STRAWBERRIES MEAN LOVE, unless you're allergic, in which case they mean hives. That pretty much sums up the two likely responses to the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Santa Barbara's first and best exponent of flower power-era psychedelic pop. Either you'll find their catchy pop tunes, laced with pseudo-profound lyrics and cool trippy production effects, to be potent reminders of a certain place and time, or you'll find it all extremely calculated and commercial.
Actually, the Strawberry Alarm Clock were both at once, and as a result, songs like "Incense and Peppermints" and "Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow" are both somehow more honest evocations of the real spirit of '67 as most people actually experienced it and, frankly, much better pop songs than, say, "Somebody To Love." This anthology, a remastered and expanded version of a previous collection on the excellent UK reissue label Ace/Big Beat, is the best SAC experience.
