UNRELEASED
Unreleased: The Atlanta Rhythm Section
by Craig Eason Every Southern Rock fan should own
Eat A Peach, Second Helping, Where We All Belong and a slew of other classic albums. But what about those albums that never made it to the shelves? Lost in the mists of time to changing musical trends or record company problems, there are some of true gems. With this new column we will be exploring these objects of mystery.
In this climate ARS returned to the stu-
dio with a stable line up, with Roy Yeager on drums replacing Robert Nix some three years previously. Buddy Buie remained in charge as producer / song writer, and the familiar stel- lar team of Barry Bailey & JR Cobb on gui- tars, Ronnie Hammond on vocals, Dean Daughtry on keys, and the redoubtable Paul Goddard on bass. In the annals of "unreleased" albums -
Sleep With One Eye Open is a good one, and instantly recognisable as ARS. Opening with the title track, the familiar groove of Paul Go- dard's bass takes us through a tail of mistrust travelling on Barry Baileys signature guitar. Its a strong start, worthy of any ARS album. One of the issues with the album comes
to the fore next - not enough great material. "High Time", "Stone Cold Hit" and "Two Note Boogie" are not strong enough to stand out. pleasant enough in their own right, and famil- iar styles within the ARS canon, nothing to get excited about. On the upside - "Long Distance Lover"
Atlanta Rhythm Section: Sleep With One Eye Open 1982
Coming off the back of a resurgence on
a new label in 1981's with Quinella, the ARS were at a crossroads. Quinella gave them suc- cess with a single "Alien" and critical acclaim with the often covered rocker "Homesick". However, times were changing, and Southern Rock was falling out of favour.
has an innovative arrangement sounding like a Dixie Dregs melody. "Longing For A Feel- ing" is classic ARS with a great groove. The album continues to improve with the penulti- mate track a classic ARS rocker. "Bad Situa- tion" has it all - Barry Bailey's Les Paul squeals, and a wry tale of infidelity from Ron- nie Hammond - an ARS classic! The final track it appears was one of the
contributors to its downfall.... A cover of Lowden Wainwright's "Wine With Dinner".
In a country style arrangement -
it is a pseudo drunken performance by Ron- nie Hammond complete with false starts and slurs. Rumour has it some of the band did not like it and nor did the label - but Buddy Buie bris-
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
