Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits (Rpkg)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Contains all their big hits, but none of their later material. It was a straight re-issue of the 1968 LP, which was pretty much the norm in the early days of CD's. But this excellent set is long over due for an update, including remastering. Add another 5 or 6 songs from their later albums and it would be an easy 5 star CD. As is it is very good. "Everything That Touches You" is one of the best love songs to come out of the 60's. "Windy" and "Cherish" are classics. Nobody sounded like the Association.

I bought this "album" when it was first released in 1968 (at age 13), and recently purchased it again on cd. This compilation contains their best-known hits, plus a few other tracks that the casual Association fan may not have heard before. If you are the type of person who is only interested in hearing familiar songs, without exploring any deeper cuts, this probably is the cd for you. None of the songs are disappointing, and they give a good over-view of what The Association was capable of doing. However, it is a very "safe" collection of music, nothing being included but the absolutely most commercially successful songs. That being said, it is still worth the few dollars charged for it, in order to own some of the greatest music ever released by one band. If you want to dig deeper into The Association's music after hearing this cd without buying all of their old releases separately, I would then purchase Just The Right Sound-The Association Anthology. Whatever Association music you ultimately buy, you will not be disappointed.

Sure, just take the old Greatest Hits, put it in a cardboard slipcase, and charge a dollar more for it. Right, where do I sign up? I guess Am@zon didn't notice that they're selling this same disc without the slipcase for a dollar less. And I guess Time Warner is hoping that by stamping the Rhino logo on the slipcase, people will be fooled into thinking the disc actually sounds good. This sort of thing would never have happened when Rhino was still an indy...

This great collection covers 1966 through 1968, their most commercially successful period. It features the chart-toppers "Cherish" and "Windy" and the Top Ten hits "Along Comes Mary", "Never My Love" and "Everything That Touches You". "Requiem For The Masses" was a B-side and "Time For Livin'" was a Top Forty hit. The heavy sounding "Six Man Band" was also a single. The remaining tracks are album cuts.

Although there isn't a weak track here, I think a remastered version of this title is long overdue. The sound quality is such that one has to turn up the volume when you play it, especially "Enter The Young". Even so, this is an essential collection for anyone who loves great music.

TT 38:33

I was attending classes in the local junior college when the Association hit the scene in the mid 60s. Everyone I knew, regardless of how "hippy" they may have been, really like the Association. True classic love songs that, if you're in the right mood, can bring to the surface some emotional memories of long past loves. It does for me and for a couple of my buddies (& I think we were pretty cool guys back then). Want to see them in action? Rent the 3 disk version of Monterey Pop. They were the opening act. They opened their act with the "Machine", one of their lesser known "songs" that introduces the band & their various instruments. Imagine: While standing still side by side & wearing tradional business suits (remember, M-Pop is the granddaddy of the hippy festivals re: the song Monterey by Eric Burton & The Animals) one member would described how each one played their instruments while that member while acting like a robot would demonstrate how to play his instrument. Once done they went right into "Along Comes Mary". Funny & cool at the same time. For nine bucks (ok, it's $8.97) you can't go wrong. Introduce your kids or grandkids to this great music. Many will thank you. Mine did.

Musically, the Sixties are justly noted for classic songs in the surf, psychedelic, garage, folk, and British Invasion genres, but the Association managed to become one of the most-remembered bands of the decade with ballads and pop songs like "Cherish," "Windy," and "Never My Love." Six of their seven top 40 hits are included here, and this collection is very consistent--even the songs that did not chart are very good, so this would be a great purchase for those who are fans of this band.

I grew up in the 60's, and the Association was a great part of that time! This cd is something I have wanted for a long time!

A word on "greatest hits" and "best of" compilations. As a youngster diving into Beatles albums and then Moody Blues, Mamas & Papas, and then getting corrupted by the San Francisco scene and British invasion acts, I started out pretty much as a born album-oriented rock and roll kid. Often I looked down my narrow-minded nose at greatest hits packages, after all they weren't really "albums" with a cohesiveness and integrity of their own. They were, for all intensive purposes compilations of individual songs which were popular singles from an artist, and they just didn't count, for me, as "albums". Ah the loftiness of our minds when we were young! However that is not to say that so-and-so's "Greatest Hits" and "Best Of" packages did not have their place. Some artists I enjoyed on the radio had albums which were hit and miss or where I liked them just enough to grab hold of a compilation when I didn't want to, or have the money to, go out and buy annual and semi-annual volumes that might or did end up falling short on the great expectations list. Steppenwolf and Three Dog Night were prime examples of artists whose greatest hits collections could outshine individual albums.

I was primarily into melodic and harmonious rock and roll during the years `66 -'69 so the multi-tracked vocals of the Beatles, the Moody Blues, and Mamas & Papas were huge on my list, however, there was another layered vocal group who consistently caught my ear on the radio during those years, and that was The Association. They captured all the harmonious pleasantry of my favorite three of '66 - '69 along with the slick production of the Beach Boys, the folksy intellect of Dylan, and the experimental edge of the San Francisco-based rock groups. I was desperate to try out one of their albums but also nervous about being disappointed so when The Association's Greatest Hits came out, it was intuitive to grab it up as soon as it hit the streets. What was not to like about the sum total of a sound where nearly every member of the group contributed sharply to the sum of the parts as well as they did. Their music was a perfect blend of ballad romance, impressionistic folk, soft rock, with a splash of psychedelic and a dash of R&B Jazz for good measure, all rolled up into catchy tunes with smart lyrics and human emotion. For 43 years, The Association's Greatest Hits has remained my favorite "Greatest Hits" compilation "album"! Yes, I even call it an "album"! The sequencing of songs, the mood ebb and flow, the whole listening experience has never grown old and these songs are just classic feel-good music by one of the most underestimated and overtly pure-talented bands that ever was. I even ended up buying a couple of their "real" albums after the initial purchase of this, but I wore this vinyl out and replaced it immediately, even bought a cassette tape of it to assist it in living longer, and when this was released on CD, it was an instant treasure to replace. I gather that most of the people who come looking to this CD are looking to replace their vinyl so a word on the sound.

Rhino, without question, are indispensable when it comes to preserving our musical treasures and I have yet to be disappointed by their efforts but my copy is a BMG distributed remaster of the Warner Brothers original and the sound is impeccably as good (if not ever so slightly better) than the vinyl record. It has also lasted me for 20 years now without a flaw so I cannot speak to the Rhino release but if they somehow goofed it that would be a shame since I hold them in the highest esteem.

For those of you remotely acquainted with The Association or not familiar at all, I can only say that if you love The Beatles, The Mamas & The Papas, Crosby-Stills-Nash, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel, Herman's Hermit's, Fleetwood Mac, etc. then you will be richly rewarded with The Association. Their songs were uniquely their own, rich layered vocals and songwriting which when attempted by other acts never pulled off successfully. At least not with audiophiles. Yes some of their songs actually made it as "hits" by other artists but when they were, the result was foolish, bubble-gum, even bombastic. For instance, David Cassidy of The Partridge Family actually had a hit single with his cover of the luscious beautiful "Cherish", however it was such a sugary-sweet piece of tripe adults and critics fell all over themselves laughing at it. The same result came with Blue Suede's glam-cover of "Never My Love". It came off like Kiss covering Bob Dylan, excuse me? The Association very successfully blended romance with counterculture pop in a recipe that could not be duplicated. Do yourself a favor and pick this Greatest Hits package up, you won't regret it once you make your ears happy.

We receved our CD quickly and without problems. It was in great shape and we will most likely order from them in the future.

Great service, fast, easy, as described I was surprised at how fast the item arrived. There were no problems with this order.