Album Review — Collective Soul
Collective Soul — Blood
Collective Soul was one of the most successful rock bands of the early 90s with a string of big hits. They are back with their tenth studio album, “Blood”, released earlier this month.
Up until this record, I viewed the band with three distinct eras of their career. First was the radio success era. I would hear them along with Hootie and The Blowfish and Sheryl Crow all along the dial in the early 90s. Their third record, “Disciplined Breakdown”, kicked off what I consider their peak era. They had a string of fantastic records including “Youth”, “Blender”, “Dosage” and “Afterwords”. They weren’t nearly as successful commercially but they produced some fantastic records during that prolific decade.
The last couple of records have fallen short for me. I didn’t care for their self-titled album at all and “See What You Started By Continuing” was only marginally better. So my expectations weren’t super high with “Blood”.
Thankfully, “Blood” is a return to what I consider their best era. It’s not a perfect record, but the band is back to what they do best.
“Now’s the Time” starts off the record with that familiar guitar sound. Ed Roland’s vocals are as strong as ever on this driving opener.
“Over Me” starts with a cool bass line followed by another familiar sounding guitar riff. It’s another driving song that has your head bobbing along to the beat. This is an unmistakeable Collective Soul sounding song.
Another familiar sounding song, “Crushed”, is up next. The band has gone out of their way to find their old sound and they have hit the nail on the head. This one could have been off “Dosage”. Long time fans of the band will be happy to hear this return to their roots.
“Right As Rain” should be a familiar song to fans as it appears on the band’s live album released in 2017. It’s easily the best song the band has released in a decade or more. It’s everything I like about the band in one song.
“Them Blues” has a piano intro that leads into exactly what you would expect, a bluesy tune. The song ends with a stellar minute long guitar solo. I could definitely see the band playing this one live.
“Good Place To Start” might be the one song where there’s a slight miss for me. Roland chooses to talk through the verses instead of sing which I think is a mistake. The chorus is super catchy but the verses kill the momentum of the song for me. It’s not a bad song, I just think it could have been more.
“Observation of Thoughts” more than makes up for the previous track. It’s another classic Collective Soul sounding song that builds and builds and pays off in the end. Another favorite of mine on the record.
“Changed” brings things down a little with a nice piano intro into an orchestral ballad.
“Big Sky” continues the return to the classic sound. Another catchy song with that classic time signature. Good song.
The album closes with a mostly acoustic “Porch Swing”. Tommy Shaw of Styx guests on the dobro on a song that sounds like it was conceived on the back porch with some acoustic guitars and everyone singing along.
The album is pretty short and could use another couple of songs, but overall it’s a triumphant return of Collective Soul. If you are a fan of the band, especially those middle 4–5 records, you’ll really enjoy this album.
90 out of 100.
Track Listing
- Now’s The Time
- Over Me
- Crushed *
- Right As Rain *
- Them Blues
- Good Place To Start
- Observation Of Thoughts *
- Changed
- Big Sky *
- Porch Swing *
*Best Songs