The Time It Is Today/Everything That Touches You/Like Always/Never My Love/Requiem For The Masses/Along Comes Mary/Enter The Young/No Fair At All/Time For Livin’/We Love/Cherish/Windy/Six Man Band
An excellent introduction to the US melodic harmony group The Association which is still available today. Positioned midway between easy listening and pop, this group sadly continues to be overlooked in the UK. (US:4)
"The Association are a good example of the sophisticated music coming out of LA during the years that San Francisco was getting attention as home to the psychedelic scene. Although they didn't seem to be blessed with marketable charisma, they released a consistent string of hits between 1966 and 1968 that serves as testimony to their skills at pop composers and arrangers. Half of the Greatest Hits are hit songs, the other half a sampler of album material."
"I just love everything in it, from the inspired, high-spirited and lovely '60s summerpop down to the rich, mellifluous and ethereal quality of the member's blended voices, as if they were fated to go with the other. The Association are a million times better than most of the artists today, particularly those 'manufactured' boy bands and girl groups my peers are endlessly shrieking at. Never mind if the band's ballads tend to be treacly, at least they're more intelligent, sincere and charming compared to, say, the mostly dumb love songs we hear today."
"Their music was a perfect blend of ballad romance, impressionistic folk, soft rock, with a splash of psychedelic and a dash of R & B and jazz for good measure, all rolled up into catchy tunes with smart lyrics and human emotion. The Association's Greatest Hits has remained my favourite compilation album. The sequencing of songs, the mood ebb and flow, the whole listening experience has never grown old. These songs are just classic feel-good music by one of the most underestimated and pure-talented bands."
"I think what this album captures is the magic of being innocent, even if it is just a memory once you've become jaded and cynical. Besides that the harmonies are beautiful and very much unique for today, or even the time the album was released."
"This is a collection of some of the nicest/best pop music to come out of the sixties. They are renowned for their fine harmony singing and sophisticated arrangements."
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