It was in 1994 when Collective Soul began their climb up the music industry's sometimes gracious and other times unforgiving ladder. But this was a time for celebration: "SHINE" , the premier single from "Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid" was getting massive air play - obviously Ed's persistence in handing out those demo tapes paid off. But when SHINE did make it, the group had disbanded and had 'other lives'. Dean and Will were attending Georgia State University ; Ross was working down at the local RevCo pharmacy; Ed was taking time at the Reel to Reel recording studio and Shane had just been laid off from Fort Gillam(where he did maintenance work). When SHINE was on the radio, the decided to get back together. In times ahead they saw SHINE played on MTV and the received many accolades such as RIAA gold status, Billboards #1 Hot Album Rock Track of 1994 and Album Rock Track of the Year(Billboard).
"Our heads were spinning," says lead guitarist Ross Childress "It was so surreal we could hardly absorb what was going on." Wouldn't anybody's head be spinning playing at Woodstock '94 and touring with Aerosmith???
"We're very grateful for what 'Hints..' did," begins Ed Roland "We were very shocked. I'd been hoping to sell just enough to be able to make a REAL Collective Soul album."
They didn't just get a REAL Collective Soul album, what they made was possibly one of rock's all-time best recordings. Hard guitar powered songs like "Where the River Flows" and "Gel" with an excellent diversity of effects(Collection of Goods) and vocal styles, give this album excellent listener appeal. Titled "Collective Soul" to show its, what the member's believed was, debut status, it took off to the charts; Holding on to Billboard's Top 200 for 76 weeks.
"Collective Soul makes every note count." says a Musician cover story
Then they were off with Van Halen to tour across the USA and getting in a couple of their own gigs in clubs all over. Here's just a few facts on what this album in particular did:
- "December" single Billboards #1 Hot Album Rock Track '95 Billboards Album Rock Track of the Year
- "The World I Know" & "Where the River Flows" singles topped charts in Alternative and Adult Alternative #1
-double platinum in January of 1995
-passed triple platinum in September of 1995
Then near-tragedy struck: ex-manager Bill Richardson wasn't doing his job, and the band essentially wasn't getting much cash for their phenomenal success. This led to a lawsuit, which went on for too long, and Collective Soul fans were getting impatient. Ed and the guys pooled what money they had received an rented an isolated cabin, far enough from 'the world' that they wouldn't be troubled.
"Dean and I grew up 2miles from this place and never know it existed. We heard it used to be this little gambling house where local boys would go to play cards." Ed says of the glorified shack
They also attained recording equipment and made what now is "Disciplined Breakdown". Even the lyrics show the hard times the band was going through-- "Precious Declaration" , "Blame" and "Disciplined Breakdown" -- all give specific references to their hardships. With back-up music from the Memphis Horns, the final touches were recorded at the House of Blues. This album has a more personal feeling than the previous two but hits listeners with excellent writing styles and lyrical quips, mixing poetic lines with memorable choruses. After all was said and done, they began touring again, while the single "Precious Declaration" hit #1 on Much Music's top 30 Countdown. They also did performances such as the heavily successful EDGFEST(1997) across Canada. Finally, they released the highly anticipated "DOSAGE" album; recorded in Florida, with such songs as "Tremble for My Beloved" focusing on Ed's soon fatherhood. It has already set records in the industry with one of the three singles, "HEAVY", for radio airplay in a week. The other singles released so far are "RUN" and "No More No Less"
