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We're back to the beginning of the alphabet again with "A," and today I listened to The Association's fourth studio album, 1968's Birthday.
The Association was one of those bands that was hugely successful for a few years and then kind of fell off the face of the Earth. Known for their harmonies, they specialized in "sunshine pop," an easy listening style of pop from the mid to late '60s that originated in Southern California. They burst onto the scene in 1966 with their Top 10 hit "Along Comes Mary," which was considered subversive because "Mary" was slang for marijuana.
Between 1966 and 1968, the band had seven Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including five that reached the Top 10 and two #1s (1966's "Cherish" and 1967's "Windy"). Birthday came along at the tail end of their reign. Despite the rather psychedelic album cover, the songs are pretty much straight pop.
The album reached #23 on the Billboard album chart and featured the band's last two Top 40 songs and last Top 10 song, "Everything That Touches You" (#10) and "Time for Livin'" (#39). There's also a song with a title that's as blatant an attempt to glom onto the psychedelic movement as the album cover: "Rose Petals, Incense and a Kitten."
They released four more albums before breaking up in 1972, and then they reunited in 1979 and released some singles in the early '80s. Since then, they have toured and existed with various lineups.
Favorite Song on Side 1: "Come On In"
The first song on the album is a peppy pop song that showcased the band's harmonies.
Favorite Song on Side 2: "Hear in Here"
This one has kind of a funky beat before breaking into a bouquet of lovely late '60s pop.
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