Yes, it's official, Collective Soul has finally reached the point in its career where it can perform with Elton John. But is Collective Soul worthy of such an honor? Considering the band is one of the most successful modern rock acts of the '90s with three platinum albums and countless radio hits, it most certainly is.
Collective Soul
Blender
Atlantic Records
|
With Blender, Collective Soul continues to do the same thing it's always done; make great rock tracks in many different ways. Blender is much more enthralled in rhythm guitar beats and the occasional sampling than any other Collective Soul album to date. While it is a far cry from the group's traditional rock debut, Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid, it is the next logical step from 1998's Dosage.
"Why, Part 2" is the album's first single and looks to repeat the success of "Heavy," the Dosage track that spent 15 weeks on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. But it begs the question, where is "Why, Part 1"? Probably a b-side or something. Way to be obscure, guys!
Ed Roland shines (no pun intended) on Blender, not just with his guitar work, which is always amazing, but also in his lyrical ability. "10 yrs later," Blender's most outstanding ballad, is easily one of Roland's best pieces.
There is, of course, "Perfect Day," which features the incomparable Elton John on both piano and lyrics. While to some this might seem like an odd combination, it works beautifully. John's style mixed with Roland's writing creates a powerful and upbeat track.
In other crossover-related material, "Over Tokyo" features a guest appearance by Butch Walker and Jayve Fincher (both of Marvelous3). Marvelous3, by the way, has a track on its latest album, ReadySexGo, called "Radio Tokyo." Freaky coincidence or planned crossover? I'm going to go with the latter.
Blender shows why Collective Soul is still atop the modern rock scene. And by the sound of it, it has many years left to go.
