The Association Revisited
04/13/06
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(conqueroo) Old conventional wisdom: The Association were forerunners of commercial California soft-rock. Revised conventional wisdom: The Association delivered a well-crafted string of hits in the �60s, from �Along Comes Mary� and �Cherish� to �Windy� and �Never My Love,� with expert musicianship and production, six-part harmonies and frequent side trips into psychedelia and garage rock. In short: masterful pioneers of sunshine pop.
With the revised conventional wisdom in mind, Collectors Choice Music has completed its comprehensive reissues of the Association�s eight albums with the release of 1966�s And Then . . . Along Comes The Association and 1969�s Goodbye Columbus. Street date for the volumes is May 16.
The albums were annotated by Ritchie Unterberger, with copious quotes from founding bandmember Jim Yester. Remastering guru Bill Inglot ensured top quality audio.
And Then . . . Along Comes the Association and Goodbye Columbus join Collectors Choice�s previous roll-out of six key Association albums: Renaissance, Insight Out, Birthday, The Association, Live and Stop Your Motor.
And Then . . ., which introduced the group�s harmonies to the world, notched two Top 10 hits for the band in 1966-67: �Along Comes Mary� and �Cherish.� It was one of the first American pop albums to fully embrace stereo sound, aided by the able production of Curt Boettcher (later of the Millennium and Sagittarius).
Thanks to the band�s auspicious launch with And Then . . ., it was an eventful three years before the 1969 release of Goodbye Columbus. In that time, the band scored with �Windy� and �Never My Love.� It was no wonder that they were on Hollywood�s radar and were asked to contribute songs to the movie adapted from the Philip Roth novel starring Ali MacGraw and Richard Benjamin. The Association contributed the title track and four others; the album also contains instrumentals composed by Charles Fox.
Founded on folk roots and rich musical talent, the Association boasted six Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/instrumentalists: Terry Kirkman, Jules Alexander, Jim yester, Ted Bluechel Jr., Brian Cole and Russ Giguere. When Alexander left briefly, Larry Ramos from the New Christy Minstrels came aboard. Few know that the Association played the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967. Had their presence been documented on film, it might have instantly changed perceptions about the group.But 40 years later, Collectors Choice�s full catalog of restored Association albums is available and will favorably revise the way music history remembers this harmony-rich California band.
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