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If Collective Soul seems to have recaptured the hunger and determination of an indie band just starting out, rather than an act that had 19 different singles reach the Billboard charts during a seven-year span, it’s because they are an indie band again for the first time since 1993’s Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid (later re-released on Atlantic as Rising Storm). And Collective Soul is taking the “Do It Yourself Philosophy” to its limits, releasing Youth on its own El Music Group imprint. “This is not just an independent label; we’re doing it from the ground up. We’re assembling our own team and are going to tour our asses off,” Dean says. “We’ve got a great team surrounding us,” Ed adds. “So it’s like truly building your own house with the material that you so choose.” As for the major difference in running your own label,” Ed says, “Our ideas are listened to for a change, which doesn’t mean they’re acted upon, but they’re listened to.”
After a seven-year run that was highlighted by such rock radio smashes as the catchy as hell “Gel,” one of seven songs during that interval to go to #1 on the Billboard Rock Tracks charts, the omnipresent upbeat number “Shine,” the soaring ballad “The World I Know,” and others, Collective Soul has learned a few things about writing memorable hooks. During recent shows the band has been playing, they’ve thrown in a few new songs, including “Counting The Days,” the album’s lead single, and “Under Heaven’s Skies,” with tremendous success.
Ed credits co-producer Dexter Green, who also co-wrote the first three tracks of Youth , with reinvigorating the band and giving the record that extra kick. “We just started hitting it off and I think his youth, his excitement, got me excited,” Ed recalls of their initial meeting.
Ed says new guitarist Kosche’s “attitude was more laidback than anybody in the band,” But Kosche brought more than just a kickback feeling. “There was a different vibe on the guitar and he brought finger picking into it on the last song, ’Satellite.’ I would’ve never been able to play like that or anybody in the band and Joel brought that element into it,” Ed says.
Add all those elements together and you have Collective Soul, the 2005 version. Maybe the only people more excited than the fans about the return of the band is the band themselves. “I’d forgotten what an important part of my life it was for seven years,” Ed says of music. “At the beginning I had forgotten how exciting it is and how much I needed it just for my sense of life. This is the most exciting one yet.”
It’s a sentiment that’s echoed by his brother, Dean. “I feel like the stars are aligning and everything’s coming together for us.”
Be sure to visit the Collective Soul website at:
www.CollectiveSoul.com.
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