Atlanta Rhythm Section
Partly Plugged

LA RECENSIONE

For the twenty-fifth career anniversary, in 1997 what remains of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, namely three of the six founding members plus three replacements, publishes this work which explains itself with the title: half of the album consists of acoustic reinterpretations ("unplugged") of some of the group's classics; the rest are new compositions treated normally, meaning with the electric guitars regularly plugged into the amplifiers, thus presenting the band's full rock-driven sound.

A drive that has significantly diminished with maturity... after all, their music was never "heavy." On the other hand, if possible, the class has further increased—the sounds are perfect, and the vocal and instrumental performances are equally so. The four new "electric" songs, placed first in the lineup, are therefore all valid and pleasant, from the mid-tempo "Voodoo" to the up-tempo "She Knows All My Tricks," from the melancholic ballad "I Don’t Want to Grow Old Alone" to the nostalgic "Child of the Video Age."

The old classics, revisited in acoustic form, are six and roughly the most well-known from their repertoire: "Alien" the most recent comes from the long playing "Quinella" of 1981, "So Into You" from the delightful "A Rock’n’Roll Alternative" of 1977, "Imaginary Lover" and "I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight" both from the platinum album "Champagne Jam" of 1978, "Angel" the oldest from "Third Annual Pipe Dream" of 1974, and finally "Do It or Die" which originally opened "Underdog" of 1980.

The label distributing it is, for the first time, a small independent... Times have changed, the rock heroes in vogue are others, however, the music of this band continues to be delightful, just like their album covers. As long as Ronnie Hammond evolves behind the microphone and Barry Bailey fiddles on the Gibson, it couldn't be otherwise.

Four stars of admiration.