nless Old Navy ads count, of all the revivals recently, sunshine or “soft” pop has garnered the narrowest commercial interest. Maybe it’s because you can’t really dance to it. Or perhaps songs about flowers, kittens and lollipops just seem too superficial to the average listener. But superficial or not, fans of sunshine pop have a zeal and fervor for their passion to rival that of religious conversion – theirs is a cult that obsesses mercilessly, hunting down every last reissue, unreleased track, demo and alternate take in the vaults.

It’s an obsession The Association have been left out of, of late, with only pricey Japanese imports to sate the masses. With these six reissues from Collector’s Choice, however, that seems to be changing. For the uninitiated, let me explain: The Association were one of the great vocal groups of the sixties – where The Fifth Dimension added a touch of soul to the soft pop picture, The Mamas and the Papas a smattering of folk, and The Turtles a dab of Zombie-fied chamber pop, The Association drew from all corners of the mid-sixties pop world, most strongly rooted in the Polydent-white folk movement typified by the Modern Folk Quartet and New Christy Minstrels. Mimicking the squeaky clean revue-styled vocal performance of the latter (parodied to great effect in the recent Christopher Guest mockumentary, A Mighty Wind), The Association found in whiz-kid Curt Boettcher a producer and arranger who could use their white gospel folk sound in an ambitious pop context, which he did with great success on breakthrough singles, “Along Comes Mary” and schmaltz-pop classic “Cherish.”

Boettcher soon moved on, with his soft pop super-groups, Sagittarius and The Millennium (whose “Just About the Same” makes a welcome appearance on Live), but as this batch of reissues proves, for the next four years, The Association were more than capable of navigating the Southern California pop landscape in his absence. After one record under the watchful eye of Jerry Yester, brother of The Association’s guitarist and not coincidentally a former member of The Modern Folk Quartet, the group did two long-players with outside songwriters, Fifth Dimension producer, Bones Howe and the famed Wrecking Crew players. Thereafter, their commercial fortunes changed, precipitating a move into the more singer-songwriterly direction of the times that proved somewhat less-suited the group’s collective skills.

On the basis of these six reissues, it’s not hard to see why the group is remembered largely for “Along Comes Mary,” “Windy” and little more – The Association’s vocal harmonies were tight and limber, but lacked the emotional acuity of the Beach Boys or the classic ensemble sound of The Mamas and the Papas. Likewise, while their own compositions were fine enough, the group’s best material was written and performed by the finest hired guns L.A. had to offer. Still, The Association were hardly Monkey-esque also-rans – watch either of their performances on The Ed Sullivan Show in the late-sixties and you can easily see that the group was the real deal: extremely versatile and eminently capable of delivering the goods live, their only crime that they were mere performers rather than composers or auteurs.

Indeed, as evidenced here, they delivered at least two minor classics in the late-sixties pop genre: 1967’s Insight Out and its follow-up, Birthday, both crisply produced by Howe. Led by the breezy effervescence of the chirpy, chart-topping “Windy,” (a song Burt Bacharach would’ve swapped his favorite tennis v-neck for) Insight Out also includes the Addrisi Brothers’ “Never My Love,” which, with its lilting melody and crushed romanticism, seems like it was tailor-made for one of those Bryan Ferry jukebox cover albums in the 70s. Birthday, while lacking in its predecessor’s smash hits, is nearly its equal, with opener “Come On In” showing The Association’s multi-part harmonies at their shimmering best, and the gorgeously lush (and hilariously-titled) “Rose Petals, Incense and a Kitten.”

And though they weren’t immune from letting their folkie earnestness get the best of them, The Association were often at their best when they pushed the limits of psychedelic pop, as they did on “Pandora’s Heebie Jeebies” from 1966’s Renaissance and the Gregorian-flavored “Requiem for the Masses” and the sitar funk groove of “Wantin’ Ain’t Gettin’” (the latter two from Insight Out). It all leaves one wondering what a planned recording of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park” suite during the Birthday sessions might have yielded (according to Webb, Howe was so certain the band was making a mistake passing up “MacArthur Park,” he promised his resignation the day the song went to number one – which it did when actor Richard Harris recorded the song later that year, ending Howe’s tenure with the group).

As soft pop began to lose its commercial allure to an audience more interested in Fillmore-styled acid rock, the group found themselves on somewhat shakier ground. Following the split with Howe, 1969’s The Association betrayed a group seeking to redefine itself with mixed success. While “Goodbye Forever” was evidence of the creeping influence of country-rock and the mega-successful Crosby, Stills & Nash on their hitherto unique vocal sound, the patently awful, “pro-vegetable” ditty, “Broccoli,” showed the limitations of their newfound approach. But if “Bring Yourself Home” from 1971’s Stop Your Motor showed their ability to perform a lachrymose ballad remained undiminished, it was their bizarre cover of Webb’s “P.F. Sloan” from that record that shone the brightest; an ode to the famously missing songwriter (who himself contributed the stunning ballad “On a Quiet Night” to Insight Out), “P.F. Sloan” wrapped all of the group’s idiosyncrasies into one curiously affecting performance: boppy sunshine harmonies, Johnny Cash-style sing-spiel and a surprisingly hard funk beat.

For members of the soft pop cult, these reissues, featuring crystal clear sound and comprehensive liner notes by Ritchie Unterberger, will be must-owns all (even Live, which proved the group capable of rendering the most intricate arrangements in concert). Those just in for a sample perhaps might be better off with Rhino’s excellent two-disc set, Just The Right Sound: The Association Anthology. But regardless, these reissues are welcome news for sunshine pop fetishists and casual fans of 60s pop alike. Dig in.

Renaissance [7.5]
Insight Out [8.7]
Birthday [8.5]
The Association [7.5]
Live [7.9]
Stop Your Motor [7.6]