Product Description:
Collective Soul: Ed Roland (vocals, guitar); Ross Childress, Dean Roland (guitar); Will Turpin (bass); Shane Evans (drums).
Additional personnel: The Memphis Horns (horns); Mike Childers (organ, Clavinet, background vocals); Luis Enrique (percussion).
Collective Soul's third album shows off a newfound confidence and newly rich and complex musical textures. As always, the tunes are melodic and the arrangements thoughtful, and Ed Roland provides searching lyrics that range in tone from the deep sadness of "Maybe" ("This blessedness of life/Sometimes brings me to my knees") to the unabashed optimism of "Full Circle" ("One fine morning I'll awake/To love's return...I believe love goes round and round"). DISCIPLINED BREAKDOWN is brimming with layers of vocal harmony, sometimes verging on the ethereal (the spirit of the Beatles is present on "Crowded Head"), while edgy guitar riffs enliven most of the tracks, occasionally providing glimpses of '70s hard rock, funk and dance beats. It all blends together into undeniably catchy rock songs.
Entertainment Reviews:
Musician - 6/97, pp.85-88
"...every bit as current as Beck--yet this natural born folkie hasn't gone hip just for the hell of it. Rarely have lyrics been set in such appropriate--and diverse--contexts....few artists have managed to stretch this far with such grace, humor and utter lack of pretense..."
