem is the mastering. It is brickwalled to high heaven, dynamically squashed and distorted - genuinely ear-fatiguing. Not much point in buying this if you can't properly enjoy listening to it, is there?Buy the Sundazed INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS instead, and hope they'll get around to doing the subsequent albums!

this is a pleasant surprise. never had any idea these guys were good writers or arraingers. it is a true intro to the "summer of love" type sound. recordings are good. "wake up..." is fantastic. and here i thought these guys were one hit wonders. shame on me.

Hello to Import CDS This Great set of Music Arrived @12:27 pm on 9/4/2018 thank You from Scott J @ 12::41 pm on 10/31/2018 .

Having 2 albums on 1 disc with great liner notes (with band members interviews), plus the b-side and mono bonus tracks makes this an excellent package. If Tune In could package the 3rd and 4th S.A.C. albums with this (as a 2 CD set), it would be even better.

This is the first time I saw the first album in it's entirety the way it was on vinyl. The remastering sounds good. I recommend it.

Great!

Excellent album!

Great oldie!

I have always been slightly luke-warm about the Strawberry Alarm Clock. They struck me as being a little too on the easy listening side of things to really cut it. I have to say that this release has caused me to re-think my position.The sound on this disc is superb. I had a compilation of SAC on another cd and this blows it away for clarity. And when the sound is this good all of the layers in the music come through. It is incredibly beautiful to hear. The harmonies (5 part) are superb. The musicianship is top quality and the tunes shine.There is no doubt that SAC are on the mellow side of psychedelia (veering towards the Association at times) but even so they have a kind of hallucinatory beauty that elevates them above many other pretenders.This disc is pretty much definitive.

Excellent cd ( single). This contains all the SAC you need. The third and fourth albums are decidedly dodgy MOR, hairy fairy stuff. This collects the first two and best albums with a couple of bonus tracks each and is all the SAC you need. The music is late 60s pyschedelia with organ and fuzz guitar, like Iron Butterfly or Doors. Recommended to lovers of the late 60s scene. The sound is good too

It swerves back and forward over the line of self parody and is very easy to lampoon with some hilarious lyrics - "Freshen the flowers woman" being my favourite clanger(I'm sure the Mighty Boosh know the Clock's back catalogue intimately) but ultimately the highlights are just wonderful. Life affirming, soft psych gems laced with brilliant sonic layers including some great stinging acid rock lead work from future Lynyrd Skynyrd member Ed King to ensure that it does not become too soft centred. I love this band. Sadly, music this innocent and untainted will probably never be made again.

I got to hear this band on sound of the 60s on radio 2 so thought i would investigatefurther. Id heard incense and peppermints before so i went for this cd . Even though itdoes sound a bit twee in places it still holds up remarkibly well musically and vocally.Nice harmonies and jazzy grooves

Being a big Strawberry Alarm Clock fan I was keen to get this digitally remastered twin disc of their original first two albums, and not disappointed. Brilliant, unique songs and great sound quality too. Plus a booklet history of the band, perfect. Psychedelic heaven.