Wake Up...It's Tomorrow

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Wake Up...It's Tomorrow
Studio album by
Strawberry Alarm Clock
ReleasedJune 1968
Recorded1967
StudioTTG Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length36:04
LabelUni/Sundazed
ProducerFrank Slay, Bill Holmes
Strawberry Alarm Clock chronology
Incense and Peppermints
(1967) 		Wake Up...It's Tomorrow
(1968) 		The World in a Sea Shell
(1968)
Singles from Wake Up...It's Tomorrow
  1. "Tomorrow"
    Released: 1967
  2. "Sit with the Guru"
    Released: 1968
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic
 [1]

Wake Up...It's Tomorrow is the second

bassists
, would be altered to address studio and performing issues.

Upon release, Wake Up...It's Tomorrow failed to chart, though it is considered Strawberry Alarm Clock's apex of musical creativity, as the band members were free to pen the majority of the album's material. The pop-oriented song "Tomorrow" preceded the release of the album, earning the group their second and final Top 40 hit. An additional follow-up single, "Sit with the Guru", also charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

Background

Prior to recording, bassist Gary Lovetro departed after being bought out for $25,000, leaving the position solely to George Bunnell.[2] Regarding Lovetro's exit, keyboardist Mark Weitz explained, "Even though he was one of the original members [dating back to the days of Thee Sixpence, the band that evolved into the Strawberry Alarm Clock], we felt his interest in the band was more business-oriented than contributing musically. Sometimes guitarist Ed King had to do the bass parts in the studio for Gary. He just didn't have enough talent to conceive a good original bass part".[3] Also virtually absent from Wake Up...It's Tomorrow was songwriter and occasional instrumentalist Steve Bartek, who was never an official member of Strawberry Alarm Clock, but played a pivotal role as a co-writer with Bunnell. However, Bartek was unable to formally join the fold and only penned one track, "Sitting on a Star", before excusing himself from any further involvement in the group.[4]

Record sessions were conducted in the technologically-advanced

rhythm guitarist Lee Freeman branching off from Weitz and drummer Randy Seol to write their own compositions.[5][6]

Upon release, Wake Up...It's Tomorrow failed to chart nationally. However, it was arguably the most polished album of the band's entire recording career. Singles "Tomorrow" and "Sit with the Guru" fared better on the

theme song in the film Psych-Out. King reasoned that distribution of the album came too late to capitalize on the success of "Tomorrow", and that it was poorly advertised by Uni Records. In part, it was a consequence of the band's manager, Bill Holmes, attempting to retain control of the group by refusing promotional assistance from Uni executives.[3]

Track listing

Original LP

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nightmare of Percussion"George Bunnell, Howard Davis, Randy Seol2:57
2."Soft Skies, No Lies"Ed King, Lee Freeman3:07
3."Tomorrow"King, Mark Weitz2:14
4."They Saw the Fat One Coming"King, Lee Freeman3:25
5."Curse of the Witches"Bunnell, Seol6:46
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sit with the Guru"King, Weitz, Roy Freeman2:59
2."Go Back (You're Going the Wrong Way)"King, Lee Freeman, Weitz2:19
3."Pretty Song from Psych-Out"King, Lee Freeman3:15
4."Sitting on a Star"Bunnell, Seol, Steve Bartek2:55
5."Black Butter, Past"King, Davis, Lee Freeman2:23
6."Black Butter, Present"King, Lee Freeman2:10
7."Black Butter, Future"King, Davis, Lee Freeman1:32
1997 Japan CD reissue bonus tracks[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Tomorrow (mono single mix)"King, Weitz2:13
14."Sit with the Guru (mono single mix)"King, Weitz, Roy Freeman3:01

Personnel

Strawberry Alarm Clock
Additional personnel
  • Frank Slay – producer
  • Bill Holmes – producer
  • Howard Davis – vocal arrangements, spoken passage on "Nightmare of Percussion"
  • Paul Buff – engineer
  • Jack Hunt – engineer
  • Don Weller – liner assemblage
  • Gene Brownell – photographer

References

  1. ^ Allmusic
  2. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Strawberry Alarm Clock -Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "LINER NOTES FOR THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK'S WAKE UP...IT'S TOMORROW". richieunterberger.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  4. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Steve Bartek - Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  5. ^ Planer, Lindsay. "Wake Up...It's Tomorrow". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  6. ^ "Wake Up...It's Tomorrow (1968 album)". unwindwithsac.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  7. ^ "Strawberry Alarm Clock - Wake Up...It's Tomorrow". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
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