So why is Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense and Peppermints on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Strawberry Alarm Clock is the kind of band most people with even a passing interest in pop-music history know for exactly one song – the title track, “Incense and Peppermints” – and maybe, just maybe, they remember who played it.
While the song is pretty fantastic – a kaleidoscopic spectacle of hippie rock sound with a genuinely great beat that kicks the groovy party right along – there’s a cornucopia of delights abounding on the album as well. But let’s start with “Incense and Peppermints” the song.
While the band is obviously lip syncing their hit song in that performance clip, it’s fun to see them in their Peak Hippie Era 1967 outfits. I love this kind of stuff, if you can’t tell. For example, I feel like the guy on keyboards could either be ready for a Be In or alternatively for the alien spacecraft mothership to land. We’re talking versatile attire here!
On a semi-serious note, it’s these kinds of outfits and a psychedelic rock vibe that nearly veers into “Are we sure even Austin Powers would think this would be too over-the-top?” territory that makes some people think of this song and band as novelty one-hit wonders of the hippie dippy era. But if you take the music on its own merits, I’ll venture that it absolutely stands up – and therefore is best 1,000 albums ever worthy!
“Paxton’s Back Street Carnival,” another fantastically psychedelic song title (along with “Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow,” bummer vibes, yeah!), shows off nice range while keeping the hippie party grooving. I also very much dig the keyboard solo in the middle, and there’s nice guitar work here as well.
“Unwind With the Clock” again shows off fantastic keyboard chops. And in fact it’s mostly a psychedelic-flavored cocktail lounge song instrumental of sorts – and a rather good one – before finally segueing into a pretty fantastic vocal section near the end.
Pop culture stuff that’s somehow related to Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense and Peppermints
I feel compelled to share a little Austin Powers with you: the scene when Austin, he being an international time traveling man of mystery, arrives back in the swinging London of 1969.
And note that “Magic Carpet Ride,” from Steppenwolf’s The Second (#999) greets Austin upon arrival.
Some stats & info about Strawberry Alarm Clock – Incense and Peppermints
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock, Rock Music, Pop, Pop Music, Psychedelic Rock, SoCal Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Incense and Peppermints released? 1967
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #873 out of 1,000
Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense and Peppermints on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense and Peppermints that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Who cares what games we choose – little to win, but nothing to lose.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.