Dis-Association Dept.

Credibility issues plagued The Association from the get-go. They used session musicians and outside songwriters, they had sunny, poppy hit singles all over the radio, they looked straight outta Squaresville (the pose of hipness never came naturally to them), and, like the Monkees and the Mamas And The Papas, and to a lesser extent the Beach Boys, never stood a chance with the hippies. It's that San Francisco superiority complex that few L.A. bands (the Doors and the Byrds, for example) cracked - a sneering suspicion of anything professionally produced. Plastic, man!

They're still relegated to the back burner of music. Their record labels consistently and bafflingly fail to do them justice. The credibility issue, unjustifiable back then, is no longer relevant. The records stand as perfect examples of 'sixties pop, and 'seventies pop rock.

You'd of thought, would you not of, that given the sheer amount [amounts are always sheer - Ed.] of talent across the group, solo projects would be abundant, but they ain't. There's only three bony-fido solo albums. Russ Giguere's Hexagram 16, the only contemporary release, from '71, includes bandmates Jerry Yester and Jules Alexander (who contributes stunning album high point Pegasus) in the A-list credits.

Caveat: This is binkerbo's rip from vinyl - thank you! - with authentic crackles. If you have an improvement, please feature your generosity and good taste in the comments!

If we leave out the Henske-Yester/Rosebud albums, because not solo, we had to wait until until 1990 for Japan to release Jerry Yester's terminally obscure Just Like The Big Time, Only Smaller. I'm still waiting. I've never found it and it's driving me nuts. If you have it, I will be your pal forever - or not - your choice! Pass Your Light Around, from 2017, is a gorgeous compilation of "old" tracks that's at least as good as anything by the Association (or Rosebud), and which stirred up surprisingly little excitement on release. FoamFeatured antecedently, I suspect newer readers might have missed it, so here it is again. It's a sublime, good-spirited, uplifting and (of course) impeccably-made album, and although I don't have the credits, I'm damn sure that's FoamGoddess™ Judy Henske lending her vox.