Review: Nearly 30 Years on, Collective Soul Keeps ‘Vibrating’

Collective Soul
Vibrating
(Fuzze-Flex Records)
4 out of 5 stars

Videos by American Songwriter

There aren’t many acts as persistent, and consistent, as Georgia’s Collective Soul.

The Ed Roland-led collective has been releasing worthy work, intermittently but steadily, since its 1994 debut. That’s despite an evolving lineup that finds only Ed, guitarist brother Dean and bassist Will Turpin still standing on this, their 11th studio set. Undeterred after leaving, or being dismissed from, Atlantic Records after Blender (2000), they bounced around to some indies, finally releasing music on their own, oddly named Fuzze-Flex label.

Nevertheless, Collective Soul kept their quality control intact, cranking out solid, generally well-reviewed, and received post-grunge rock to a gradually dwindling yet attentive audience. Nearly thirty years after forming, they haven’t altered in their quest to record hook-filled, often anthemic, powerfully melodic music meant for arenas, not clubs.

Frontman Roland and his players have often been compared to Pearl Jam lite, not as dismissive as it seems. Ed’s deep, booming voice is somewhat similar to Eddie Vedder’s, and his songs, while more pop-oriented, share Pearl Jam’s combination of melody atop gutsy guitars.

Anyone who has either written Collective Soul off over the decades or ignored them hasn’t been listening. The pulsating and energized Vibrating feels like their second album, not eleventh. Some may complain the outfit hasn’t pushed outside the boundaries of alt-rock songs with singalong choruses since the good old days of radio and MTV video play. But with a batch of tunes as impressive as the ten unspooled here, few will grumble.

The power chords reverberating on the opening “Cut the Cord” and the rugged rocking that follows could be from prime period Replacements as frontman Roland charges into Lift me up throw me down/ Show me to the exit door /Hold me close push me away /Baby just cut the cord with the vigor and vinegar of someone half his age. The riffs come fast and furious as the set unwinds, and even if the rockers gradually get less punchy, the songs stay in the Collective Soul groove. As the sole songwriter, Roland works in some social commentary on the hummable “Looking Around” where he addresses the divisive nature of our politics with I guess I’m wrong /’Cause you’re so right now against a riff any band would consider golden.

Collective Soul is no stranger to strings that appear sporadically, specifically on “Rule No. 1” and in the form of a Mellotron to boost mid-tempo ballads like “Undone.” Self-produced by Ed Roland, the album boasts the big, bold, brash sound of any major label release, not easy to accomplish on a smaller budget.

It’s yet another notch in Collective Soul’s expanding catalog, further proof they’re as committed and passionate about their music as any working group closing in on its third decade. Those who have lost track over the years should jump back in to appreciate just how vibrant, and well, vibrating, they remain. 

Photo by David Abbott / ABC PR

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