Collective Soul (1995 album)

Amidst the surprise success of "Shine," taken from the Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid demo recordings, Collective Soul insisted on remixing the songs for a higher quality re-release. However, they were told the time required for this would drain their momentum. The band were instead convinced they could begin recording a new, sophomore effort immediately after finishing their tour schedule.

The recording and mixing of Collective Soul took five weeks, a strained scheduled due to added concerts in late December 1994 which finished on New Year's Eve. Ed Roland wrote thirty-five songs in 1994 and recorded fifteen of them in the studio. Four more were written in the studio which allowed the band to disregard eight of the previous tracks. Lead guitarist Ross Childress helped write "Simple" and "The World I Know" which was greatly encouraged by Roland who wanted a band effort in the studio.

By the time "Smashing Young Man" was being recorded, drummer Shane Evans was on vacation and unreachable. This forced the band to loop a drum sample of his from a DAT before hiring a second drummer to improve it. After many takes, Roland was also disappointed with the final version of "Bleed" but liked the song too much to remove it from the record.

Mixing was completed in the first week of February 1995; mastering was finished on a Friday with the plants opened and the album delivered the next day. The band then went to New York City for a week of publicity and photo sessions.[1]

Collective Soul opened for Van Halen during their Balance Tour which began on March 11, 1995, in Pensacola, Florida, and ended in May 1995. The band then performed at festivals in the United States before taking a break and then continuing with their own solo tour including club shows. Seven songs from the new album were performed on tour with "Shine" being the only played track from their previous release. A new unnamed song was also performed in concert.[1]

The band's self-titled release included five singles: "December," "The World I Know," "Where the River Flows," "Gel" and "Smashing Young Man." The three former tracks reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks charts and the first two became major pop hits. Music videos were also filmed for some singles and aired significantly on MTV.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

In a feat similar to its predecessor, Collective Soul received positive reviews with praise handed to its strong melodies but also indifference for an alleged lack of musical innovation. Paul Evans of Rolling Stone gave the album 3 out of 5 stars. He noted "Roland's flair for McCartneyesque melodic detail" and summed up with "the band proves it has the goods to continue to shine on brightly."

AllMusic's Tom Demalon chose "The World I Know" and "Gel" as AMG Track Picks. He, too, commended the strong melodies and stated "While not exactly ground-breaking, Collective Soul delivers the goods with a dozen, hook-laden songs for which they were awarded another multi-platinum outing."

All songs written by Ed Roland, except where noted.

Collective Soul:

• Ed Roland – lead vocals, guitars, producer
• Ross Childress – lead guitar, background vocals
• Dean Roland – rhythm guitar
• Will Turpin – bass, background vocals
• Shane Evans – drums

Additional musicians:

• Jackie Johnson – background vocals
• Bertram Brown – background vocals
• Becky Russell – background vocals
• Steven Sigurdson – cello
• David Chappell – viola
• Geremy Miller – violin
• John DiPuccio – violin
• Janet Clippard – contrabass
• Luis Enrique – percussion

Production:

• Matt Serletic – producer
• Greg Archilla – engineer
• Malcolm Springer – second engineer
• Bjorn Thorsrud – second engineer
• Tom Gordon – assistant engineer
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing