Birthday
Studio album by
The Association
ReleasedMarch 7, 1968[1]
RecordedSeptember 12, 1967 – February 23, 1968
StudioUnited Western Recorders, Hollywood, CA
GenrePop[2]
Length33:17
LabelWarner Bros.-Seven Arts
ProducerBones Howe
The Association chronology
Insight Out
(1967)		 Birthday
(1968)		 Greatest Hits
(1968)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]

Birthday is The Association's fourth album. The album featured two hit singles, "Everything That Touches You", which hit number 10 in the charts,[4] and "Time for Livin'", which reached number 39.[4] This was the last LP by the group that spawned Top 40 hits. It peaked at number 23 in the Billboard charts.[5]

MacArthur Park

The song "MacArthur Park", which was first recorded by Richard Harris, was originally offered to the Association for inclusion on this album. Producer Bones Howes challenged Jimmy Webb to write a pop song that incorporated classical instrumentation and an odd time signature, which he planned to have the Association record.

According to rumors, the song was intended as a centerpiece for a twenty-four-minute cantata that would occupy one side of the record, but the group rejected the idea and were only interested (albeit reluctantly) in recording the “MacArthur Park” section. This rumor was later debunked by Webb himself, claiming there was only one composition. The reason for its exclusion was that the group, being able songwriters themselves, were not willing to give up two to three of their songs for the sake of Webb's project.

According to Terry Kirkman on the Discogropheties podcast, just prior to his death, they were only offered MacArthur Park but 2-3 days before a tour with no time to arrange or record it. Plus the album was mostly done by that point.

When Harris, who had just performed a slew of musical numbers for the film adaptation of Camelot, contacted Webb for a possible collaboration, this was among the compositions that were in consideration. The Harris recording became lead single for his pop record debut, A Tramp Shining, and made its way onto the Billboard Hot 100 at number 79 on May 11, 1968, peaking at number 2 on June 22, 1968 behind Herb Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You".

Track listing

# Title Writer Lead vocals Recorded Time
Side 1
1. "Come on In" Jo Mapes Kirkman, Giguere January 26, February 19 & 20, 1968 3:16
2. "Rose Petals, Incense and a Kitten" Ric McClelland, Jim Yester Yester February 3, 19 & 20, 1968 2:49
3. "Like Always" Tony Ortega, Bob Alcivar, Larry Ramos Ramos December 27, 1967 & February 23, 1968 3:04
4. "Everything That Touches You" Terry Kirkman Kirkman, Yester November 14, 1967, January 4 & February 9, 1968 3:17
5. "Toymaker" Jeff Comanor Yester, Kirkman February 3, 12 & 16, 1968 3:25
Side 2
1. "Barefoot Gentleman" Skip Carmel, Jim Yester Yester December 27, 1967, February 16 & 19, 1968 3:23
2. "Time for Livin" Addrisi Brothers Giguere, Ramos February 2, 19, 20 & 23, 1968 2:43
3. "Hear in Here" Ted Bluechel, Jr. Bluechel, Jr. February 2, 16, 19, 20 & 23, 1968 3:13
4. "The Time It Is Today" Russ Giguere Giguere December 27, 1967 2:15
5. "The Bus Song" Terry Kirkman Kirkman February 2 & 20, 1968 3:27
6. "Birthday Morning" Skip Carmel, Jim Yester Yester September 12, 1967 & January 4, 1968 2:25

Singles

  1. "Everything That Touches You" b/w "We Love Us" (Warner Bros. 7163) January 8, 1968 (US #10)
  2. "Time for Livin'" b/w "Birthday Morning" (Warner Bros. 7195) April 24, 1968 (US #39)


Personnel

The Association

  • Terry Kirkman – wind instruments, vocals, percussion
  • Larry Ramos – lead guitar, vocals
  • Russ Giguere – rhythm guitar, vocals, percussion
  • Brian Cole – bass, vocals, woodwinds
  • Ted Bluechel, Jr. – drums, vocals, rhythm guitar, bass
  • Jim Yester – rhythm guitar, vocals, keyboards

Additional musicians

According to the 2010 deluxe mono edition:[6]

Technical

  • Bones Howe – producer, engineer
  • Ed Thrasher – art direction
  • Wayne Kimbell – design
  • George Rodriguez – photography

References

  1. ↑ "The Association--Anthology: Just The Right Sound". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-04-06. Credits are given in liner notes of CD release--see 42nd image.
  2. ↑ Weiner, Matthew. "The Association Collector's Choice CD reissues review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  3. ↑ Allmusic review
  4. 1 2 The Association USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Billboard 200-The Association". Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Birthday: Deluxe expanded mono edition - product information". Cherry Red. Retrieved 2020-04-06.


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