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When everything was meshing in their respective "machines," you could count on the Association and ABBA to put out some of the best-beloved and fondly remembered pop songs. Both acts' music has been reissued recently. This is pop in all its splendor. Pop chart phenoms
repackage hits
"Just the Right Sound: The Association Anthology"
The Association (Warner Bros./Rhino)"The Winner Takes It All: The ABBA Story"
ABBA (Polydor/UME)
Reviews by Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comThe sunny '60s Los Angeles band gets the compilation treatment on "Just the Right Sound: The Association Anthology," and all eight albums by the singing Swedish quartet have been repackaged in deluxe editions, complete with liner notes and additional photos and bonus tracks.
According to Dawn Eden's fine liner notes, the Association can be traced back to a chance meeting between Jules Alexander and Terry Kirkman at a 1962 party in, of all places, the Big Island.
That island connection would continue when, in searching for a replacement for Alexander -- who was off to India in 1967 to study mysticism (nearly a year before the Beatles and the Beach Boys made that same spiritual trek) -- the band found Waimea, Kauai-born Larry Ramos, who was with the New Christy Minstrels.
In fact, one of the rare cuts contained in this thorough anthology is Ramos' only solo single, which he recorded before joining the Association. "It'll Take a Little Time" is a fine example of mellifluous L.A. pop of the time.
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When Ramos joined the band, it had already charted twice in 1966 with "Along Comes Mary" (which some radio stations banned because they thought it was a reference to marijuana) and "Cherish," which, to my then 10-year-old ears, was the most enchanting, sophisticated and grown-up love song I'd ever heard.Along with all of the band's hits are select tracks from all albums, including an overlooked artifact from '66, "Renaissance," with notable songs like "You Hear Me Call Your Name" (demonstrating how the band's intertwining vocals were part of its instrumental approach to music); the quirkily titled "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies," with its Eastern spiritual groove; and the lovely, baroque ballad "No Fair at All."
The band was the opening act at the historic Monterey International Pop Festival, and the delightful "Windy" was a chart topper, "sunshine pop" at its best. In 1967, "Never My Love," complete with lofty vocal bridge, would be the last major single the Association would enjoy, although '68's deliriously happy "Time for Livin'" should've been the proper closer to their heyday.
The band, still capable of still putting out the occasional chestnut, like 1970's "Along the Way" (featuring Jim Yester's angelic voice floating over a sumptuous bed of vocals and strings) and the Jimmy Webb-written "P.F. Sloan," would continue recording until 1981. The anthology's final selection, "Across the Persian Gulf" from that year, is an unexpected delight, filled with the vocal grandeur that the band could still pull out when it wanted to.
THE ASSOCIATION was the era's version of the Four Freshmen or the Hi-Lo's, utilizing intricate male harmonies. At its best the group was comparable vocally to the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas. The band continues to tour, with 59-year-old Ramos now joined by his brother Del.
ABBA, on the other hand, disbanded in 1982. While the foursome of writers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and their singer-wives Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog were international touring stars for an intense two-year period, they were most at home in the studio. It was there that the writers, engineer Michael Tretow and arranger Anders Eljas made the blueprints for great pop records, translating Phil Spector's rich, full, multi-overdubbed "wall-of-sound" techniques to their own tunes.
ABBA survived the reactionary years of punk, was responsible for some of disco's finer moments and is now getting its splendid pop repertoire revived by fans both old and new. The group's songs still resonate to this day, and 27 of its hits, including "Dancing Queen," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All," are featured in the romantic musical comedy "Mamma Mia!" being staged around the world.
Portions of the musical are featured in ABBA's DVD documentary, a great introduction to 1979's "best-selling band in the world." It contains interviews, promotional and concert film footage that captures the group at the height of its popularity and the later years, post-tour and post-divorce, when ABBA released more mature and thoughtful material.
The documentary should whet your appetite for the music contained in the deluxe reissues. If you opt for the reissues instead of the new two-disc "Definitive Collection," you might want to pick up 1976's "Arrival." In addition to collecting "Dancing Queen," "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "Money, Money, Money," the two bonus tracks include "Fernando," released just before "Dancing Queen." And of interest to us locals is "Happy Hawaii," a chiming-guitar-and-voice tribute to these isles that was initially released as the B-side to "Knowing Me, Knowing You."
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