“Sea Shell” is the leadoff track on Strawberry Alarm Clock’s 1968 album The World In A Sea Shell. A dense, lush and slow-moving song, “Sea Shell” has a gorgeous melody but some ill-conceived ocean sounds and sappy orchestral overdubs. The result is a song that may be too somnambulistic for certain fans of the band’s previous work.
The overall theme of “Sea Shell” is pretty simple: a broken-hearted “boy from California” puts a sea shell to his ear and listens forlornly to the sound of the ocean, wishing he’d “never ever loved her” and blubbering that all he has left is the sea shell.
As a song, “Sea Shell” is an exercise in murkiness. Released as a single it missed the mark, though it was successful in accurately heralding Strawberry Alarm Clock’s new direction after its 1968 lineup changes. It certainly is a world away from the celebration of Incense And Peppermints and the genuine lunacy of Wake Up… It’s Tomorrow.
“Sea Shell” appears on…
The World In A Sea Shell (1968)
“Sea Shell” b/w “Paxton’s Back Street Carnival” (1968)
The Best Of Strawberry Alarm Clock (1970)
Strawberries Mean Love (1992)
The Strawberry Alarm Clock Anthology (1993)
Competent,mediocre and pleasant but little else.