It’s a slightly laid back selection of tunes from the Atlanta Rhythm Section with excellent production making for a nice Sunday afternoon listen.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Atlanta Rhythm Section
ALBUM: Eufaula
LABEL: Platinum Entertainment
SERIAL: 9553
YEAR: 1999
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Ronnie Hammond – lead vocals * Barry Bailey – lead guitars * Steve Stone – rhythm guitars * Dean Daughtry, Steve Nathan – keyboards * Justin Senker – bass * R. J. Vealey – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 I’m Not The Only One * 02 Who You Gonna Run To * 03 Dreamy Alabama * 04 Nothing’s As Bad As It Seems * 05 When * 06 You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet * 07 Fine Day * 08 What Happened To Us * 09 Unique * 10 How Can You Do This * 11 What’s Up Wid Dat?
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
I remember writing something about this band’s excellent 1989 album ‘Truth In A Structured Form’ previously. I was quite shocked (aka pleasantly surprised) at how good that album was, but A.R.S disappeared off the map immediately after that.. They did return in the mid 90’s with Hammond, Bailey and Daughtry plus some new personnel, to record ‘Atlanta Rhythm Section 96’ and 1997’s ‘Partly Plugged’.
Both albums were a mix of previous songs re-recorded, while ‘Partly Plugged’ included a brace of new songs. However 1999’s ‘Eufaula’ is a mostly new set of songs, with three re-recorded tunes. Most of A.R.S material hits the right spot for me at the best of times, and even if 1999 was mostly a shit year for melodic rock, this band continued to surprise, despite being a bit ‘long in the tooth’.
The Songs
If a slightly laid back selection of tunes with excellent production appeals, then ‘Eufauala’ makes for a nice Sunday afternoon listen. ‘I’m Not The Only One’ is a rebadged version of a track which appeared on the aforementioned ‘Truth..’ I liked nearly all of the tracks from that album, and to hear this again is a bonus. ‘Who You Gonna Run To’ is a slinky black cat tune with a southern blues edge. Love that smooth bass tone.
‘Dreamy Alabama’ is just that, dreamy, a tune for summer days. ‘Nothing Is As Bad As It Seems’ sounds as if it has stolen the vocal melodies from their yesteryear hit ‘Do It Or Die’, while ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’ is not a tribute to B.T.O, but is a cool Toto like slow shuffle.
‘Fine Day (The Day You Came Back To Me)’ veers to the Firefall camp with ease, which is a love story come right, versus ‘How Can You Do This?’ which is a love story wrong. The album ends with the groovy instrumental ‘What’s Up Wid Dat’. Very southern, very swampy.
In Summary
The band saw a package of CD’s released around this time. Various labels taking advantage of their classic rock status, and coupled with a vast treasure trove of songs, the public saw compilation CD’s and live albums make their way into the market.
Of most interest to Glory Daze readers, 2010 saw the issue of the band’s 1982 unreleased studio LP ‘Sleep With One Eye Open’; by a bootleg European label called Centaurus Records. We might review this one as well.
