This Album is a Compilation. "Angel," from 1974, features Barry Bailey's passionate guitar solo against a dramatic string arrangement; "Dog Days," the title song of their 1975 album, is a gorgeous ballad, led by Ronnie Hammond's vocal and another fine string arrangement; "Neon Nites" and "Georgia Rhythm", from 1977's "A Rock and Roll Alternative," display ARS' versatility in very different styles. ARS was recorded very differently than other Southern bands of their time. Buddy Buie's production emphasized a smoothly layered sound, and every ARS recording emphasized the song before the performance. Thus, Bailey's fire and brimstone guitar on "Angel" is replaced on "Neon Nites" with some tasty jazz riffing; "So Into You," with its languid rhythms, demands no pyrotechnics, so instead it gets a smoothly integrated piano/guitar sound which gives Hammond the solid groove on which to lay a great vocal track. With ARS, everything served the song ... and what a fabulous collection of songs! 1979's "Do It or Die" anticipated the Unplugged phenomenon by several years; "Silver Eagle," with its road-weary lyric and sweet steel guitar fits in very nicely with the New Country sound; and "Indigo Passion" is a simply magnificent ballad. Listen to Hammond's aching vocal, backed by Dean Daughtry's supple keyboards and Robert Nix's muffled drums. ARS' ability with ballads contrasted sharply with the widespread presumption that Southern bands knew only how to boogie. That may have been true of some Southern bands, but not ARS. This CD is a deeply satisfying experience.