Collective Soul [2009] by Collective Soul (CD, Aug-2009, Roadrunner/Loud & Proud)

Album Features
UPC:	016861787622
Artist:	Collective Soul
Format:	CD
Release Year:	2009
Record Label:	Roadrunner/Loud & Proud
Genre:	Alternative, Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. Welcome All Again
2. Fuzzy
3. Dig
4. You
5. My Days
6. Understanding
7. Staring Down
8. She Does
9. Lighten Up
10. Love
11. Hymn for My Father

Details
Playing Time:	40 min.
Contributing Artists:	Luis Enrique
Producer:	Ed Roland, Shawn Grove, Joel Kosche, Will Turpin
Distributor:	n/a
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
Lyricists: Dean Roland; Ed Roland; Will Turpin; Joel Kosche.Personnel: Ed Roland (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Joel Kosche (guitar); Bobby Yang (violin); Cheney Brannon (drums, percussion); Will Turpin (percussion, background vocals); Ryan Potesta, Ryan Potesta (programming).Audio Mixers: Chris Lord-Alge; Neal Avron; Shawn Grove.Recording information: Edible Studios, Lake Keowee; Flame Under Heel Studios; Jan Smith Studios; Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA.Fourteen years after their first self-titled album, Collective Soul deliver another in 2009 and it's fair to say that the album is a bit of a reintroduction, not a reinvention. It's also fair to ask who Collective Soul are reintroducing themselves to, and the answer is pretty simple: after spending the better part of the decade in the indie leagues, the band is returning to the majors with 2009's COLLECTIVE SOUL, making a pitch at reconnecting with the wide mainstream audience they had a decade ago. The group doesn't ignore what it's done over the last ten years--there's a pronounced Bowie influence that still lingers, first aired on the glam-tastic YOUTH (especially on "Fuzz"), but this is high-gloss, high-octane arena rock. Collective Soul doesn't make an attempt to modernize their sound (although the verse of "Understanding" has an unmistakable phrase borrowed from Jack White) choosing instead to refine their best techniques, so this winds up being a very big, very hooky modern rock record that might not find the audience it once did but only because of the shifting landscape of modern rock. As a record, this is as strong as anything Collective Soul have ever done.

Editorial Reviews
4 Stars - Excellent - ...most of these 12 tracks....are topped with phased, harmonised vocals and choruses which ring with something approaching pop genius.
Q (19950601)

...Soul's second album focuses the group's modest mission on breezy pop songs buffed with uniquely resonant guitars....the combination of ringing pop and lowbrow riffs could well turn them into the Bachman-Turner Overdrive of their generation... - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (19950317)

3 Stars - Good - ...With COLLECTIVE SOUL, the band proves it has the goods to continue to shine on brightly...
Rolling Stone (19950615)