New Collective Soul Album

I bought the new Collective Soul album today.  It the first album of theirs since Dosage that I haven't bought on the day it came out - it's rough, because they're still my band, but I can tell I've fallen out of love with them.

The first song on the album sounds like classic Collective Soul - well, maybe Blender-classic.  It's got a terrific riff, anyway.  The songs just aren't as memorable as they used to be, though they still sound phenomenal.

That's one of the things about Collective Soul - they always had this massive guitar sound.  They could fill up space like the Smashing Pumpkins, even though they weren't in the same league (and seemed to know it.)  When I was in a band, Ed Roland was actually my dream producer if we ever cut a professional album.

In fact, it's surprising he hasn't done production work for other bands.  He reminds me of Ric Ocasek, in a weird way - they both have this talent for pop hooks, and this pristine sound.  Very few producers really have that sound they're known for - Mutt Lange, or maybe Butch Vig come to mind.  Most great producers are more famous for pulling great songs or performances out of bands - Rick Rubin's bread and butter, for example - but if anyone wanted to sound like a 21st century ELO, it seems like Ed Roland would be the one to call.

Anyway, I now once again have every Collective Soul album, except for that live orchestral one.  I also have every Ross Childress side-project album, which takes considerably more work.