The World In A Sea Shell is the name of Strawberry Alarm Clock

Strawberry Alarm Clock

Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles best known for their 1967 hit "Incense and Peppermints". The group took its name as an homage to the Beatles' psychedelic hit "Strawberry Fields Forever", reportedly, at the suggestion of their record company Uni Records.They are...

's third LP, released in November 1968 on the UNI label (Uni 73035). The album was not a chart success, and was the final LP to include the classic Strawberry Alarm Clock lineup.

Background

Having failed with their second album, Wake Up...It's Tomorrow

Wake Up...It's Tomorrow

Wake Up...It's Tomorrow is the second album by Strawberry Alarm Clock. It is the last album to feature the classic Incense and Peppermints lineup....

, to recapture the huge success of 1967's "Incense And Peppermints"

Incense and Peppermints (song)

"Incense and Peppermints" is a song by the Los Angeles based psychedelic pop band Strawberry Alarm Clock. The song is officially credited as having been written by John S. Carter and Tim Gilbert, although it was based on an instrumental idea by band members Mark Weitz and Ed King...

, the band's management decided to exert more control over the recordings for the third album. To this end, they pressured the band to record several compositions written by outsiders. (These included Carole King

Carole King

Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...

 and "Incense And Peppermints" lyricists John Carter and Tim Gilbert.) The members of Strawberry Alarm Clock bristled at this situation, but reluctantly agreed to it in the end. Thus, five of the album's twelve songs (including most of the vinyl LP's side 1) were non-SAC songs.

The new direction did not pay off commercially for the band. Many of the tracks on The World In A Sea Shell featured lush orchestration, and a gentle, escapist feel that stood in stark contrast to the adventurous psychedelia of the band's past work. This sudden change in direction, seen as a gross miscalculation on their managers' part by the band members, helped seal Strawberry Alarm Clock's fate. This frustrated the band, as its own compositions, though often swamped with the dense sound of side 1's tracks, include some adventurous moments and sound collages that fans might have expected, and that aren't too far removed from the previous album.

Side 1

1. "Sea Shell" (John Carter, Tim Gilbert)
2. "Blues for A Young Girl Gone" (Carole King
   Carole King
   Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
   
   , Toni Stern)
3. "An Angry Young Man" (B. Stone)
4. "A Million Smiles Away" (Lee Freeman, Ed King)
5. "Home Sweet Home" (John Carter, Tim Gilbert)
6. "Lady of the Lake" (Carole King, Toni Stern)

Side 2

1. "Barefoot in Baltimore" (Roy Freeman, Ed King, Mark Weitz)
2. "Wooden Woman" (Lee Freeman)
3. "Heated Love" (George Bunnell, Randy Seol)
4. "Love Me Again" (Lee Freeman, Ed King)
5. "Eulogy" (George Bunnell, Lee Freeman, Randy Seol)
6. "Shallow Impressions" (Mark Weitz)

Singles from the album

Two singles were released, "Sea Shell" (which didn't chart) and "Barefoot in Baltimore" (which reached #67 in the US).

Aftermath

In the wake of the album's release, original members George Bunnell and Randy Seol left Strawberry Alarm Clock, leaving the band's final LP Good Morning Starshine to Freeman, King, Nightcrawlers singer Jim Pitman, and previous band member Gene Gunnels on drums.