Just The Right Sound: The Association Anthology
Music fans couldn't be blamed for thinking the reissue boom had run out of both steam and artistic merit. Then along comes this revealing 51-track double-disc anthology by the Association, much misunderstood purveyors of surprisingly enduring '60s hits such as "Along Comes Mary," "Cherish," "Windy," and "Never My Love." With their roots in the same potent Sunset Strip folk revival that yielded theByrdsandBuffalo Springfield, the Association's music embodied a more formal, pop-conscious wedding of folkie influences and the same affinity for adventurous vocal harmonies that fueled many ofBrian Wilson's legendary productions during that epoch. Ironically, it was their very sense of cohesive unity that undermined them at the end of the decade, as more individual talents--and larger egos--came to the fore. But lovers of their rich SoCal pop sense--an ethos an attentive new generation of fans and musicians have perfectly dubbed "sunshine pop"--will find this collection rife with old friends (the aforementioned perennials and lesser hits like "Six Man Band" and "Goodbye, Columbus"), as well as some previously unreleased material, a few key solo outings, and a wealth of unheralded gems like the ambitious "Requiem for the Masses" and vibrant, upbeat tracks like "Come On In" and "Like Always."--Jerry McCulley