Disco de Collective Soul: “Hints, Allegations, And Things Left Unsaid”

These days, nobody really knows about the existence of this album, and even the band Collective Soul. What a shame. Ed Roland and company can put down catchy guitar riffs and hummable choruses better than pretty much all of the big names in 90's pop/rock, including Third Eye Blind, Matchbox Twenty, Hootie and the Blowfish and the Gin Blossoms. Also, unlike 99% of these other bands, Collective Soul have a lead guitarist who can actually PLAY for a change... and a rhythm section to match his talent. Why then, you might ask, is this band not as famous as the aforementioned Matchbox Twenty? It's actually quite simple: this album arrived way ahead of its time... and still managed to sell 2 million copies on the strength of its one hit: Shine.

Now, I won't even talk about Shine in this review, because chances are that if you're even considering buying this album, it's because you've heard that song. So the question is: is the rest of the material good? The answer to that question is: yes, doubtlessly! Goodnight, Good Guy is such an insanely perfect pop/rock gem, that I was singing along with it and loving it on my first listen: something that does not occur with me very often. Wasting Time starts out with a cool little piano (or is it an organ?) riff and progresses into an incredibly cool song with yet another hummable chorus. Sister, Don't Cry features a surprisingly passionate vocal performance by Ed Roland, one that I did not expect from him, being very familiar with his style from my other Collective Soul albums. Other great moments on the CD are Burning Bridges, Heaven's Already Here and All. The rest of the tracks are mostly not stellar, but still good enough for you to listen through the whole album without skipping any songs and still want more. The perfect pop/rock record.

If you liked this CD, I recommend that you go and take a listen to Collective Soul's Self-Titled and Disciplined Breakdown, and then move on to the slightly different (but still very cool) Dosage. If you choose to get Blender, get it last.

Great CD! It has a sound that is slightly different from all their other albums, maybe because this was the guys demo. But who cares! This album shows how great the potential they started with and how great Ed Roland can write lyrics! It is catchy and is my new fave!

Any CS fan should have this one, and anyone starting out and leaning about CS should have as well.

Although released nine years ago, this album is still one of my favourites Cd's ever.

Collective Soul's first record is a delicious rock treat that introduced the quintet as one of the greatest bands of the 90's led by the hit-single "Shine".

However, the album is not only about this song, on the contrary, there are better songs that marked me deeply, such is the case of the gospel-like "Wasting Time", the touching "Sister don't cry" and "In a moment".

The fact of having 3 guitars, helps a lot (this fact will be more evident on subsequent releases) . There are lots of amazing riffs and solos.

Ballads (the 3 aforemetioned tracks) are the high point as every Collective Soul effort, the rocky tunes are catchy as well ("Love Lifted Me", "Breathe"), there is also an instrumental beautiful song ("Pretty Donna") and even a flirt with country music ("Heaven's Already Here").

The music is quite basic, but seductive, there's a special atmosphere on this record that is hard to describe (maybe it's me).

Ed Roland was giving his first steps as a songwriter, and the result is impressive ("...well I don't wanna bleed anymore for you, and I don't wanna breathe any hatred too...") and he talks mostly about love and hope, he is one of my favourite ballad writers.

The closing tunes "Burning Bridges" and "All" are a proof of that, and I think that's the perfect way to finish an album.

First album, monster comeout. Get this: 1994. Get yourself laid back to that date, get a couple of beers and put this cd on. You'll love it from top to bottom. Over and over again. Forget the huge superhit "Shine". Sister Don't Cry, Goodnight Good guy any of the tracks has its charm, has its distinct "C.S." tampering all over it. It's their sound, it's their style. Get the riffs, while three different guitars play along. And get ready for a journey that will ultimately take you back again to its roots in "From the Ground Up".

Welcome to the fan club.

This is a great album from start to finish. Shine, Goodnight Good Guy, and Scream are my favorites on here, and the string instrumental, Pretty Donna, is a nice intermission. The only reason I gave this disc 4 stars is because the recording volume is a little too quiet.