CoronaVinyl Day 361 (A): A Rock and Roll Alternative by Atlanta Rhythm Section

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As omicron surges, CoronaVinyl is back for the Double Deuce!  We're back at the beginning of the alphabet, so today's CoronaVinyl category is "A."  Among my most recent stack of records that my neighbor gave me were several Atlanta Rhythm Section albums.  I went with their sixth studio album, 1976's A Rock and Roll Alternative.

Atlanta Rhythm Section was, as it's name implies, a rock band from the Atlanta area -- Doraville in suburban DeKalb County, to be exact.  The band formed in 1970 and had relatively limited success over the first half of the decade, scoring only one Top 40 song on the Billboard Hot 100 between their debut album in 1972 and their fifth album in early 1976.

Their fortunes changed with A Rock and Roll Alternative, which is a mixture of southern rock and what we now know as yacht rock, with a pinch of blues as well.  The album went to #11 on the Billboard album chart, thanks in large part to the yachty single "So In To You," which went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Canadian pop chart.  Two other songs from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100:  "Neon Nites" (#42) -- which is certainly not to be confused with the song "Neon Knights" released by Black Sabbath on their first album with Ronnie James Dio at the helm, 1980's Heaven and Hell -- and "Georgia Rhythm" (#68).

The band built off of the success of A Rock and Roll Alternative over the next several years.  Their follow-up album, 1978's Champagne Jam, was their highest-charting, reaching #7 on the Billboard album chart, and they would have five more Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 until 1981, when they took an unwanted recording hiatus for eight years.  With various lineup changes throughout the years, they have continued to tour.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Don't Miss the Message"
This one is a nice southern rock song with a snarling guitar riff.  If you didn't know any better, you might think this was a Skynyrd song.

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "Outside Woman Blues"
This is an old blues song, written and originally recorded by Blind Joe Reynolds in 1929. You Cream fans out there will recognize this song, as their version of this song appears on 1967's Disraeli Gears.  ARS give the song a solid southern rock blues treatment.