Customer Reviews

Champagne Jam

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great cd and a great place to start if you've never listened to the Atlanta Rhythm Section. The guitars are perfect, the drummer kicks ... and the lyrics are terrific.

I realize ARS gets classified as "Southern rock" mostly based on their name - nothing wrong with "Southern rock" but the music encompasses so much more than that label can reveal. They can be bluesy as on "Ballad of Lois Malone", they can rock out such as on "Champagne Jam" and they can do a haunting ballad such as "Imaginary Lover". There has been some criticism that all the somgs "sound the same" - it's as if you said all the Beatles songs sound the same. Yes, you can tell it's ARS when you hear the various songs, just as you can tell the Beatles when you hear them on the radio - but as with the Beatles, ARS manages to give each song distinctive without making the same song over and over again - a claim a lot of bands _can't_ make.

If you're into ARS, get this cd and have a "large time". If you're not familiar with them, this cd is a great place to start.
Either way, this is a terrific sounding cd that any fan of guitar rock should have in his/her collection.

The Atlanta Rhythm Section started out as session musicians in Doraville, Georgia's Studio One. They played with everyone from Elvin Bishop to Lynyrd Skynyrd. ARS was the little band that could, and boy could they. At low volume, some of these tunes could be mistaken for elevator music by geeks in ties. The trick is crankin' it up. It's like the thundering roar of a 4-wheel drive pick-up truck with glass packs & a rebel flag in the riew window, it may be mistaken for a regular ol' truck 'til you crank it up. The musicianship is so masterful, so clean, so crisp, and so right on the mark that it takes maximum volume to hear the music as it was intended to be heard. Let us not forget that this was recorded in the day of 180 watts per channel stereo hifi systems. The songs do not all sound alike, as one reviewer mentioned. "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight" is very different from "Immaginary Lover" and "Evileen", and so on. "Large Time" is straight shootin' loud southern rock 'n' roll that lyrically tells the story of where ARS came from as session musicians. "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight" is a bluesy-country little ditty that will get your feet tappin. "Champagne Jam" is jazzy in a southern sort of way. "Immaginary Lover" bleeds guitar rock & soul. "Evileen" was just ahead of it's time. ARS was a very talented ensemble of the south's best musicians. It is a damn shame that neither the critics nor today's generation of kids could appreciate the craftsmanship best displayed on this recording. I wish the other ARS albums would come back on CD, like "A Rock & Roll Alternative" with the hit song "So In To You", and "Quinella" with the song "Homesick". Guitars wale in the dead of night, feels so strong, feels so right. The boy's homesick.

I'm homesick! I Miss listening to great music like this fire out of my FM radio speakers at deafening volume.

I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO ARS SINCE THE MID 70'S. THE EMOTIONS THEIR MUSIC INVOKED IN ME STILL STIRS WHENEVER I AM LUCKY ENOUGH TO HEAR ANY TUNE FROM THIS GREAT CLASSIC ALBUM ON THE AIRWAYS. SADLY THOUGH, TODAYS MAINSTREAM RADIO STATIONS HAVE ALL BUT FORGOTTEN HOW REALLY GOOD THEIR MUSICIANSHIP AND MELODIES WERE, ARE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE.

Excellent lead,rhythm,and bass guitar work. I rank this recording as one of my all-time favorites.

The Guitar licks and guitar tone are so cool, vocals and entire arrangement great- I'm happy I found this CD, If you like ARS (creative-jazzy-country-rock type music with quality recordings & great feeling), you'll love this!

This experience is almost a religious one. From the standpoint of a Southern small town boy, this is Southern Rock in it's most purest form. Ronnie Hammond has a voice that we can all relate to and the rest of the band has a sound that separates it from the bar band down the street. Rootsy. Bluesy. This album was dedicated to Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines and Dean Kilpatrick by Ronnie Hammond. If you love the sound that comes from South of tha Mason Dixon you have to buy this cd. It's the real deal............

ARS had a run of about 5 recordings in the mid '70's that were some of the most exciting stuff being done this side of the Allman Brothers. This record was released with great expectations and it probably did more business than any of the others, yet it was a step back as a consistent product. The peaks-Large Time, Not Gonna Let It Bother Me and the title tune were among the best recordings the band had done. Imaginary Lover was a twist on the formula for a hit single they found with So Into You from Rock and Roll Alternative. I found most of the record to be filler.

In a pre-Itunes era I would have recommended buying the album. Now I'd just suggest downloading the three songs that blister and let the rest go-maybe save $10.

WHEN I WAS TOURING THE NORTHEAST IN THE '70'S, WE CONSIDERED ARS AS HEIRS APPARENT TO THE ALLMAN BROS. "CHAMPAGE JAM" IS THE PINNACLE OF THEIR SOPHISTICATED YET STILL EDGY SOUTHERN SOUND.

ALL YOU BASSISTS OUT THERE WOULD BE WELL ADVISED TO COP EVERY PAUL GODDARD LICK YOU CAN HANDLE. THEN YOU WILL KNOW WHAT "FEEL" IS.

ars hit the top on this record. there were several hits and a lot of good music. ars had found their sound.

This is a really good album. It brought back a lot of memories. I bought it through Amazon, so it was delivered quickly - three days from ordering.