This link will take you to the ASSOCIATION... yeah... Insight? Out! Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 Of all the rock bands in the '60s, I always considered The Association likable but their melodic prowess was weak, and their albums are usually scattered with one or two horrible ideas or misconstrued tracks. Insight Out is no exception to that, although I do suspect that this is probably the group's best album. Why? Well, their melodies are above average and their musical ideas are more hits than misses. It's no surprise that their idea to bring old-time jazz music to rock in "Wasn't It a Bit Like Now" is one of the finest songs of the album. It's not the first time a rock band tried this idea (look previously to The Kinks), but The Association certainly delivers a good product that's fit for the year of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Another strange song is the closing track "Requiem for the Masses," which is an interesting cross between hippie folk music and a Medieval choral work. The melody certainly could have been catchier, but the idea was enough to engage me. Probably the best song of the album is a more straight-forward ballad called "Never My Love." It was a hit and deservedly so --- these guys are rarely able to pull off melodies as good as that. The biggest hit of the album, however, is "Windy." But I honestly don't know what's supposed to be so great about that one. It's average --- even within the context of this album. As usual, The Association seems to take great care in their songs, and they earn brownie points for that. That quality certainly picked up from their relatively disappointing previous work Renaissance, which seemed like a toss-off. These guys were a decent '60s band, but the reason why they're largely forgotten today is that their melodies are bland. For that reason, these guys are less recommendable than many of their fellow overlooked popsters. The Monkees and The Turtles are good examples. Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 (This is an enjoyable album! Though it might not have the big hits they had in their debut, this is more solid.) Average Song Score: 8.4 (Their songwriting is getting more unique, and they do seem to love their work.) Album Tilt: 8.5 (A few weak spots though the diversity saves it. It still seems pretty average.) Artist Rating: 8.5 (They're willing to try different things even though their musical talent might be pretty limited.) Track Reviews Wasn't It a Bit Like Now 9.5/10 The Association proves they can keep up with the times --- or rather the 1967 idea for rock bands to combine Brit-pop with older styles of music. In this case, they devilver a snappy bit of jazz. The instrumentation is nearly perfect, but the real kicker is the melody! It's catchy and quite fun. They have an unusual idea of bookmarking this song with a bit of riff-rock. I'm not sure why they did it, but it's a good riff. On a Quiet Night 8.5/10 A pretty ballad, and I like the melody! It's nothing I'm going to remember tomorrow morning, but it's well written. The instrumentation is also very nice with their twinkling dulcimers. I like their vocals --- there's an echo effect that was put to especially good use. They even go Beatles-esque at the end with their crazy fade-out involving reverse drums and a sound effect reminiscent of "Tomorrow Never Knows." We Love Us 8.5/10 Another enormously pretty ballad --- the mood is utterly pretty and it's easy to get caught up in it. The melody is fine although I still think these guys are weak melody writers. It's their crippling flaw, but one that their good naturedness often makes up for. This is another fine track. When Love Comes to Me 7/10 This is alright, though something seems out-of-whack about it. The melody is the usual blandness that was very present on their previous album, Renaissance. It has a rhythm section that doesn't seem to fit with the slower, more sweeping vocals. Hm. Windy 8/10 This was a big hit for them, and I'm not sure why! It's not really a catchy song ... maybe it came at a lull in between Beatles albums or something. Well, I do like this song. I like the way it's structured --- it's pretty complex. The instrumentation is quite solid, and the complex vocal harmonies are put to great use. This is an entertaining song, but it's not so great. Reputation 9/10 This one seems out of touch only because it seems more at home in 1963 instead of 1967 --- that probably wasn't too cool for the time. But listening to this with 21st century ears, this is one of the more entertaining tracks of the album. It's a good old rocker that sounds exactly like "Cool Jerk." The instrumentation is complex enough for them to justify recording it in 1967, and that's certainly worth something. (The tempo increases slightly, and the harmonica playing in the background was an almost brilliant touch.) Never My Love 9.5/10 This was another hit for them, but not as much as "Windy." This sounds more inherently likable than "Windy" though, and it's definitely my vote for the best song of the album. The melody is great (for once) and their vocal harmonizations almost seem heavenly. The instrumentation isn't unusual this time --- but it's perfect. The drums are fabulous, and I also like that noodling organ. The song structure is solid though varied enough to not be too repetitive. This is good '60s pop music; case closed! Happiness Is 8.5/10 Here is a song that'll put a smile on your face. That's getting to the point where even I (one who can generally take unrelenting cheese) am getting to the point of vomiting. Nonetheless, this is a well-written song --- they even throw in some ukulele to give it the proper mood! (This sounds like they're trying to emulate "Happy Together" by the Turtles .... they came surprisingly close.) Sometime 7/10 A bit of a mess I'm sorry to report. It's another example of relatively hookless melody writing and it just comes off as bland. The instrumentation is fine, and completely usual for the time period. Some of the vocal back-ups are weird, though the song unquestionably would have benefitted if they omitted it. Meh. Requiem For the Masses 8.5/10 And the album closes with this, which possesses another unsual musical idea. It's a hippie ballad combined with a religious, Medieval chorus. It's interesting though the melody is too bland for this to ever be considered a classic. The instrumentation and the Medieval vocals are the attraction here, and it's unusual enough to warrant a listen! Doya wanna comments here!!!!

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He's mean to his end.