Tag: Collective Soul

My Sunday Song – “Gel” by Collective Soul

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For My Sunday Song #173, we are going to discuss the song “Gel” off the bands 1994 self titled album by Collective Soul. It was the first single off the band’s second album and after Shine, I was now hooked on the band and haven’t looked back since.  The song didn’t make the Top 40, but it did make it to #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and back in the 90’s, I didn’t care about Top 40 anyway.

The song is a quirky, rock track that can have many meanings, it is all left up to your interpretation of the lyrics.  It could be about a man and woman who have a lot of differences and it doesn’t matter, he wants to “Gel” per se.  Me, I like to view it as that people from different backgrounds, different cultures, different beliefs can still come together and meet and have open discussions and just gel.  In a world that is so separated and polarizing today, this song is almost a dream of some sort of utopia as I don’t think people have the capacity to gel nowadays.  That is why I think this song is needed.

Now, there is another theory I have read that it is about the band’s search for a record label as after their debut, record companies were clamoring to grab them up and they all wanted to make changes to the band.  However, the band wanted to do their own thing so could the label and the band come together and gel.  It turns out the label left them alone pretty much and let them do their thing as they were doing it so well on their own.  Like I said, you listen to the song and you interpret it however you would like.

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My Sunday Song – “How Do You Love?” by Collective Soul

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For My Sunday Song #172, we are going to discuss the song “How Do You Love?” off Collective Soul’s 2004 album ‘Youth’.  The song was the third single off the album and hit #16 on the Adult Top 40.  The album itself was actually the first album the band did on their own label EL Music Group and was an overall well-rounded pop/rock album with a good balance of both.  This song would fall in the pop realm and was written entirely by Ed Roland as most Collective Soul songs were.

We are slowing it down this week with a ballad.  Yes, they all can’t be rockers.  This one connected to me as I was a very shy guy growing up and I wasn’t great with the ladies (I know…shocker right!).  The song is from the point of view of the person that was in love with someone who didn’t notice, care or love them back at all.  He/She is asking them that if they never knew that people were out there loving them, How did they actually love?  What could they do to make you notice them.  It is a common theme and I think connects with most people as I believe we have all been there at one time or another.  Thankfully, I found that woman that noticed me and now we have 2 beautiful daughters to help us show how to love!!

Musically, as I said, it is a ballad so the tempo is a little slowed down.  You get a mixture of keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and even a string section for added impact.  The chorus picks up the beat a little giving it a little of the power element.  You get a nice little guitar solo from Joel Kosche which all good ballads need.  Ed sings with a lot of emotion with a deliberate pacing to add to the emotion.  I found the song to be quite beautiful and one of my favorites on the album and from the band.

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My Sunday Song – “Heavy” by Collective Soul

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For My Sunday Song #171, we are going to discuss the song “Heavy” off the band’s 1999 album ‘Dosage’. The song was the second single and the band’s last #1 song on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks as well as the last to make the Billboard Hot 100 where it only reached #73.

The song was the last song written for the record and actually was written after the record was complete.  The band liked it so much they made sure to get it on the album before it went out to production.  Ed Roland wrote the song and was inspired by all the crap that went on with their former manager.  The weight of everything was riding heavy on Ed’s shoulders and as a result we got this great song.  An interesting to note, the song title of “Heavy” it is no where in the song.  The weight of the lyrics and the heavy guitar sound are where the title comes from as the word summed up the vibe.

The song opens with a heavy guitar riff and is at such a break neck speed it is over before you know it at under 3 minutes in length.  The guitar solo by Ross Childress actually includes six types of wah effects according to songfacts.com.  It includes two standard pedals, three Auto Wah pedals, and a digital Wah via Pro Tools.  It brings a really cool sound to the solo like none they had ever done before.  The whole album saw the band exploring different sounds and this was one of their most creative for me.

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My Sunday Song – “Shine” by Collective Soul

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For My Sunday Song #171, we are now going to spend the next 10 weeks talking about songs from another favorite band of mine, Collective Soul.  And why not kick it off with the song that jump started the band to stardom…”Shine”.  The song was the debut single of the band and their debut album ‘Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid’.  The song came out in 1993 and was such a big hit for them as it went #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as winning a Billboard Award for Top Rock Track in 1994.

The song also caused problems for the band that were unexpected.  First was the fact the song mentioned the word Heaven in the song and the chorus does come across as very church-like and almost sounding like a prayer.  This caused people to think the band was a so called “Christian” band and let me tell you they are not.  They are a genuine article rock band who happened to sing a song with heaven in the title. As Ed Roland likes to point out, Led Zeppelin had “heaven” in one of their songs and no one called them a Christian band.  It did pigeoned-holed the band a little to be lumped in to Christian music.

The second problem was due to the song sounding like a Grunge song with its distorted guitar sounds and dark feel of the song.  This was slab dab in the middle of that era and I can see why people thought they were a Grunge band as I even labeled them as that when I heard it.  But when you really listen to the band, it is not all dark, sad, depressing music like Grunge (you know its true – Grunge is pretty damn depressing, not fun at all music).  It is a solid rock album.

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Collective Soul – ‘Blood’ – Album Review

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25 Years!  Wow!  Collective Soul is celebrating 25 years together as a band and as luck would have it, we also get a new record to boot.  The band delivers their 10th Studio Album with ‘Blood’ and they prove there is still life in that blood running through their veins.

With the opening track, “Now’s the Time”, you get that classic Collective Soul guitar sound and Ed’s soaring vocals. The song is high energy and welcomes you to the party with open arms.  The heavy bass line from Will Turpin opens the next song “Over Me” which keeps the energy level pumped up to 10.  The band has a way with catchy riffs and choruses that are simple yet impactful.

“Crushed” is a song that would feel right at home on their 2000 album ‘Blender’.  It is a throwback, yet modern. Then comes “Right as Rain” which the band has been playing live for awhile now so it makes you feel right at home.

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Friday New Releases – June 21st

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Welcome to a very busy Friday of releases.  There are a bunch of releases I am interested in getting, but only one I am buying as that one is so expensive, I can’t afford anything else.  As Summer keeps getting hotter, so does the new music.  My choices are highlighted in Blue. What are you interested in getting? Let me know what you want and what I missed and most of all…enjoy all the music.  Have a great weekend.

  • 71014pEYJEL._SX522_.jpg  Def Leppard – Box Set Volume Two – (Mercury):  Finally!!! Volume Two is upon us.  Volume One was so awesome, now Def Leppard bring us the next set with the albums Adrenalize, Retroactive, Slang and Euphoria all on vinyl (or CD is you want).  I don’t have any of these on vinyl so this is an absolute MUST!!! You also get 4 Vinyl full of Bonus tracks, rarities and live songs that is right…FOUR!!!.  What is extra cool about this is that a friend of mine was asked for songs from his collection to go on this set and there of 7 songs of his (live shows, I believe) that are on here and he is credited!! Way to go Mike Ladano!!!

  • A1ZmIUwu8gL._SX522_  Collective Soul – Blood – (Fuzze Flex Records):  I am excited about this one as well.  Collective Soul bring us album #10!!  I am glad they are still going strong and they keep getting better along with it.  I haven’t heard anything off this one yet as I want to take it all in at once.  These Georgia boys don’t usually disappoint so it should be great.

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Collective Soul – The Albums Ranked from Worst to First

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For me, this was a local band making it big.  Collective Soul was from Stockbridge, GA which was just outside of Atlanta so for they were a local band since I lived just outside of Atlanta as well…only in a slightly different area.  The band was Ed Roland, brother Dean Roland, Will Turpin, Ross Childress and Shane Evans.  Ed Roland was the driving, creative force behind the band and still is today.

The band started selling numerous copies of their debut album ‘Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid’ without a record label’s help.  I think they sold over 10,000 copies.  The record companies took notice and they were snatched up pretty quickly. In 1994, Atlantic Records signed them and basically slapped their label name on the disc and put it out since the album was already made.  Not a bad investment.  The rest is history.

Now we are over 25 years later and the band is getting ready to release their 10th studio album and to celebrate, I thought I would rank all their albums from worst to first.  And let me tell you this was really hard for me.  Collective Soul is a very consistent band.  They have a sound that is consistent throughout all albums.  They don’t venture far from their formula and why should they.  This is amazing considering they have been through 3 lead guitarists over the years, but have kept that same guitar sound.

The hard thing for me is what order as on any given day I can like one album more than the other and then back to liking another one.  There isn’t a bad album in the bunch only some I like more than others.  I stuck with only the Studio albums, no collections, no E.Ps and no live albums so not everything is here on this list.  I hope you enjoy it and maybe discover a band you weren’t all too familiar with.

WORST – AFTERWORDS (2007)

 

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1995 – The Greatest Year in Music?

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If you are new to the site, I started this series with the year 1987 and then noticed that 1991 and 1983 were also a couple of the greatest years in music.  I got to thinking, was there a pattern that every 4 years we have another great year in music.  Well, I am not sure the theory held up for me with 1979, but now I am exploring the year 1995. If you want to explore the other years, click on the link below…

1979 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1983 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1987 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1991 – The Greatest Year in Music?

Will 1995 be another great year or is my theory fully debunked with this year.  Let us explore and see and then decide a the end.  But first we have to ask What were the top albums of the year?, What were the debut albums from some of the great rock bands? and What was going on in the world of music that year?

NEWS:

1995 didn’t have any major news story that changed music like 1979 with the Sony Walkman and 1983 with the release of the CD, but a couple big stories did happen.

KISS_UnpluggedOn August 9th, a major even happened in the history of Kiss.  Kiss performed on MTV’s Unplugged series.  That in and of itself was nothing special, but some special guests were invited up on the stage and out walked Ace & Peter.  It was the first time in 16 years the original members of Kiss (Gene, Paul, Peter & Ace) had played together.  It was so well received that the following year, Kiss put their make-up back on and the first reunion tour was kicked off and the Kiss Unplugged album was finally released.  This event started it off.

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The Top 10 Overused Song Titles

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I was going through my iTunes music library and damn there are a lot of repeat song titles.  Always looking for new post ideas, it hit me.  What are the most over used song titles?  Now I have a post idea and so I am going to bring you the Top 10 Overused Song Titles in music…or at least my musical library.

Now there were several that barely missed the cut.  They were the following titles: “Free”, “Forever”, “Without You”, each with 12 titles in my library.  And several with 11 songs including “Stand Up”, “Someday”, “Scream” and “Save Me”…a lot starting with “S” apparently.

10. “You”:  I have 12 different songs in my library with this title.  The artists are rather varied with The Afters, Black Stone Cherry, Bonnie Raitt, Buckcherry, Candlebox, Collective Soul, Elliott Yamin, Gotthard, Marvin Gaye, Richie Kotzen, Safetysuit and Keith Urban.

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Friday New Releases – December 8th

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The closer we get to Christmas, the fewer good new releases coming out.  That doesn’t mean that aren’t any, just fewer to choose from.  For me this week, there are only two Live albums I am interested in hearing and they are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know if there is anything you see that you like.  Have a great day!!

  • images  Collective Soul – Live – (Suretone Records):  One of my favorite bands from the 90’s and from Georgia.  I have followed them since their first single “Shine” way back in 1993 and they haven’t disappointed me ever!!  I am looking forward to a live album as I don’t have one of those in my collection for them.

  • 61KX5d0LirL._SY300_QL70_  Deep Purple – The Infinite Live Recordings, Vol. 1 – (earMusic):  Deep Purple has been killing it this past year with a new album and so many treats associated with that new album. Now we have a live album as well.  That is all I need to hear.  Thanks and turn it up!!

  • 91G9cZ63fOL._SX522_  Circus of Power – Four – (Noize in the Attic)

  • download-1  Story of the Year – Wolves – (Story of the Year)

  • 61gxmQsSKGL._AC_US320_QL65_  Culture Club – Live at Wembley World Tour 2016 – (Cleopatra Music)

  • 619Oq4V4E1L._AC_US436_QL65_  Luke Bryan – What Makes You Country – (Capitol Records)

  • 91DPED-TXzL._AC_UL115_  Walker Hayes – boom. – (Monument Records)

  • 51qiaHny6mL._AC_US436_QL65_  Belle and Sebastian – How to Solve Our Human Problems Part 1 E.P. – (Matador)