A Rock And Roll Alternative
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Album Summary
A Rock And Roll Alternative came rolling out of the speakers in 1976, laid down by the Atlanta Rhythm Section and released on Polydor Records. Produced by the legendary Roy Halee — the same cat who'd been behind the glass for Simon and Garfunkel at their absolute peak — this record found the band deepening their craft and stretching their sound in ways that felt both ambitious and completely natural. Atlanta Rhythm Section had been grinding, gigging, and growing since their early days as one of the South's most respected studio outfits, and this album captured them at a moment when all of that experience was crystallizing into something undeniable. The result was a record that sat comfortably in the Southern rock era without being trapped by it — soulful, groovy, and built to last.
Reception
- A Rock And Roll Alternative made a genuine mark on the Billboard 200, pushing into the top 40 and confirming that Atlanta Rhythm Section were not a one-album wonder but a real, sustained commercial force in mid-1970s rock.
- The album's warm critical reception recognized the band's ability to blend blues, soul, and rock into something that felt polished without feeling sterile — a balance that many of their contemporaries were chasing but few achieved.
Significance
- A Rock And Roll Alternative stands as a key document in the evolution of Southern rock, showing that the genre was never just about loud guitars and rebel mythology — it had deep soul, sophisticated arrangements, and real musical intelligence at its core.
- The album's centrepiece, 'So In To You,' became one of the defining soft-rock soul tracks to emerge from the South in the entire decade, demonstrating that Atlanta Rhythm Section could move hearts just as easily as they could move feet.
- With Roy Halee's meticulous production sensibility meeting the band's organic groove, A Rock And Roll Alternative bridged the worlds of studio craft and Southern authenticity in a way that pointed forward toward the sound of late-1970s mainstream rock.
Tracklist
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A1 Sky High 126
5:17
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A2 Hitch Hikers' Hero —
3:37
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A3 Don't Miss The Message 169
3:32
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A4 Georgia Rhythm 117
4:53
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B1 So In To You —
4:20
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B2 Outside Woman Blues 94
4:53
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B3 Everybody Gotta Go 140
4:11
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B4 Neon Nites 133
3:58
Artist Details
Atlanta Rhythm Section was a smooth Southern rock outfit that came together in Doraville, Georgia around 1971, born out of the ashes of the Studio One house band where these cats had spent years cutting tracks for other artists and really learning the craft from the inside out. Their sound was something special — a laid-back, groove-heavy blend of rock, soul, and blues that set them apart from the harder-edged Southern rock of their contemporaries, giving the world gems like So Into You and Imaginary Lover that just melted right out of your speakers. They never got the full recognition they deserved, but their influence on Southern rock and melodic rock runs deep, and any serious student of the genre knows that the ARS were masters of feel, groove, and that undeniable Georgia warmth.
