So Into You - ARS (Cover)

[wolbai]

In the early 80s, I used to play with my Top40 Band in Clubs of American military bases quite frequently.

This was mainly on weekends. On Saturdays we started our show at 8 pm, running 5 sets of 45 minutes with 15 minute breaks in between. And sometimes we only played for the barkeeper  :icon_biggrin:

Having that said: This was my best music school I ever visited  :icon_thumright:

And I remember playing the tune "Spooky" from Atlanta Rhythm Section in these days. Since that time I was a fan of this overlooked Southern Rock Band, standing in the shade of Bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd. I think this applies at least for Europe.

As far as I am aware of, they had a challenging phase in the early 70s where they struggled for success.

But the song "So Into You" from the album "A Rock and Roll Alternative" from 1977 was their commercial breakthrough.
The song reached the Peak position 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

I guess they still have a solid US Fan base, mainly in Georgia. And the Band is still touring with one or two original band members.


I like this song a lot. Especially for the tasty guitar (Harmony) parts and the epic outro guitar soloing of Barry Bailey.
And this Cover is my Tribute to that great Southern Rock Band.

He is a great player with some amazing rhythmical elements in his outro solo. I didn't make a note by note cover out of it. Instead I picked up some signature licks and added a bit of my flavor to it.

I recorded all the instruments and the vocals as a "One-Man-Show". Well, that is how I use to make music nowadays compared to the 80s where I did sometimes 50 gigs per year. But things are changing and they are not necessarily worse.

Barry Bailey played a Goldtop Gibson Les Paul Deluxe with the Mini Humbuckers. I like his guitar sound. It is very open sounding and not too compressed. I recorded the guitar parts with my Gibson Les Paul Deluxe from 2010. Surely not the same like the 70s Deluxe. But that is the closest sounding guitar I have for that tune.

I recorded it in the Crunch channel (Orange Mode) of my Marshall with pretty low Gain (4/10). It is the break up point. The rest of the tone comes from a Treble Booster and a Tube Screamer.


Well, a lot of words from old stories as always ...


So let the music speak. Your comments are welcome  :icon_thumright:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LADqsa9NzY0


In case you like it, here is a free download link for the song:

https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14022756


All the very best - wolbai

 

[rgand]

That was good. I listened to your cover and the original back and forth to see which was better. I liked them equally for different reasons. I liked the original because it sounded more like the original (duh) and it's what my brain wanted to expect. Your cover was very well done and I found myself enjoying how your style showed through, even though some of the tracks were pretty much the same. As always, I like your playing. :icon_thumright:

 

[wolbai]

@Rgand - Thanks for your time listening to my cover and comparing it with the original  :icon_thumright:

Cover songs are always a balancing act to me how close or respectively how far away I wanna go with the individual interpretation. With this song I tended to be more closer to the original, because I love the song as it is.

Having that said: The Beat of the cover is approx. 5 bpm faster than the original and my voice is of course different (and by far not so beautiful) to the voice of their former lead singer Ronny Hammond (R.I.P.). I listened to various Live-Performances of the new ARS-Band on YouTube. They play it faster than the original too. I like it a bit faster than the original.

This week I came across to an ARS-Book in English language called "The Atlanta Rhythm Section: The Authorized History".
It was released in 2018. And I ordered it this week. 

Maybe my ARS-story hasn't reached its end and I will cover "Spooky" too. But in this case, I will have to look for a keyboard player :icon_biggrin:

 

[rgand]

'Spooky' would be a good one, too. Start looking for that keyboard player. :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

based on this excellent cover, I'd love to hear "Spooky". Always liked that tune a lot.

 

[PhilHill]

Sounds like dang good music to me Sir.
I, also was a big fan of ARS.
Keep up the good work!

 

[wolbai]

Oh my goodness - how a joke can become serious  :icon_scratch:

Well, I had a phone call today with my old keyboarder-buddy from the mentioned TOP40-Band in the 80s.
He is not disinclined and will think about it to do the Spooky-cover with me.  :icon_biggrin:

But he is currently still working. May be that can change in the near future due to the Corona-pandemic.
So stay excited how things will continue  :icon_thumright:

In any case, it will take some time ...

Happy Easter to all of you out there