March 16, 1997

Collective Soul

"Disciplined Breakdown" (Atlantic)

Collective Soul is the Guess Who of the '90s. And that's not a criticism. Despite snobs' sniping, there's nothing shameful about assimilating the sounds of the day, packaging them as catchy, straightforward rock nuggets, and scoring yourself a heap of hits -- especially when you make no claims to doing something more. The potential smashes are everywhere on the third album from this Atlanta quintet, whose leader, Ed Roland, has apparently stumbled onto a bottomless well of ear-grabbing hooks. The stuff is deceptively simple, grounded in stout sizzle-riffs ("Precious Declaration," "Disciplined Breakdown"), mid-tempo grooves ("Forgiveness") and Earth-sized declarations ("I believe/Love goes round and round"). The band has certainly grown, and this album is its most mature effort to date: The arrangements are spicy, the playing self-assured and the production rich, as Roland melds a tasteful and lively balance of guitar grit and pop smoothness. OK, so you don't look to the guys in Collective Soul for transcendence. But don't go blaming them for making you sing along in the car.