Customer Reviews

Live

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

 

 

This re-release is long overdue. This album summed up the squeaky clean side of the 60's that is usually forgotten in favor of the Woodstock headlines. The Association played 60's pop on the radio, but this recording showed they could also rock. Their string of hits is included here, but you also get the driving One Too Many Mornings (an old Bob Dylan/Kingston Trio hit) to open the show, and some of the lesser known material like Goodbye Columbus, Just About The Same, and a beautiful rendidtion of What Were The Words. Vocal talent abounds with some harmony parts I never heard on their records. This album takes me back and does a great job. I'm only sorry it took them 29 years to release it on CD.

Having had the great fortune to not only hear the Association perform LIVE in '69, but also interview them for a local radio station's Junior Achievement company at the time, I am very happy to have this CD in my collection. I burned through two copies of this album at home, and wore out certain cuts at the station as well! Like the liner notes say, "..and the human voice.", The Association treated vocals like another instrument, with variation and expertise.

My all time favorite Association album will always be BIRTHDAY. Listening to it always brings tears to my eyes.

If you have not experienced it...then you must!

I was never much of fan of The Association, but when I bought the album when it first was released in 1971, I was quite amazed! The band shows that they are true showmen in every sense of the word. This concert not only shows off their musical talent, but their ability to captivate an audience with their own brand of humor and dialogue. Included are all their greatest hits and various others songs that complement the entire concert. There is not one bad song, which tells me that they knew how to put a show together and perform it at their very best. To this date, I am envious of the people who actually saw this live show!

I've always been amazed at the sheer amount of abuse heaped upon this album. "Out-of-key," "poorly performed" and at worst "irrelevant," "The Association Live" gets an awful lot of flack, and in my opinion, most of it is sorely undeserved.

True, the band wasn't exactly the hippest property around at the time (heck, this is from a Salt Lake City concert). And yes, there is a definate aura of studio tamper-ment that hovers around the album. But let's be honest, folks; how much does hearing The Association live and "raw" really matter?

In fact, when this album works best, it works as a wonderful "prism" through which their sixties hits are refracted. For although their self-titled album was slightly behind them by this point, the spirit that formed it was clearly still in attendence (and you can read my review of their self-titled album if you want to know my opinion on THAT heavenly piece of plastic). Thus, pure live, slightly overdubbed, or pure studio, each song is given a spirited re-arrangement that manages to freshen up even the most saccharine of their hits. Call me a heretic, but I think the version of "Goodbye Columbus" here absolutely blows away the hit version; while some of the studio perfection is inevitably lost, the sheer energy (And these guys are more than capable!) of the rendition and rearrangement let it become something *more* than the studio version.

Additionally, some of the re-arrangements are very indicative of a lot of thought and creativity. In particular, Terry Kirkman's flute becomes a primary instrument in many songs, and in some cases ("Along Comes Mary" and "Time it Is Today") this manages to completely transform the songs. A very nice touch!

Downsides? Well, some of the selections chosen are a bit dubious (although I absolutely love the inclusion of "Goodbye Forever," one of the oft-overlooked gems from Stonehenge), and while some of the rearrangements work, this transformation of Dubuque Blues from a melodic gem into something melody-less and vaguely blues-esque is, well, not amoung their number! And the crowd banter, while amusing the first few times through, is occasionally a bit awkward (one skit about "getting in touch with those around you" goes on for uncomfortably long). And I needn't say that two-LPs-in-one-CD aside, the current import price is more than a bit prohibitive.

My advice? Score a vinyl or tape copy of the album, and decide from there if you want to make the CD upgrade. It's not nearly the monster than many reviews make it out to be, but whether it's worth ... import prices is another story.