Saturday, March 15, 1997

DISCIPLINED BREAKDOWN

By MIKE ROSS

Express Writer

DISCIPLINED BREAKDOWN: Collective Soul (Warner) -- Like they say: no pain, no gain.
 

This band was screwed over by the music business and survived to release what is probably its best album yet. Sued by its own (now former) manager, Collective Soul almost went broke last year, though it has sold more than seven million albums to date.
 

That's like winning the Lotto 6/49 and then losing the ticket.
 

On Disciplined Breakdown, singer, songwriter and producer Ed Roland mirrors the personal feelings of the band members through their "ordeal" with a series of polished pop gems, both better crafted and less contrived than the band's previous work.
 

You can take a lyric like "restitution hasn't come quite yet" in Forgiveness or "yours is yours and mine you leave alone now" in Precious Declaration any way you want. Roland never goes into specifics, but you can tell he's peeved about something. It gives Collective Soul an edge the band never really had before.
 

They really mixed it up, too. You can hear everything from a disco beat fused with choppy guitar in Precious Declaration, to a swampy, back-porch feel in Giving, which is possibly the best song here. Roland's stretching his vocal skills, too, trying his falsetto to nice effect in several tracks.
 

There is some forgettable fodder here but, overall, it's a fine, listenable album. Nothing like a little grief to bring out the best in a band. (4)