Published 09/19/97, China News Weekend

Fans looking forward to Collective Soul's Taipei concert next month know that the American group is not your average soul band.

In fact, they are not a soul band at all, either in the traditional solo vocalist sense or like the teenaged pretty-boy dance acts which are increasingly hyped by record companies these days.

Collective Soul's true musical orientation becomes clear when listening to Disciplined Breakdown, their third release to date. Echoes of Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Yes and Jethro Tull can be made out in the twelve songs that make up the album.

"We're a product of the bands we grew up listening to, bands from all over the world," drummer Shane Evans tells the China News from Collective Soul's collective hometown of Stockbridge, Georgia. Last year, while the band was recording the basic tracks for the CD in a run-down cabin in the Georgia countryside, Evans says the five childhood friends listened to a lot of early Beatles, Radiohead and even Miles Davis in addition to the classic rock standards they grew up on.

Live, Collective Soul has been known to add Ozzy Ozbourne's Crazy Train and songs by U2 and fellow-Georgians REM. However, Evans points out that Collective Soul has not adopted a 'southern' musical style like REM did during the mid- to late eighties and Lynyrd Skynyrd did throughout their recording career. "We haven't really had a close musical identity with the south," the drummer says with a slight drawl. "Right now, we're focusing on getting our music out to as many people as possible."

Taking a short breather after seven months on the road, Evans is relieved to be spending some time with his girlfriend, smoking cigarettes and watching a little TV. "We needed this time off," he says. "It feels good hanging out, not worrying about playing a show every night."

Their current world tour, besides taking them all over North America, has also brought them to Australia and New Zealand and one March show in Japan. Despite the rigors of touring, the band has been pleased by the dedication shown by many foreign fans. "I'm amazed at how well people are able to understand the lyrics," Evans says of Mexican and Japanese audiences.

He adds that live performances are not carbon copies of their recorded material. Backing harmonies, which in the studio are done almost entirely by singer/songwriter Ed Roland, are handled by Evans and bassist Will Turpin on the road. "Everyone gets into it," says Evans. "We also mess around with some of the arrangements and jam on some of the songs." Roland's younger brother Dean and Ross Childress round out the group on rhythm guitar and lead guitar, respectively.

In several weeks' time Collective Soul will be returning to Asia to do more dates in Japan as well as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Their single show in Taipei will take place....

By Ian Lamont

Copyright © 1997 China News

The show never did take place, it was cancelled after Roland decided that he had done enough touring and needed more rest. Good for him, its nice to see artists stand up to the publicity people and record company types and say no.

That being said, there were more than a few disappointed fans in Taipei...