【Pls look at the top comment first】Speaking of southern rock, Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS) is an influential name as an important part of the Southern Rock scene for over 50 years. As of 2022, it was the 50th anniversary of ARS's debut released in 1972. The year 2022 also witnessed some changes of the band as a memorable year.
The band mainly performed actively in the 1970s with nine albums released from 1972 to 1979. But today I recommend something different from ARS. This album which features a pair of caged guitar-playing hands on the CD cover carries the difference by comparison with most of their former albums.
There always come out the intercommunities between the music genres. Generally speaking, melodic rock is a generalized term and southern rock can include the intercommunities with melodic rock. This 1989 album "Truth In A Structured Form" is a good example, fearuting aor taste in music. That is to say, when southern rock touches aor, an amazing album will be born. "Truth In A Structured Form (1989)" is underrated and rarely mentioned among many other albums from Atlanta Rhythm Section. Though it contains no hit single, it is still worth hearing with the very pleasing songs, which can be considered as the hit singles in aor fans' heart.
As an old band formed in 1970, this six-piece line-up of ARS includes two founding members, guitarist Barry Bailey and keyboardist Dean Daughtry, both of who played in all the albums of the band. Here vocalist Ronnie Hammond joined ARS shortly after the debut, who replaced the original vocalist Rodney Justo and started to sing with the band and write songs for the band.
Before "Truth In A Structured Form (1989)", ARS underwent so many difficulties. Frequent line-up changes made the band blcoked for years in album creations and recordings. It was not until 1988 that the old members Ronnie, Barry and Dean returned to the studio with Sean and two new players, who decided to make a new album with producer Buddy Buie and engineer Rodney Mills.
Vocalist Ronnie Hammond was one of the major creators of the band. In "Truth In A Structured Form", Ronnie wrote and co-wrote all the songs for the album. The year 1989 was a re-started turning point of the band. Into the 1990s, ARS experienced both ups and downs. However, in 1998, something happened to Ronnie Hammond. He retired in 2002 and died of heart failure on 14th March 2011, aged 60.
Barry Bailey, the founder and the lead guitarist of ARS, had been dedicated to the band for decades. In 2006, suffering from multiple sclerosis, he retired from the band to take care of his sick wife who was battling with cancer until she passed away. Since then, Steve Stone played most of the lead guitar parts. After a long battle with multiple sclerosis, Barry Bailey passed away in peace on 13th March 2022, aged 73.
In this album, they had developed a consistent sound through the 1970s and early 1980s, which seemed to draw more on the musical sounds and production styles of the late 1980s. After eight years from their previous album in 1981, "Truth In A Structured Form" featured something new in music such as the heavy drum and more synthesized sounds.
"Awesome Love", "Neon Street", "One Way Town", "I'm Not The Only One" and this song "What Happened To Us" feature the aor taste to the largest extent. The rest songs "Listen To The Wind", "I Want You Here With Me", "Every Little Bit Hurts", "I'm Going Back", "How Much Love Is Enough" and "Don't Get Me Started" keep the sourthern rock tunes.
We don't need to care much about the commercial success or failure this album got. IMHO, it includes the best aor gems from ARS: "What Happened To Us", "I'm Not The Only One" and "Awesome Love" like the gentle breeze and sunshine on the sourthern land of US. For whoever rarely listens to southern rock, hope ARS can become a memorable name.
Today, the band still exsists. After Ronnie Hammond passed away, the earliest vocalist & one of the founding members Rodney Justo came back to the band, who sang in ARS's debut prior to Hammond.
#MelodicRock #aor #AtlantaRhythmSection #SouthernRock #ARS #BarryBailey #RonnieHammond #BuddyBuie
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