The Association
Just the Right Sound: The Association Anthology

(Warner Brothers/Rhino)

www.rhino.com

At the end of a long list of instruments played by the seven men assembled at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on April 3, 1970 is something called the human voice. Really, you could have stripped all of the other newfangled noise boxes out of the equation that evening, or on any evening, for that matter; take away the guitars, the percussion and wind makers, and you still have those glorious harmonies washing over you like God’s little gift of serenity.

The Association’s Live album, available on Japanese import, is revelatory for all the right reasons-it shows how the right blend of voices can explain the secrets of the universe, for one thing. Live is the starting point I would recommend to neophytes looking for the proper introduction to what I consider the most important American vocal group from the rock era-yes, even more important than the Beach Boys. (Hold those brickbats, children, you don’t know your own strength.)

Barring a copy of Live (it’s really easy to get from just about every import shop, brick-and-mortar or cyber, so you really have no excuse), Just the Right Sounds: The Association Anthology will do for an acceptable introduction to this great band. Not superlative, nor the last word in Association collections, Sounds is merely all right, and not because of bad mastering (it’s actually terrific), or bad song choices (all the choices make perfect sense, although you could argue a few), or bad packaging (it’s right on, and so is the usual top-notch Rhino booklet). No, it’s because it’s almost impossible to present an accurate picture of this band with any collection. You simply need the individual albums to paint the best picture.

So it’s a valiant (pun intended-look it up) effort, this anthology; an appetite whetter for the full Association catalogue (available, along with the aforementioned Live, on Japanese import). Among the treasures here: Russ Giguere’s perfectly-executed “I’ll Be Your Man,” from And Then…Along Comes the Association; P.F. Sloan’s gorgeous “On a Quiet Night” and drummer and perpetual-smiler Ted Bluechel’s soft-pop classic, “We Love Us,” both from Insight Out; Jo Mapes’ “Come On In,” one of the greatest album openers ever, with some of the Association’s best harmony assaults (it’s from Birthday); Jules Alexander’s “Under Branches,” from The Association; and the 45-only, mostly-a cappella “Across the Persian Gulf,” which will send goose bumps up your neighbor’s spine, as powerful as it is.

A handful of collectors items add to this package’s attraction: two unreleased tracks (the late Brian Cole’s weird comedy routine-cum-band intro, “The Machine,” which the band used to perform as part of their stage act, and Curt Boettcher and Lee Mallory’s “Better Times”) and a smattering of rarities, including a track from Giguere’s solo album, Hexagram 16, and the astounding studio take of “Just About the Same,” which rose to a paltry #106 on the Billboard pop chart in 1970 (a live version is on Live).

Listen and marvel at the treasures on Just the Right Sound, and then go and buy the rest of the albums. Start with Live, continue on with Stop Your Motor, then Insight Out, and…well, hell, it doesn’t really what order you end up with. Throw darts after sampling the pleasures of Live and then take your pick. And stay transfixed on that instrument of instruments, the human voice.

Like you’ll have a choice.

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Alan Haber used to host the Internet’s popular-and-long gone Pure Pop radio show and edit the Pure Pop web ’zine (also gone, long gone). He currently is his own boss at his new site, the Golden Age of Pop, which covers sixties and seventies pop music and current albums released by artists from those decades. He can be reached at alan@goldenageofpop.com

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