Greatest Hits (The Association album)
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by The Association, released in 1968 by Warner Bros. Records. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 album chart. In Canada the album reached #2 and was in the top 10 for 13 weeks. The RIAA certified the album 2× Platinum on June 1, 1989.
| Greatest Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | November 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1966-1968 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:30 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Curt Boettcher, Jerry Yester, Bones Howe, The Association | |||
| The Association chronology | ||||
| ||||
The autobiographical tune "Six Man Band", written by Terry Kirkman, was a new song which had also been released as a mono single in July 1968, then appeared in a stereo mix on this album. The version of "Enter the Young" that is on this collection is a re-recording of a track from their first LP. Despite the title, the album does not include the singles "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies" (which charted at #35 in late 1966) or "Looking Glass" (which was a regional hit), using non-hits such as "Like Always" and "We Love Us" instead.
Some recordings on this album were encoded with the Haeco-CSG process.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [3] |
Stephen Cook of AllMusic writes, "the majority of this hits collection focuses on the band's dreamy combination of polished folk, limber vocal arrangements, and wide-screen instrumental backdrops" and finishes the review by saying, "A great introduction to the band's prime work from the latter half of the '60s."[1]
David Bowling reviews the album for Seattle P-I and writes, "No matter what success their albums may have achieved, they will always be remembered for their string of singles. Greatest Hits gathers these singles, plus a few other tracks in support, to form a soft rock and pop album that has withstood the test of time surprisingly well."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Time It Is Today" | Russ Giguere | Birthday (1968) | 2:14 |
| 2. | "Everything that Touches You" | Terry Kirkman | Birthday | 3:19 |
| 3. | "Like Always" |
| Birthday | 3:04 |
| 4. | "Never My Love" | Insight Out (1967) | 3:08 | |
| 5. | "Requiem for the Masses" | Terry Kirkman | Insight Out | 4:05 |
| 6. | "Along Comes Mary" | Tandyn Almer | And Then... Along Comes the Association (1966) | 2:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Enter the Young" (re-recorded version) | Terry Kirkman | And Then... Along Comes the Association | 2:43 |
| 2. | "No Fair at All" | Jim Yester | Renaissance (1966) | 2:35 |
| 3. | "Time for Livin'" |
| Birthday | 2:44 |
| 4. | "We Love Us" (erroneously listed as "We Love") | Ted Bluechel | Insight Out | 2:22 |
| 5. | "Cherish" | Terry Kirkman | And Then... Along Comes the Association | 3:24 |
| 6. | "Windy" | Ruthann Friedman | Insight Out | 2:53 |
| 7. | "Six Man Band" | Terry Kirkman | WB single 7229 | 2:11 |
| Total length: | 37:30 | |||
Track information and credits verified from the album's liner notes.[4]
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | US Billboard 200[5] | 4 |
| 1969 | Canada RPM[6] | 2 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[7] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- Cook, Stephen. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- Bowling, David (15 September 2011). "Music Review: The Association - Greatest Hits". SeattlePI. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 26.
- Greatest Hits (liner notes). The Association. Warner Brothers Records. 1968. 1767-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - "The Association Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- "RPM Top 50 Albums - February 17, 1969" (PDF).
- "American album certifications – The Association – The Association's Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. June 1, 1989. Retrieved 19 March 2020.