Right on the heels of the passing of bandmate, guitarist, Barry Bailey. An opinion that I'll defend 'til my own death - ARS is probably the most under-rated band of all time. Many critics referred to them as the Southern Steely Dan. They always got lumped into that God-forsaken, Southern Rock category. Truth be told, they were light years over and ahead of most of those acts in terms of talent, chops and songwriting. Like the Allman Brothers (though quite different in style and approach) they were really nothing at all like their southern contemporaries. Had the pleasure of seeing them several times throughout their history. Always a crowd-pleaser.
Say goodnight, Dean.
Saw them too Rusty. They were sophisticated and polished. Connected to the Classics Four in their evolution.
Sorry to hear about Dean Daughtry passing. RIP.
I was in their studio in Doraville one night with a band I was helping manage and this band did three tracks for a demo with ARS engineers.
Barry Bailey at times reminded me at times of Dickey in his prime. Get into a solo and stretch it out and get on a cool lick and just keep going to it and adding variations and just keep digging. I love that kind of spontaneous guitar playing. Barry is doing that here.
Here is one of the demo songs.
Wow! Hangin' in the Doraville studio with ARS! Yeah, they were involved with the Classics 4. I believe that most of them were in Roy Orbison's band, too.
@robertdee Barry Bailey was bad all the way to the bone! Amazing guitar player he was!
The Rock & Roll Alternative album rode my turntable frequently when it came out. Red Tape as well. Didn't have to buy Champagne Jam as it was on the radio every day.
God rest his soul.
@rusty That is right. Barry Bailey was in Roy Orbison's band too.
The ARS members never came in. I was hoping they would. Just the engineers at their studio in Doraville, Georgia where ARS recorded some of their albums.
The other guitarist J. R. Cobb was in the Classics Four for several years and co-wrote Stormy and Spooky. And some of the ARS songs. He was a fine rhythm player and did a nice solo at times too b
Right on the heels of the passing of bandmate, guitarist, Barry Bailey. An opinion that I'll defend 'til my own death - ARS is probably the most under-rated band of all time. Many critics referred to them as the Southern Steely Dan. They always got lumped into that God-forsaken, Southern Rock category. Truth be told, they were light years over and ahead of most of those acts in terms of talent, chops and songwriting. Like the Allman Brothers (though quite different in style and approach) they were really nothing at all like their southern contemporaries. Had the pleasure of seeing them several times throughout their history. Always a crowd-pleaser.
Say goodnight, Dean.
Agree word for word with this post.
Barry Bailey was quite a tasty lead player. Very nice solos - well played & not overdone.
Saw them several times - good shows.
@martind28 Yeah, Barry B was every bit of all that! But since this is Dean's eulogy, I'd like to point out that he wrote or co-wrote most of ARS's hits. If you read the article, there was even mention of his friendship with Gregg Allman:
" ...Daughtry was also close with Allman Brothers Band singer, Gregg Allman “When he left Cher,” Daughtry said of Allman, who died in 2017, “he came and stayed with me a couple of weeks. He’d be up drinking at eight o’clock in the morning, Jack Daniels and water. He’d come up there to bring me some and I’d say, ‘Gregg I can’t drink Jack Daniels and water this early!’ ...”
His sound was so unique, you could instantly tell it was him. Champagne Jam, Spooky, Alien, All Night Rain... so many songs that would not be the same without him.
RIP Dean. I loved ARS and saw the late 80s - mid 90s version of the band multiple times and they sounded spot on with Barry, Dean, Barry & new guys. They came back and made some respectable new music in the the late '90s with the Partly Plugged and Eufalia releases.
And for a time in the late '70s they were really big in these parts. They headlined Grant Field at Georgia Tech three times for the Dog Days/Champaign Jam massive fests. I loved that Are You Ready? live album. Those fest were just a few years before my concert age.
They have 90 minutes worth of classic tracks that are among my all-time favorites by any band...been listening to some again since the news of Dean's passing.
@hotlantatim Hey, Tim! - I saw the original group open for Kraftwerk! Strange double-bill ... strange blend of audience!
RIP Dean. I loved ARS and saw the late 80s - mid 90s version of the band multiple times and they sounded spot on with Barry, Dean, Barry & new guys. They came back and made some respectable new music in the the late '90s with the Partly Plugged and Eufalia releases.
And for a time in the late '70s they were really big in these parts. They headlined Grant Field at Georgia Tech three times for the Dog Days/Champaign Jam massive fests. I loved that Are You Ready? live album. Those fest were just a few years before my concert age.
They have 90 minutes worth of classic tracks that are among my all-time favorites by any band...been listening to some again since the news of Dean's passing.
The ARS was big in So Cal when I was in high school. Girls loved them and when the band's songs got played at keggers, there was a good vibe!
