Collective Soul Feeds The 'Blender'

Ed Roland of Collective Soul is talking on a cell phone while being driven around Los Angeles. He's preparing to shoot a video for "Why Pt. 2," the first single from the band's fifth Atlantic album, "Blender," due Oct. 10. He's doing lots of interviews. And he's having fun.

"I think it shows maturity, and I think it's a little bit more of a fun record for it, maybe 'cause that was the attitude we had making it," he says of the set he co-produced with Anthony J. Resta. "When I look back on it, [I'll] think that the band was in a good mind space. Ten years from now I'll look back at this record and think, 'That was a fun time.'"

No one can begrudge Roland for enjoying what he and brother Dean Roland (rhythm guitar), Ross Childress (lead guitar), Will Turpin (bass), and Shane Evans (drums) have -- and continue to -- achieve. They've only been in the limelight for six years, but their collective rZsumZ reads like every aspiring rock star's dream.

The Georgia act's two-times platinum debut, "Hints Allegations And Things Left Unsaid," launched its career in 1994 with "Shine," a No. 1 hit on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for eight weeks. Its sophomore effort, "Collective Soul," went triple-platinum and scored three more No. 1's. It indicated the band's crossover appeal when "The World I Know" reached the summit of the triple-A chart in Billboard sister publication Airplay Monitor.

The band's next two albums both contained two more chart-toppers. The gold "Disciplined Breakdown" had "Precious Declaration" and "Listen," and 1998's platinum "Dosage" yielded "Heavy" (the band's biggest hit yet, with 15 weeks on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart) and "Run," another triple-A triumph on the Airplay Monitor chart. It has also earned the honor of having Billboard's No. 1 album rock track two years in a row -- "Shine" in 1994 and "December" in 1995.

"I think Ed Roland can teach a lot of people how to write rock songs with pop sensibilities that just stick in your head and don't leave," says Steve Davis, senior VP of artist development at Atlantic, who performed A&R duties for "Blender."

"Ed Roland writes one-listen songs with amazing guitar hooks and great choruses," Davis continues. "You hear it one time and you cannot get it out of your head. He writes great guitar hooks that are apparently his the second you hear the song start."

The video for "Why Pt. 2," is being directed by Marcos Siega of P.O.D. and Papa Roach fame. "I think it's going to be the most expensive party ever given," Roland says of the video. "It's just a way to reintroduce the band, and [it will] have youth and energy and all that fun stuff.

"The whole concept of this record in making it was, there was no concept," he admits, laughing. "We did pre-production, writing, and recording all at once in our rehearsal studio [Crossover Studios] in Atlanta, where we recorded it. There was no set schedule, and if a song came to me, we recorded it. We weren't as meticulous as we were [with] the last record. I think there were two we knew we were gonna record before we went in there, but other than that, when [a song] was written, we recorded it that day."

"Blender" aptly describes an act that combines pop and rock with choice elements from such genres as soul and punk, resulting in music that pulses with energy without sounding angst-driven. The spontaneity Roland refers to yielded 11 songs that, although created off the cuff, still reflect his band's unique style. "Why Pt. 2" contains Collective Soul's trademark distorted but simple guitar licks, a head-nodding tempo, and a chorus vaguely reminiscent of the Cars' early-'80s hit "Shake It Up."

Strong radio contenders are "Skin," with its infectious, animated rhythm; "Vent," a dance-friendly tune; "Turn Around," an easygoing song featuring gentle acoustic guitar work; and the melancholy "After All."

The free-form approach to songwriting could account for the ethereal intro to "Perfect Day," another likely hit featuring the unmistakable vocals and piano of Elton John. Roland -- who calls John "my musical hero" -- is thrilled his longtime idol contributed to the project.

"He's a part-time Atlanta resident, so we've known each other now for five years," Roland explains. "He's been very supportive of this band and very good to us. At dinner one night, [I asked,] 'You mind singing on a song?' He said, 'I'd love to, as long as you let me play piano, too.' I was like, 'That was an easy deal.' And he came in, played the piano in two takes, and sang it in two takes. It was just amazing."

Other musical guests on "Blender" are Shawn Mullins, Butch Walker and Jayce Fincher of Marvelous 3, Antonio "L.A." Reid, and Jeff Lanahan. Roland's son, toddler Lindsey Kris, makes a two-second recording debut.

Fans put their two cents into the project earlier this year when modern rock WNNX (99X) Atlanta hosted the Collective Selection contest. The station invited listeners to suggest names for the album via its Web site. The band picked five possibilities from more than 12,000 entries for listeners to vote on. The winner was announced during Music Midtown 2000, a three-day music festival in Atlanta. Seventeen-year-old K.C. Smith received an album credit for submitting the winning title.

Collective Soul will be one of Atlantic's first acts to offer digital downloads of singles -- "Why Pt. 2" and a live version of "Shine" -- from atlantic-records.com starting Oct. 31. The band will be a featured act of the month on America Online (AOL) and will participate in online chats. Streaming singles are being made available from AOL, spinner.com, and winamp.com, and a relaunch of the official Collective Soul Web site (collectivesoul.net) is planned.

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