Psychedelia Album Club I - "Incense and Peppermints" - The Strawberry Alarm Clock

Moss · 10-20-2014, 04:51 PM

This is a fantastic album. If you look up Psychedelic in the dictionary they should have a picture of this album. I'm sure the title track brings back the 60's to many people more than just about any other song. It’s just such a classic sounding album, some might say dated, but I say it’s certainly “of it’s time”, or maybe ahead of it’s time when it came out. There is no way a modern band trying to sound psychedelic could pull something like this off, it’s a product of the time.

Anyways, part of what makes this album great is the musicianship. A song like “The Worlds on fire” mixes in Vibes, Organ, Guitar, Flute, Bass, and harmony vocals and it all works. You got “Lose to love” which throws in some nice time changes and there are other “proggy” elements throughout (which makes Trollhearts low score a bit of a surprise

)These are not slouch musicians. Great Organ throughout the album. Some nice guitar by Ed King himself. I mean this guy co writes the title track and 5 years later helped write Sweet Home Alabama among other Skynyrd hits. Whatever you may think of that band, Ed King played some ripping guitar when he was with them and you can hear his chops on this album.

Great overall sound, holds together as an album and not just a group of songs. It was a pleasure to revisit it after so long, I forgot how good it was.

8/10

Josef K · 10-20-2014, 05:12 PM

Frankly I didn't enjoy this. I like the opener and "Lose to Live", and the title track is catchy, but this doesn't do much for me. I didn't hate any song, but the album wore on me and I was pretty bored with it by the end. This may just be me not being open-minded enough - the "psychedelic" stuff from the era that I like tends to be either very smooth and well-arranged (Pet Sounds) or more proto-punk/garage rock (13th Floor Elevators), but it still just does nothing for me. The sound is very dated - a quality that many of the truly great albums of the time don't have for me. Obviously they're more-than-competent instrumentalists, but that doesn't mean I was gritting my teeth any less by track seven or so. 4/10

Pet_Sounds · 10-22-2014, 08:42 AM

Last chance to discuss the album, folks! Tomorrow Mondo names his pick. You don't have to "Trollheart" it, but do post a rating and some notes.

Isbjørn · 10-22-2014, 09:24 AM

I'm too tired to write anything long. It was a decent album, catchy enough, but felt a little dated. 7/10, maybe,

Trollheart · 10-22-2014, 02:47 PM

Way to not Trollheart it, my man! Hey! I've made it! I'm a verb!

sidewinder · 10-23-2014, 01:16 AM

The Strawberry Alarm Clock - Incense and Peppermints (1967)

Well unfortunately I've only had the chance to listen to the album once, but I have to speak my mind now because it's my last chance!

I felt like it was a good bit of 60s psychedelic pop, but also pretty run-of-the-mill as far as the genre is concerned. An album you might discover when you're digging really deep into 60s psych pop, when you just can't get enough of The Beatles, The Kinks, The Byrds, The Stones, Love, The Zombies, etc. and you must find and discover new bands. Eventually you get to stuff like this, The Action, Clear Light, The Creation, The Smoke, Chocolate Watch Band, The Fallen Angels, The Family Tree, The Idle Race, The Moon, etc. and among those are albums I really like, but for the most part with these one listen isn't going to blow me away and that's what happened here. I may come to like it with more listens, but I have a ton of similar records already and I don't feel like it offers much to prove its worth.

The sad part is that many of us will reach for something a bit more obscure than the psychedelic music almost everyone knows, so there's that chance its amazing to that person and everyone else giving it a single cursory listen won't get it. Unfortunately that's the way these things go. At least we give it a chance and who knows, it might strike a chord on the first listen. That's what we always hope anyway.

But as of now I have to give this a 6/10.

Psy-Fi · 10-23-2014, 03:55 PM

I had meant to leave a review earlier but other more pressing issues came up, so I had to put it off until now. When I think of 60's psych, The Strawberry Alarm Clock are one of the first bands that come to my mind and the title track 'Incense and Peppermints' is one of the songs that I think of right away. While there are other 60's psych bands and albums I listen to more often and perhaps enjoy a bit more, this album would probably make my personal top 50 albums of the genre. Solid musicianship and production throughout with a variety within the songs to keep the album interesting to the end. The music sounds firmly rooted in 1967 and even the album cover looks very much from the 'summer of love' with everything included except a sitar. Very dated but musically, lyrically and vocally an enjoyable listen nonetheless.

I give it a 7/10 overall.

Moss · 10-23-2014, 04:06 PM

To "Trollheart" - To defy the laws of space time by spending 30 hours in a 24 hour period discussing and documenting thoughts on music. See also "8 days a week".

Pet_Sounds · 10-23-2014, 04:48 PM

Overall, we gave it 62/90, which works out to 7/10, or 3.5/5 on RYM. I'll set up that account tomorrow.

Trollheart · 10-23-2014, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moss

To "Trollheart" - To defy the laws of space time by spending 30 hours in a 24 hour period discussing and documenting thoughts on music. See also "8 days a week".

Thanks man!

I was actually expecting something more along these lines:
Trollheart (v.), From the Old English "Trollum" (to work hard or labour at something) and "Hearteffen" (to love something; literally, to put one's entire heart and soul into it): To describe every note, lyric and influence on every album reviewed, to waffle on at length about the artiste, optionally throwing in personal information and experiences. To upset mods by posting n times a day, every day, and to constantly overload older computers with too many YouTube videos" --- erratum: the last part of that desciption no longer applies as of 2014...

Examples: "He really Trollhearted the hell out of that!" or "I don't need to hear the album, he already Trollhearted it for me."

10-22-2014, 08:42 AM	#33 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,488	Last chance to discuss the album, folks! Tomorrow Mondo names his pick. You don't have to "Trollheart" it, but do post a rating and some notes. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

10-22-2014, 09:24 AM	#34 (permalink)
Isbjørn cooler commie than elph Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: In a hole, help Posts: 2,811	I'm too tired to write anything long. It was a decent album, catchy enough, but felt a little dated. 7/10, maybe, __________________ fast(ml) Hear me play the guitar Look, mom! I got a journal

10-22-2014, 02:47 PM	#35 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Way to not Trollheart it, my man! Hey! I've made it! I'm a verb! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-23-2014, 01:16 AM	#36 (permalink)
sidewinder Engorged Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,536	The Strawberry Alarm Clock - Incense and Peppermints (1967) Well unfortunately I've only had the chance to listen to the album once, but I have to speak my mind now because it's my last chance! I felt like it was a good bit of 60s psychedelic pop, but also pretty run-of-the-mill as far as the genre is concerned. An album you might discover when you're digging really deep into 60s psych pop, when you just can't get enough of The Beatles, The Kinks, The Byrds, The Stones, Love, The Zombies, etc. and you must find and discover new bands. Eventually you get to stuff like this, The Action, Clear Light, The Creation, The Smoke, Chocolate Watch Band, The Fallen Angels, The Family Tree, The Idle Race, The Moon, etc. and among those are albums I really like, but for the most part with these one listen isn't going to blow me away and that's what happened here. I may come to like it with more listens, but I have a ton of similar records already and I don't feel like it offers much to prove its worth. The sad part is that many of us will reach for something a bit more obscure than the psychedelic music almost everyone knows, so there's that chance its amazing to that person and everyone else giving it a single cursory listen won't get it. Unfortunately that's the way these things go. At least we give it a chance and who knows, it might strike a chord on the first listen. That's what we always hope anyway. But as of now I have to give this a 6/10. __________________ last.fm \| my collection on RYM \| vinyl instagram @allthatyouseeandhear I'd love to see your signature/links too, but the huge and obnoxious ones have caused me to block all signatures.

10-23-2014, 04:48 PM	#39 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,488	Overall, we gave it 62/90, which works out to 7/10, or 3.5/5 on RYM. I'll set up that account tomorrow. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

10-20-2014, 04:51 PM	#31 (permalink)
Moss Scuttle Buttin' Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 972	This is a fantastic album. If you look up Psychedelic in the dictionary they should have a picture of this album. I'm sure the title track brings back the 60's to many people more than just about any other song. It’s just such a classic sounding album, some might say dated, but I say it’s certainly “of it’s time”, or maybe ahead of it’s time when it came out. There is no way a modern band trying to sound psychedelic could pull something like this off, it’s a product of the time. Anyways, part of what makes this album great is the musicianship. A song like “The Worlds on fire” mixes in Vibes, Organ, Guitar, Flute, Bass, and harmony vocals and it all works. You got “Lose to love” which throws in some nice time changes and there are other “proggy” elements throughout (which makes Trollhearts low score a bit of a surprise )These are not slouch musicians. Great Organ throughout the album. Some nice guitar by Ed King himself. I mean this guy co writes the title track and 5 years later helped write Sweet Home Alabama among other Skynyrd hits. Whatever you may think of that band, Ed King played some ripping guitar when he was with them and you can hear his chops on this album. Great overall sound, holds together as an album and not just a group of songs. It was a pleasure to revisit it after so long, I forgot how good it was. 8/10

10-20-2014, 05:12 PM	#32 (permalink)
Josef K A Jew on a motorbike! Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 800	Frankly I didn't enjoy this. I like the opener and "Lose to Live", and the title track is catchy, but this doesn't do much for me. I didn't hate any song, but the album wore on me and I was pretty bored with it by the end. This may just be me not being open-minded enough - the "psychedelic" stuff from the era that I like tends to be either very smooth and well-arranged (Pet Sounds) or more proto-punk/garage rock (13th Floor Elevators), but it still just does nothing for me. The sound is very dated - a quality that many of the truly great albums of the time don't have for me. Obviously they're more-than-competent instrumentalists, but that doesn't mean I was gritting my teeth any less by track seven or so. 4/10

10-23-2014, 04:06 PM	#38 (permalink)
Moss Scuttle Buttin' Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 972	To "Trollheart" - To defy the laws of space time by spending 30 hours in a 24 hour period discussing and documenting thoughts on music. See also "8 days a week".