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Critic's Review
Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
For their second album, Wake Up...It's Tomorrow, Strawberry Alarm Clock built upon the solid writing and musicianship that inevitably carried over from the Incense and Peppermints project. In retrospect, it is baffling as to why they were relegated to the "one-hit wonders" file, as their most social and musically relevant statements had yet to be made. Stylistically, the material on this album vacillates between the lighter and pop-oriented sides such as "Tomorrow" and the stunningly agile vocal arrangements on "Pretty Song from Psych-Out" to the exceedingly ominous "Curse of the Witches" and "Nightmare of Percussion." Howard Davis -- whose spoken word narration can be heard during the latter track -- arranged some stunning vocal charts for "Soft Skies, No Lies," "Go Back, You're Going the Wrong Way," and the "future" section of the "Black Butter" trilogy. They are reminiscent of the tight harmonies incorporated by Harpers Bizarre or the retro New Vaudeville Band. Conversely, "Sitting on a Star," "They Saw the Fat One Coming" (which refers to the infiltration of Roy Freeman, a lyricist hired by the band's management), and the first two movements in the "Black Butter" trilogy reflect the group's mod garage rock roots. Here the band projects a more primal sound akin to People or the Chocolate Watchband. [The monophonic mixes (aka single versions) of "Tomorrow" and "Sit with the Guru" are added to the end of the original LP's track list on the 1997 Japanese CD reissue. On many occasions with mono mixes, the right and left channels of the stereo mix are simply blended together. Not in the case of these two tracks, however: the mixes are completely unique, with emphasis on different instruments and vocal blends. According to George Bunnell (bass/vocals), the single version was cut first and met with disapproval from Ed King (guitar/bass/vocals), who subsequently re-recorded the lead guitar and bass parts before remixing it for inclusion on the long-player.]
