The Atlanta Rhythm Section

I have totally been getting into the Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS as they are known to the diehards and- I’m guessing- the guys in the band too) lately. For the uninitiated, the Atlanta Rhythm Section is a band that formed in 1970 in Atlanta (as hinted at in their name). They had a string of hits back in the day when pop songs were sung by real men with beards (and/or other forms of facial hair) who actually sang like men (e.g. Walter Egan’s “Magnet and Steel”) instead of singing like boys who still live with their parents or- at the very least- have several roommates. My favorite songs by the Atlanta Rhythm Section are “So Into You,” “Spooky” (a cover of the song originally done by the Classic IV, some of whose members went on to form the Atlanta Rhythm Section), and “Imaginary Lover” (this is their best one in my opinion).

Because of an iTunes purchasing mishap I had the other night, I now own a whole shitload of songs by the Atlanta Rhythm Section, so I’ve really been digging a lot deeper into their catalog than I had originally planned. Still, I’m loving it just the same. It’s the kind of sound that magically transports you to the wood-paneled bar of some old motel just a few hundred yards off the exit of a highway you’re not sure how you turned onto in the first place. Somehow your hair just got a little wavier and you find yourself sipping an Old Grand Dad on the rocks from a chipped red glass. And with every moment, the idea of bumming a Winston from the Farrah Fawcett lookalike sitting next to you in hopes of starting up a conversation that will hopefully end with her in your bed and you in her pants starts seeming better and better. Of course, most of the wood-paneled motel bars I speak of only in exist in the mind or in movies these days due to the neverending homogenization/lame-ification of America. But still one can dream. And thanks to all these songs by the Atlanta Rhythm Section I now have on my computer, it just got a lot easier for me.

The video above is for ARS’ “Imaginary Lover” and it’s really something. I like how even back in their heyday the band looked like they had just gotten back together for a reunion tour of state fairs and BBQ rib cook-offs. It’s amazing what a little facial hair, a few extra pounds, and a belt buckle can do for a man. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this song and video as much as I have. And thank you, Atlanta Rhythm Section. You have rocked me.

Dave Hill