Collective Soul performs at Rams Head Live tonight at 8. The band is best known for their ’90’s hit, “Shine.”
Modern rock has plenty of young faces, but sometimes it takes a veteran to show the new guys how it’s done.
Enter Collective Soul.
Since rocking its way onto the mainstream scene in 1994 with the alternative rock staple “Shine,” Collective Soul’s resumé now includes, believe it or not, 19 singles that reach the charts and seven albums.
Perhaps even more amazing is that the quintet still has four of its original members after 11 years. Collective Soul remains one of the only rock bands to reap the benefits of the mid-’90s alternative rock craze that has lived to tell about it.
After spending the first four years of this decade out of the spotlight and losing original lead guitarist Ross Childress, Collective Soul re-emerged with 2004’s Youth. The album title was fitting, says guitarist and vocalist Dean Roland, because the band felt as if it were starting over and getting back to its roots.
Even the lyrics on Youth represent the band’s new mindset. On “Better Now,” the album’s opener, vocalist Ed Roland declares, “I’m newly calibrated / Oh, shiny and clean / I’m your recent adaptation / Time to redefine me.”
Collective Soul’s catalog proves it has a knack for writing catchy melodies and crunchy guitar riffs. Its 1995 self-titled disc boasts the single “December,” the acoustic ballad “The World I Know” and the hard-rocking “Gel.”
1997’s Disciplined Breakdown brought the hard-yet-melodic “Precious Declaration” and extremely catchy “Listen.” The band’s next two albums, Dosage and Blender, saw the band trade in its heavier chops for more of a pop sound, while still making sure its rock roots were injected into the music whenever possible.
Collective Soul’s most recent release, May’s From the Ground Up, is an acoustic collection that spans the band’s entire career. It includes classics such as “December” and “She Said,” as well as four songs from Youth.
Catch them tonight at Rams Head Live at Rams Head Tavern in Baltimore. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $23 plus a $3 cover charge if you’re under 21. For more information, call (410) 244-8854.
