Strawberry Alarm Clock released four albums in the 1960s, then in 2012 released their first album of new recordings in decades. In addition to these core five albums, there have been several Strawberry Alarm Clock compilation albums.
Additionally, SAC-related bands have seen their songs reissued on albums at various times. Finally, the band has contributed songs to soundtracks. The most notable Strawberry Alarm Clock albums are listed here.
Strawberry Alarm Clock was always much more than their image would suggest. Their first album Incense And Peppermints is a true psych classic, one of the premier releases of 1967. Incense And Peppermints was of course named after the song “Incense And Peppermints” that had already become a huge hit. Both were released in 1967. Shortly … Read more
Wake Up… It’s Tomorrow is Strawberry Alarm Clock’s second album, released in early 1968 and following up their 1967 debut Incense And Peppermints. Many of the musical themes and lyrical concerns of the first album are explored further on Wake Up… It’s Tomorrow, resulting in an album that, impressively, is at turns gentler and weirder. … Read more
Strawberry Alarm Clock’s third album was called The World In A Sea Shell and was released in November 1968 on Uni Records. The disc followed Wake Up… It’s Tomorrow, also from 1968, but has a much dreamier and more uniform sound. Compared to the band’s earlier music, The World In A Sea Shell is lush, and … Read more
The soundtrack LP of the 1968 movie Psych-Out features Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Seeds, Boenzee Cryque, and the Storybook. It’s a great selection of psychedelic pop songs. Strawberry Alarm Clock has no otherwise-unavailable songs here, except for a shorter edit of “The World’s On Fire”. The album is a great collector’s piece, and has been … Read more
Where in rock and roll vinyl history do The Who and Strawberry Alarm Clock overlap? Fear not, for there is an answer. In 1969, MCA put out an album called Double Star Series Featuring The Who & The Strawberry Alarm Clock. It was a limited edition promotional album pressed by MCA for the Philco company. One … Read more
Good Morning Starshine is Strawberry Alarm Clock’s fourth album, released in 1969. It features new lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Jim Pitman, who helped lead the band away from the lustrous sentimentality of 1968’s The World In A Sea Shell and into more immediate and entertaining blues-rock grunge. Without the crushing influence of boneheaded management decisions … Read more
The Best Of Strawberry Alarm Clock is the name of a 1970 compilation album. It was the band’s first such album, and was issued by their label Uni. As a compilation, The Best Of Strawberry Alarm Clock isn’t bad. It offers a reasonable collection of Strawberry Alarm Clock’s poppier side, although it bypasses the band’s … Read more
Strawberry Alarm Clock contributed two new songs to the soundtrack of the 1971 Russ Meyers movie Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls. The songs are “Girl From The City” and “I’m Comin’ Home”, both with latter-era vocalist Paul Marshall. (“Incense And Peppermints” is also in the movie, though not on the soundtrack album.) Besides Strawberry … Read more
Changes is the name of a Strawberry Alarm Clock compilation released originally in 1971 on Vocalion (VL 73915). It was named for the song “Changes”, the last song on the group’s last studio LP, Good Morning Starshine. Changes bypasses all of the band’s earlier and better-known hits to focus instead on SAC’s later career and … Read more
The Best Of Strawberry Alarm Clock Vol. 1 is a compilation album from around 1985 comprising a decent, if typical, cross-section of the band’s more popular (and poppy) songs. It was released on a quasi-official-looking label called Back-Trac (MSP 30005). Since replaced by better compilations, this one is distinguished by being possibly the very first … Read more
Strawberries Mean Love is the title of a compilation album originally released as a vinyl LP in 1987. It was later released on CD in 1992 with more tracks. Arguably, Strawberries Mean Love is the best Strawberry Alarm Clock compilation available, especially the CD version. The collection takes its name from the song “Strawberries Mean Love” … Read more
Incense & Peppermints (note the ampersand in the title – this is not the 1967 album Incense And Peppermints) is a Strawberry Alarm Clock compilation originally released by MCA in 1990. It mostly collects some of the band’s earlier singles and a few assorted album tracks. Most interestingly, it included the rare (at the time … Read more
The Strawberry Alarm Clock Anthology is an 18-track compilation CD released in 1993. It comprises many of Strawberry Alarm Clock’s more notable songs. The disc was put out by One Way Records. As an overview of the Clock’s musical output 1967-71, The Strawberry Alarm Clock Anthology isn’t exactly comprehensive, but the music is excellent. The … Read more
When Step By Step was released in 1998, it was a welcome addition to Strawberry Alarm Clock fans’ collections. For Step By Step compiles the 1966-1967 releases by Thee Sixpence, mostly on the All American label. Thee Sixpence is the band that changed its name to Strawberry Alarm Clock, and these early proto-SAC singles are excellent … Read more