Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid

Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid is the debut studio album by American rock band Collective Soul, it was originally released on an indie label in Atlanta called Rising Storm Records in 1993, Collective Soul later signed on with Atlantic Records and the album was rereleased in 1994 under the Atlantic label. The track "Shine" gained the band attention thanks to college radio.

Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
Studio album by
Collective Soul
Released1993 (original Rising Storm release) / March 22 1994 (Atlantic rerelease)
Recorded1992, 1993
Studio
  • Rising Storm Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
  • MSE Studios, Miami, Florida
  • Real 2 Reel Studios, Stockbridge, Georgia
GenreAlternative rock, post-grunge
Length45:13
LabelRising Storm, Atlantic
ProducerEd Roland, Matt Serletic, Joe Randolph
Collective Soul chronology
Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
(1993)		 Collective Soul
(1995)
Singles from Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
  1. "Shine"
    Released: March 19, 1993
  2. "Breathe"
    Released: January 10, 1994
  3. "Wasting Time"
    Released: April 30, 1994

The cover art is a modified and colored version of a nineteenth century advertising image,[1] with the album's title added to the sign. The opening track, "Shine", would arguably become Collective Soul's biggest hit.

Background and release

Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid was recorded in a basement in 1992 as a promotional demo. Frontman Ed Roland hoped to simply sell the songs to a publishing company rather than form a band. He gave the demo to a small college radio station in Atlanta that began playing "Shine". The track quickly became their most requested song and the band was asked to perform some concerts for the station. Favoring an opportunity to perform a few shows with his brother, Roland agreed and regathered the demo's guitarist and drummer as well as his brother Dean.

The attention gained by "Shine" allowed it to chart and catapulted the band to national stardom. They were soon picked up by Atlantic Records who wished to release the demo as the debut studio album of Collective Soul. In a 1995 interview, Roland elaborated on his mixed feelings regarding the situation:

"It wasn't even remixed. It was the same demo. Before we got signed we'd already charted with 'Shine.' Once we got signed I said, 'We want to re-record. This is not a band recording.' But they said, 'You're gonna lose momentum. You're looking at a three to five month process. So let's go with it and you can get your next record out quick.' We thought it would be great to sell 10-20,000 units. [When it went gold], we were sitting there with our eyes wide open."

Consequently, Collective Soul would regard their self-titled 1995 studio album under Atlantic as the band's official debut. Roland told Metal Edge, "It's so funny for people to compare the two. It's like comparing one band to another band. [Collective Soul] is our first record, flat out."[2]

The album was produced by Matt Serletic, becoming his first production success, and who would then subsequently go on to much wider fame producing all of Matchbox 20's releases as well as those by their frontman Rob Thomas, including his Santana collaboration "Smooth".

Promotion and touring

Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid featured three singles, the most successful of which was "Shine". Aside from radio popularity, the song also had a music video which received heavy airplay on MTV.

Collective Soul performed at Woodstock 1994 and opened for Aerosmith during their Get a Grip Tour.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
The Village VoiceC−[5]

The album gained overall positive reception from critics. It was given credit for its strong melodies but a less savory response regarding its apparent lack of originality. Also of note was Collective Soul's more upbeat sound amidst their more angst, grunge-influenced contemporaries.

Chuck Eddy of Entertainment Weekly gave a somewhat sarcastic review, describing the album as "bubble-gum grunge: an idea whose time has come."

In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau was even more negative, singling it out in Consumers Guide "Turkey Shoot" feature as a "Must to Avoid", an example of "...mediocre pseudoalternatives from every corner of this embittered, all too grateful land of ours."[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Ed Roland.[7]

No.TitleLength
1."Shine"5:05
2."Goodnight, Good Guy"3:35
3."Wasting Time"3:27
4."Sister Don't Cry"3:52
5."Love Lifted Me"3:48
6."In a Moment"3:53
7."Heaven's Already Here"2:13
8."Pretty Donna"1:58
9."Reach"4:21
10."Breathe"3:03
11."Scream"3:00
12."Burning Bridges"3:36
13."All"3:29
14."Beautiful World" (Only featured on original 1993 Rising Storm release)3:39

CD Single B-Sides contained the tracks "Why" and "Almost You". "Why" is a track that was the cause for the Blender track "Why Part 2. "Almost You" is the same track that later showed up as a bonus track for Dosage. It was reworked slightly.

Personnel

Although Ed Roland has stated that the musicians on the recording Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid were entirely different from Collective Soul's subsequent recordings,[2] the following people are credited in its Atlantic reissue:

Collective Soul

Additional musicians

  • Matt Serletic – keyboards, trombones and string arrangements on "Sister Don't Cry" and "Pretty Donna"
  • Joe Randolph – guitar on "Goodnight, Good Guy", "Love Lifted Me" and "Scream"
  • Brian Howell – bass on "Scream"
  • Melissa Ortega – solo violin on "Wasting Time"

String ensemble

  • Jun-Ching Lin – leader, violin I
  • David Braitberg – violin II
  • Paul Murphy – viola
  • Daniel Laufer – cello

Production

  • Ed Roland – producer, mixer, and engineer (all tracks)
  • Matthew Serletic – producer, mixer, and engineer (tracks 4, 8, 10, 14); mastering
  • Joe Randolph – producer (tracks 5, 11)
  • Bill Richardson – executive producer
  • Mike Childers – digital editing, artwork, DTP
  • Mario Castellanos – photography

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[14] 5× Platinum 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Alphabetilately: A is for Advertising Cover".
  2. Miller, Gerri No One Hit Wonder, CS Shines With Album #2 Metal Edge (Spring 1995). Retrieved on 2-07-10.
  3. JT Griffith. "Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid - Collective Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  4. Chuck Eddy (1994-05-27). "Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid Review | News Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  5. Christgau, Robert (November 29, 1994). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  6. "Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide Nov 29, 1994: Turkey Shoot". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  7. BMI Entry
  8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 63.
  9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2514". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  10. "Charts.nz – Collective Soul – Hints Allegations & Things Left Unsaid". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  11. "Collective Soul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  12. "Collective Soul Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  13. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  14. "Canadian album certifications – Collective Soul – Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid". Music Canada. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  15. "American album certifications – Collective Soul – Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
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