Continuing to Part 3 of the series, today I'll look at the second band of the trio, Atlanta Rhythm Section
The Band:
As noted previously, this concert was promoted as a night of "Southern Rock", and Altlanta Rhythm Section (ARS) certainly qualifies. The boys from Doraville, with Atlanta in their name, are solidly southern. ARS released 10 studio albums between 1972 and 1981, when they were mainly active. They had 7x top 40 hits, and two more that stalled in the 40's. And they were regulars on the AOR radio circuit.
I actually have 8 of those 10 early albums, including the first 6. And I saw them a couple of times in the 70's, both times as opening act. I really like them, but they were always a little mixed. Several great albums, and lots of good ones. Unlike PPL, they were pretty stable during that main run. They switched lead singers after their 1st album, but then had no changes for the next 7, and only changed drummers for the next 2.
Since 1981, though, they've had a lot of changes, Wikipedia lists 25 total band members. teh only "original" member at this point is singer Rodney Justo, and he was the singer on the 1st album, not the ones that are well known. But 3 of the 6 current members have been with the band at least a decade.
Like with PPL I wasn't real sure how they would sound, as they're sort of an "official" tribute band. After the 10 albums through 1981, with only 4 albums of new material in 40+ years And none since 2011.
The Show:
The sound for ARS was pretty disappointing. PPL preceded them with a very clear sound, and so was MTB (review pending). By contrast, ARS seemed very muddy. Noticeably louder, and noticeably more "wall of sound". The drums were a bit dominant, and it was often hard to tell which guitarist was playing. Hard to hear the keyboards... Not horrible, but noticeably worse than the other 2 bands. That's always a head-scratcher for me. Example: Te bass player did the solo from "Champagne Jam", but I really couldn't distinguish the notes, just thumping. By contrast, the bass solo in MTB's set was quite clear.
All the musicians played well, but they were not nearly as "tight" as the other two bands. I noticed a couple of s when they were just a little out of sync. Not enough for normal people to notice, but I did. As far as stage presence, they were fine, good interaction with the fans and each other. Just that muddled sound.
Like PPL, they played for about 45 minutes, which is about right for a middle act in a 3 band slate. I was also pleased with the setlist. I was worried they would focus on their hots, which would be understandable, but not my preference. They played 4 of their hits, and mostly well known songs. But also one of my favorite deep cust, "Boogie Smoogie".
None of that is meant to say ARS was "bad". Just ant as good as I'd hoped, and nit as good as the other two bandsAgain, for this concert, I did something new for me: I logged the playlist (using the Note ap on my phone. so, here's the playlist:
- Champagne Jam
- Spooky
- Doraville
- Large Time
- Boogie Smoogie
- I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight
- So Into You
- Jukin'
- Imaginary Lover
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