COLLECTIVE
SOUL AT 25: KEEP ON SHINING THE LIGHT
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST BELOW!
Collective
Soul are pumped and primed to celebrate their 25th anniversary in
2019 in all-out style, but they’re really just gearing up for the
long haul. Ever since the barnburning rock band from Stockbridge,
Georgia burst onto the national scene with the runaway success of
their multi-platinum 1993 debut Hints
Allegations and Things Left Unsaid and
its ensuing mega-smash hits like “Shine” and “Breathe,”
they’ve been on an upward trajectory that’s seen them play to
sold-out audiences across the globe while concurrently amassing a
most impressive catalog of beloved songs instantly recognizable by
their titles alone.
Indelibly
memorable tracks like “December,” “The World I Know,” “Gel,”
“Heavy,” and “Precious Declaration” (to name but a few) all
evoke a collective sense of heartfelt
observational universality and earnest positivity — in short,
they’re the jukebox heroes of a new generation.
Indeed, the secret sauce to Collective Soul’s continued success
story is a simple one: a palpable mixture of insightful songwriting
and impeccable band chemistry.
“So much of what we do is based on the camaraderie-ship of the
band,” notes frontman and chief songwriter Ed Roland. “The five
us work together as a family, and I’ve never been at more ease —
and never been more pleased — than going onstage with these guys
right now, night after night.”
And
now, Collective Soul is proud to welcome the newest member of their
recorded family into the world titled Blood.
Blood
is the culmination of a quarter-century of Collective Soul assessing
not only where they’ve come from, but also where they’re going.
“I think Blood
expresses where we’ve been on this life journey,” observes
Roland. “And we’ve done so with songs featuring piano and strings
to those with a lot of guitar riffs. Blood
is an accumulation of all the different styles we’ve used over the
years — but it’s still Collective Soul. I think it’s the best
we’ve ever done. I know you should
think that, but I really do
think it’s the best. It’s a good, consistent record. We’re just
so proud of it.”
From
stem to stern, Blood
delivers in full. Witness the hard-charging skitter of “Over Me,”
the optimistic declaration of “Right as Rain,” the hopeful uplift
of a man “Changed,” and the tender promise of “Big Sky.” The
album’s final track — the reflective, poignant acoustified coda
“Porch Swing” — features background vocals and tasteful dobro
licks from none other than Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, who
was beyond thrilled to contribute to the cause. “I’ve always been
a fan of Ed Roland and Collective Soul’s recordings,” Tommy says.
“I thought about adding more parts than what Ed asked me to do, but
as someone wiser than me once said, ‘Don’t paint over the
masterpiece!’” Look for the deep grooves of Blood
to seep into your respective ears canals soon.
From
the very beginning of the band’s career, Roland always had his eye
on the prize. “When ‘Shine’ came out, we got asked, ‘What’s
your goal with this band?’ I said, ‘I want to have a whole row of
Collective Soul recordings on the shelf.’ That was my goal,”
Roland recounts. “Me, I always wanted to see the full body of work.
That’s all I ever wanted. I knew I could write, and as the band
progressed and got better, that’s why we wanted to keep going. I
don’t think we ever doubted it. We, as the artists — we had no
fear. The guys in the band have enough faith in my songwriting, and I
have faith in them.”
Roland
feels the best days of Collective Soul are on the horizon. “We’ve
had a couple of hiccups here and there as any band does if they stay
together long enough,” he admits, “but if the core stays there —
and me, Dean [Roland, rhythm guitarist], and Will [Turpin, bassist]
were always the core — then good things will
happen. And when you get good people in like Jesse [Triplett, lead
guitarist] and Johnny [Rabb, drummer], then good things definitely
happen. And nobody’s leaving at this point either. This is the
lineup that, if people ever ask, ‘If you could start over, what
would you do differently?’ I’d say, ‘I’d have Jesse and
Johnny in the band.’ Jesse would have only been about
eight-years-old back then, but we would have molded him,” Roland
concludes with a laugh.
As
noted earlier, sharing that tight-knit family dynamic onstage remains
a key element for Collective Soul moving forward. “The studio thing
is but one level of the creation process, but when you get onstage
every night, these brothers of mine are just all-out rocking!”
Roland confirms. “A lot of it has to do with how the band has
gotten really tight, and how we enjoy each other’s company out
there. When they came in, Jesse and Johnny put a new spark into the
band. Whenever I come up with a new idea, it’s just so simple for
me to sit there and show it to them and say, “Go try it at
soundcheck. Let’s go work on that.’”
PHOTO CREDIT Lee Clower
As
tight as Collective Soul are onstage, they always strive for
improvement. “We hug each other when we’re done, and then we
discuss the show and figure out what we can do to make it better the
next day,” Roland relates. “What song can we add so that it’s
different? We try to keep our chops up on these songs as much as
possible.”
Another
new wrinkle is that, with Jesse, Johnny, and Will now all providing
background vocals both onstage and on record, Roland has yet another
dynamic quiver in his songwriting bow that only lends itself to
better material and better performances in the long run. “I go to a
different place now,” he says. “It gives me a chance to go, ‘Hold
on. I don’t have to go there; I can go here. Johnny and Jesse and
Will can take over the whole thing.’ It’s a different approach to
songwriting and performing. It gives me a chance to relax where I’m
going with the melody. I know where the melody wants to go, but if I
can go here [puts his hand up] and those boys can do that [points
downward], it sustains me better for touring.”
All
of these textural nuances add up to a most exciting Collective Soul
2019, with even more invigorated live sets to come. “For us, we
want to play the hits as we always do, but I think we also want to
share the new record with our fans,” Roland explains. “At 25
years later, we want to say, ‘Hey, we’re still making the best
that we can do.’ Right now, I’ve got seven of the new songs in
the setlist, and hopefully, on some nights, we can play the whole
thing from start to finish. I mean, it’s our 25th anniversary.
We’re going at it hard,
everyone! We’re going hard.”
Heaven
has clearly shined its light down on Collective Soul for 25 years
running with no end in sight, so here’s to the next quarter-century
and beyond!
Bask
in their continual glow.
—Mike
Mettler, official Soulographer
Be sure to check out Will Turpin's solo record " Serengeti Drivers" HERE
Be sure to check out Collective Soul's official website and purchase "BLOOD" HERE
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