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1. Cocaine Charlie
(Buie/Hammond)-4:53 |
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The album starts
off with an uptempo number that musically features a driving rhythm
and an excellent guitar workout. The lyrics provide a complicated
and contrasting commentary on a "victim of the '70s." On the one
hand "he took it one day at a time and lived the way he wanted to..."
But while he was "the life of the party" he also was "a victim of
ecstasy" who is "nothing but a memory…may he rest in peace." |
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2. Next Year's Rock
and Roll (Buie/Daughtry-5:20 |
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The group re-visits the musical presentation of So Into You in a
commentary on the music business and it's pursuit of the next big
thing. The lyrics seem to express the group's frustration with the
way the industry has run off after disco and new wave while ignoring
a band that still had a lot more great music to give. The message
is reinforced by the frenzied but succinct musical close. |
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3.
I Ain't Much (Buie/Cobb)-4:23 |
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It's
right back to rocking with this middle paced meditation on appreciating
a good relationship-"what you gonna do when the new wears off…one
thing's for sure, true love endures." The sweet sentiments are punctuated
with a soaring guitar solo. |
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4. Putting My Faith
in Love (Buie/Daughtry/Cobb)-5:10 |
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A playful piano intro leads into
a swinging, uptempo dedication to hoping for the best. There is
some great, driving ensemble playing and trademark tempo shifts
in this hidden gem. |
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5. Rough at the
Edges (Buie/Daughtry)-3:16 |
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The country and western feel comes through strongest on this tribute
to a cowboy hero who "was smooth on the draw," featuring some nice
keyboard work. |
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6. Silver Eagle
(Buie/Cobb)-3:51 |
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ARS revisits the life of a band on the tour bus in this lovely tune
that features lyrics that question "how many Holiday Inns and overnight
friends" with beautiful backing guitar work that puts the listener
right there with them following "that long white line." |
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7. Pedestal (Buie/Hammond)-2:49 |
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An achingly beautiful meditation on the hope and disappointment
that love can embody. This is another classic ARS ballad with a
steady rhythm and a chorus that seems to descend and deflate with
a touching sadness. |
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8. Try My Love (Buie/Hammond)-4:04 |
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The tempo picks back up with some more up tempo encouragement to
move on and try to find happiness, with swirling guitar work that
lifts and renews the spirit. |
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9. Strictly R&R
(Buie/Nix/Daughtry/Walker)-4:41 |
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Another uptempo number closes the album with reflections back to
the early days when "we didn't know but a couple of chords, but
we played them both with feel and it felt unreal." Perhaps the music
business had left ARS wishing for simpler times, but "the guitar
player's learned to play and singer's learned to sing" and they
were continuing to make great music. |
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This album, released in 1980, didn't reach the number of listeners
the last few albums had-the music scene was shifting and what
had been labeled Southern Rock wasn't getting the attention it
had previously. It was too bad the audience didn't stick around,
because they missed out on another fine collection of songs. The
group continued the softer, pop approach of Underdog while injecting
a swinging country/western feel into these nine original songs.
The majority are uptempo, with a couple classic slower selections-and
they are all generally shorter, with only two over five minutes.