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The Association
LIST OF ASSOCIATION REVIEWS: And Then...Along Comes (1966)
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And Then...Along Comes (1966)Album Score: 10These are good guys. I'm not claiming that I know this group personally. I don't even know the names of anyone in the band right now, but I can tell they're good people through the music. It's unfortunate that they're so plagued with a lack of melodic inventiveness, which is rightfully considered the most important quality when it comes to writing pop-rock such as this. But this is one of those cases where their inventiveness in other areas (namely, instrumentation) make up for a lot of that. Plus, this music is sooooooooooooooooooooooo likable. You've got to feel good about a pop song like "Enter the Young." It starts out very pleasantly with a mildly catchy tune, but the song slowly grows more and more passionate by the very end. See, if they just wanted to write pop hits for money, they would have been quite happy with keeping the same old mood. It wouldn't have been a bad song if they only did that come to think of it! As I have often been commenting lately, you can tell a lot about an artist by how they end their songs. Well, they nail that one. So, they're real artists and have passion. They're just not that talented. Pity! Sure, the 'passion' is limited on quite a few of these tracks. Specifically, when the instrumental inventiveness isn't as compelling, their work tends to suffer. Look at what happens on that snooze-fest called "Remember." Let's just say it doesn't quite live up to its title. The biggest hit these guys came up with is "Cherish," and I also would like to call that my favorite song on the album. The atmosphere they create is *golden*, and that's precisely why the song continues to get good play today. It very much deserves distinction as one of the characteristic tunes of the '60s. Another great song of the album is "Along Came Mary" and I also want to call that song the best of the album! The groove they come up with is fantastic. That's a fun song. You can tell by my tone of this review that I loved this album, but it did have those unfortunate and non-ignorable flaws. Well, it's so difficult to hate musicians who care about their craft and want to put a smile on your face while doing it! Read the track reviews and reader comments:
Renaissance (1967)Album Score: 8The Association were never ones to be great songwriters. Melodically, all of their songs are average at best. Their biggest strength, it seems, is their arranging and instrumental skills. Let's take their hit track, "Cherish," from their previous album. If you ask me, that melody isn't the catchiest thing to ever grace the Land of Pop Rock. The strength of the track is its atmosphere and the refined and glorious arrangements. They spent a lot of time developing that song, and the result was something that still gets airplay today. Well, it was a big hit at the time, and the producers wanted to get these guys back to the studio ASAP. And, well ... these songs just aren't as delightful as the previous album, and their mediocre songwriting skills seem to have merely stagnated. It's neither better nor worse than the mediocrity that persisted in their previous effort. I would hesitate to even recommend that album to anyone, wihch makes their follow-up completely inessential. But to be fair, it does have its bright moments. "Angeline" is my favorite moment of the album. It's a completely goofy psychedelic love song that's more funny than it is melodic ... but it is funny. Who knows if they were being serious or not, but those baritone operatic vocals deliver something quite amusing. Plus the melody is pretty good with that one. "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies" is another product of the time, and it manages to hold together very well. This was the highest charting single of the album even though it only managed to hit #35 as opposed to #1 hit "Cherish." Unfortunately, many of the other tracks just turned out to be a huge mess. "Come to Me" sounds like their melody/harmony department wasn't quite communicating with their rhythm section. "You May Think" sounds completely wrong. Like nobody was communicating. The Association certainly had their brilliant moments in their debut, but I guess they just didn't give that time to develop properly in this disappointing follow-up. Oh well. This album is only worth recommending to die hard '60s pop aficionados who won't be happy until they own everything from that decade. Read the track reviews and reader comments:
Insight Out (1967)Album Score: 11Of 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. BUT, this was a very substantial leap from their previous album, and this is smack dab in the middle of this group's peak period. Unlike their previous album, the melodies are above average and their musical ideas are more hits than misses. Hurrah! 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. Read the track reviews and reader comments:
Birthday (1968)Album Score: 12Wow. Previously to Birthday, they released a formidable album, but I never expected them to actually get better than that. Their melodic talents weren't much to speak of ever in their career since that point. Sure, they run across a few memorable hits here and there, but nothing that would last throughout an entire album. But I spoke too soon. Birthday is the group's greatest album. Something happened to spark a major change in this group. Whatever it was, I like it. These guys were always likable, but they finally got to a point where they're in full bloom. It's beautiful and, as I made an example, unexpected. They're still miles away from writing great melodies like the Beatles, but they are definitely leaps and bounds better and more consistent than anything album they released beforehand. The melodies aren't even the reason Birthday is so great. It's the moods. Yes, The Association is undeniably another one of those freaking sunshine pop bands, but they're quite convincing at it. This whole album is essentially one continuously pleasant moment that does not let up. They really perfected their glorious mood here --- especially how they work in those Beach-Boys-esque vocal harmonies. They sound better here than they even did on their hit single "Cherish" and much more purposeful. They tap into a heavenly vibe that's so convincing that it doesn't even make this work sound cheesy or cheap in any way. As I always recognized from these guys, they seem to be interested in making music for the art of it and not just the money. Here is their best work --- where most of their musical ideas seemed like good ones. Even when the songs that aren't so special, melodically, I want to love them. They're just so happy and likable. The funny thing is none of these songs sound famous to me. This seems like a pretty overlooked album. '60s pop fans ought to take note! Read the track reviews and reader comments:
Goodbye Columbus (1969)Album Score: 8I haven't seen the film Goodbye, Columbus, so I am unaware of the ambient tracks' practical effectiveness. The general problem with soundtrack albums is that simply listening to the tracks isn't what it was designed to do. You're supposed to be watching a movie at the same time! There are a few great soundtracks out there with more artistic merit and detail than you'd be able to pick up while watching the movie --- Philip Glass soundtracks are excellent examples!! Well, I'm grateful that this soundtrack is in-print only because it certainly wouldn't have done any good out-of-print! At that same time, I really wonder who this soundtrack is for. Goodbye, Columbus isn't a movie with much name recognition. I only heard of it, because this soundtrack is included in The Association's discography. So, there won't be too many people who want this soundtrack because of the name recognition. Since it only contains three Association songs (and another in instrumental form), casual Association fans are probably best advised to pass this by. Nope, Goodbye Columbus is only for die-hard Association fans, and I wonder how many of those are in the world? Anyway, the only great Association song on here is the title track "Goodbye Columbus." It's such a soaring composition and brimming to the edge with optimism. It's one that'll put a smile on your face and probably leave it there for a couple minutes afterward. That's one song --- buy it for $.99 on iTunes, and you pretty much have everything that's necessary! I had to listen to this whole thing, because I'm insane. But I'm happy to report that this listening experience was A-OK. The other two Association tracks, "So Kind to Me" and "It's Gotta Be Real" are entirely decent tracks ... they are sort of pleasant things to hear if you misplaced your Beatles albums. And, Charles Fox seems like a good soundtrack composer. His instrumental music is mostly in the rock 'n' roll format, but you get the impression that he's done that more to match the times and not really being what's in his soul. Some of his drum arrangements sound like this was the first time ever tried writing for pop-rock. I like most of his chord progressions, but they also have a non-rock flavor --- It's cinematic music done with some rock stylings. Nothing else. Anyway, I enjoyed listening to his incidental music. I found "How Will I Know You?" to be the second-most enjoyable track of the whole album --- so I guess this really isn't The Association's Yellow Submarine, after all. In The Beatles case, you find the incidental music pretty dang annoying. Here, you welcome it, because (honestly) Charles Fox is a better composer than anybody from The Association... Read the track reviews and reader comments:
The Association (1969)Album Score: 10The Association's songwriting surely took a hit by this time. After Birthday was apparently the best that the band could be, they decide to follow that up with this solid though thoroughly unremarkable album. Unfortunately for them, they guys weren't selling albums like they used to (notably, this album is without a hit single). Yeah, as far as memorable hit melodies, the band comes up desperately short. It's not that this was a surprising lapse. Their songwriting is often below standard, usually at standard and only rarely above standard. Even “Cherish” is kinda more memorable for its atmosphere than its melody. “Along Comes Mary” might be upbeat and thoroughly enjoyable, but the vocal melody consists of few notes. But if you just know this band for their hits, know this: They still aren’t prone to writing tons of uninspired filler material. I never got the impression that their only aim in the business was to gain commercial prominence; Yes, this band is as respectable as ever!! One thing I shall never deny this album (or this group throughout its history) is its solidness. This makes a really good listen. A lot of effort was put into this, it's remarkably diverse and it’s fit for, perhaps, a day’s drive in the country. It’s pretty much impossible to hate this album. However, the most important quality of this group (and this album) is that it doesn’t sound particularly dated. A writer on the All Music Guide postulated that another one of this group’s album’s is better appreciated by today’s audiences, because we won’t bother comparing it to other landmark albums such as Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds, which were still fresh in everyone's mind. That's certainly a valid point although don't think that this album is anywhere near the quality of those monster-classics!! This group started out in 1966 as an obviously Beatles-inspired band, but by 1969, it's difficult to tell where they wanted to go. It seems like country rock at first. The first instrument you hear on the album is the banjo on “Look at Me, Look at You” and then a melody and atmosphere that sounds like it wants to be a war protest song. “Love Affair” is a psychedelic song, and it’s pretty nice. “The Nest” mimics the Beach Boys and “Dubuque Blues” has a very generic folk melody. Two kind of embarrassing discourses in the album is a gospel number “Are You Ready” (but it’s too spirited to really dislike) and a Hendrix-like “I Am Up for Europe.” You can probably assume that the reason this band never achieved much notoriety is that they had a hard time developing a genuine face of their own. They mostly just imitated their already-popular contemporaries. But it’s a solid, likable album and a respectable overall effort. Read the track reviews and reader comments:
Live (1970)Album Score: 7Who's ready for a live album from the greatest pop band of the '60s, The Association?!!! ........... (OK, try to find a soundbyte of a cricket chirping to play, and you can get the appropriate mood going.) Not only are there not enough Association fans in the world with any desire hear a live album, they go and make this a double live album (all compressed to a single compact disc). That's right, folks. This is 80 minutes worth of The Association Live! Let me ask you something: ARE YOU AS EXCITED AS I AM????? That sarcasm comes from sitting through this monstrosity three times all the way through. Now let me go onto answer the question that's undoubtedly formulating in your brain: What's so dang awful about it? You might be thinking that I'm just harping over the fact that these live version are nowhere near as good as the superior quality of the studio cuts. Well, that's much of it! With a band like The Association who aren't exactly known for their instrumental virtuosity, you'd expect there to be nothing special about the live versions that you couldn't pick up from the studio. The real damning factor of this album is TALKING they do in between the performances. In fact, this is attribute of this album is so dang awful that I'm going to devote the entire next paragraph to discuss it. These guys have NO sense of humor. They think they're funny, and so they come off as horribly obnoxious. Now, I've previously stated that I like hearing the band talk to their audiences in live albums. I still hold that to be true. More than anything else, it's interesting to hear how a musician's talking voice sounds like, but I also like to get a better taste of their personality. BUT if these guys are going to make bad jokes, then I don't want to hear 'em. Shut up and sing, hippies! That's not the only reason that Live is such a big failure. They make some pretty horrible track decisions. Who honestly wanted to hear them play bland songs like "I'll Be Your Man," "Goodbye Forever," "Blistered" and "Remember?" I couldn't even recall these songs until I pulled up the studio albums and remembered why I didn't like those songs much in the first place. At the same time, these guys don't exactly have a rich and extensive back catalogue to choose from! This was a compelling reason to just make this a single album --- if you really had to release a live album at all. The only significant compliment I'm willing to give them is their work with Bob Dylan's folk ditty "One Too Many Mornings." That's pretty freaking awesome, and they made a very good decision by opening the album with it. Well, as long as you're willing to forget the real opening track of backstage chatter, "Dreamgirl," exists. ... While you're at it, you'd might as well this album doesn't exist. I can't say there are many more useless live albums than this... Read the track reviews and reader comments:
Stop Your Motor (1971)Album Score: 9These poor old guys weren't exactly willing to do much to regain their commercial composure, but I suppose they were ready to be on their merry ways. The Association certainly haven't changed their styles at all. In 1971 most bands moved onto roots-rock or, alternately, Carpenters-esque AM radio pop. I could imagine an alternate reality in which this band might have taken either routes, but they just sort of seemed content with doing the same old thing. That doesn't necessarily bother me, but it's pretty much why this album was a total commercial flop. It would turn out that this would be their last contribution for the Warner Brothers record label, and they would just release one more album after this, Waterbeds in Trinidad! with Columbia Records. I don't want to say that I think this album is dated for 1971 audiences, because I don't get the general impression that it's dated whatsoever. The problem with it is the same as many of their previous albums: They were never one to be able to boast about their songwriting skills. I'd say this is of the same middle-of-the-road caliber of their eponymous album of 1969. Stylistically, they are quite similar, except this one's a tad less charming. They have the nice tendency to try a number of different styles here although it's not too adventurous. "That's Racin'" is a sort of Dylan-esque song with some old-time country stylings, "Traveler's Guide (Spanish Flyer)" is a vague attempt at Latin, "Along the Way" has an operatic feel ....... Though the diversity is noted, every song still has that underlying Associations aura. This isn't exacly a White Album. There are a few minor gems I'd like to point out and then I'll end the review section. The best song is the thunderous opener "Bring Yourself Home." Stylistically, it's the same thing as "Goodbye Columbus" and it's nearly as well done. Their established packed vocal harmonies sound as glorious as ever! Also, "The First Sound" and "Along the Way" both work as convincing pieces of drama. Sure, it's not always effective for bands to pen ultra-serious songs, but these guys tend to know how to inject the proper moods in them. Overall, this is mildly entertaining. I wouldn't buy it or anything, but it's a legitimately solid and sometimes enjoyable work. Read the track reviews and reader comments:
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All reviews are written by Michael Lawrence.
