Musicians - Collective Soul

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	Musicians - Collective Soul

Collective Soul are an alternative rock/post-grunge band from Stockbridge, Georgia, USA. Throughout the 1990's and into the 2000's they've enjoyed major commercial popularity on alternative rock and mainstream rock radio. They've composed hook-laden lush melodies on top of heavy fluent guitar riffs reminiscent of classic rock and hard rock artists from the 70's and 80's. Some of their main influences are Elvis Presley, Elton John, The Cars and The Beatles. Some have called Collective Soul a Christian rock band, a branding the members adamantly reject. They do, however, admit that their lyrics are often spiritual in nature.

History

> Early Days - Before stardom

Collective Soul broke through in 1994 after being signed to Atlantic Records. The band originally started out as "Marching Two Step" which included current lead singer Ed Roland and Shane Evans. Between 1989-1994 there were different people who played with Ed Roland at various times. Ross Childress was involved also. Ed Roland had been working at "Real 2 Reel Studios" in Atlanta for a while doing production and studio work for local artists, this studio was owned by Will Turpin's father. Ed recorded an independent solo album on Core/Oxymoron called Ed-E-Roland in 1991. The album is now out of print and is extremely rare but can be found on eBay. All of the original band members knew each other and grew up together in Stockbridge, Georgia. They were friends as schoolchildren. Ed is much older than the other band members.

> Atlantic Records - Major Label Years 1994-2001

They released their first album Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid on Mar 22 - 1994. The album was originally released/recorded in 1993 on the Rising Storm Records indie label based in Atlanta. It was comprised of songs that Ed Roland had written and recorded as songwriter/composer demos in hopes of getting a publishing deal. The album sold very well behind major label promotion, eventually going double-platinum in 1996. The album's sound was similar to the grunge sound that many other bands adopted in the early 1990's. A visual manifestation of this can be seen in the video for the song "Shine," which portrays the band members in a simple setting with long hair, flannel shirts, and denim jeans (thus giving the band an image comparable to other post-grunge bands at the time such as Silverchair and Candlebox). "Shine" became the #1 Album Rock Song of 1994 and won a Billboard award for Top Rock Track, it was one of the biggest hits of the year. The subsequent single "Breathe" had moderate success. The band performed at Woodstock 1994 to over 150,000+ people, among many popular music artists. Their performance was judged as decent, considering they were totally new to big time commercial success. This event marked the 25 year anniversary tribute to Woodstock 1969 . During the albums commercial run, the band went out on extensive touring doing many shows all over North America.

In 1995 they returned to the studio to record their highest-selling album to date, the self-titled Collective Soul. It was certified triple-platinum in 1996 and spent an incredible 76 weeks on the Billboard 200, making it a blockbuster success. The album showcased heavy riffs, grunge and classic rock influences while maintaining the band's own originality. The album had 3 singles peak at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart ("December," "The World I Know" and "Where The River Flows"), "Gel" and "Smashing Young Man" received lots of airtime. "December" won a Billboard award for top rock single of 1995. The album's singles continued to get lots of radio spins for the next 2 years. MTV and Much Music regularly showed their videos on numerous occasions and interviewed the band. They went on a lengthy North American tour and spent part of it supporting rock legends Van Halen.

The band's third studio effort released in early 1997, Disciplined Breakdown had a different stylistic vibe than previous albums. Prior to the album's release, the band had gone through a long and bitter lawsuit with former management who guided the band during 1993-1996. The opposition was making various accusations regarding who was really behind the success and ownership to the name and rights "Collective Soul" and their assets. This was a dark and frustrating period on a personal and professional standpoint for the band especially Ed Roland. Despite this, they were still finding success with their music. The guys were left with little money in terms of income, forcing them to record the album in a cabin-like studio. The record displayed darker more blunt lyrical content. Perhaps Ed Roland's most avant-garde writings to date. However the record did not sell as well as the previous two albums. It did have two #1 US rock hits with "Precious Declaration" and "Listen". Third single "Blame" did very well nearly making the Top 10. In Canada they were maintaining their popularity which was similar to their success in the USA. Critics and experts did not favor this album as much as the fans. However it did showcase more creative depth than their previous two albums. They also gave a high profile performance at Much Music's Snow Job 97' in Canada.

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Musicians - Collective Soul

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