Review Summary: Despite the inconsistency and somewhat poor production, Collective Soul’s debut offers some excellent tracks in which make the album worth listening.
Let’s face it, Collective Soul has never gotten much respect. The band came about in the mid-1990’s, just after the peak of the grunge scene, and somewhat blended in with the other alternative rock bands of the day. Collective Soul made a name for themselves with their light and melodic rock, striking comparisons with Our Lady Peace, The Wallflowers, and several others. Their debut record, “Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid” was released in 1994 and was successful in the mainstream, peaking at 15th on the Billboard 200. Much of this success was propelled by single
Shine which was immensely popular both at the time, and in the present day. This record is an excellent indication of Collective Soul’s sound was in the mid to late 90’s and is one of their greatest accomplishments to this day.
“Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid” is inconsistent to say the least. The record seems to be for the most part hit or miss, particularly after the first three tracks. Opener and lead single
Shine is truly brilliant; its laid back feel and unforgettable chorus is escalated by an excellent running guitar solo by Ross Childress. In the following two tracks, Collective Soul continues to deliver which catchy rocker
Goodnight Good Guy and slow burner
Wasting Time. Both of these stand out as highlights on the record, but unfortunately the quality of the album heads downhill after this. This becomes apparent with
Sister Don’t Cry, which is a piano driven ballad that doesn’t amount to much, and is overall boring.
In a Moment is another example of a track that doesn’t have anything to offer; it neither hooks the listener nor impresses more than a conventional rock song.
Scream comes off as a poor attempt at a punk rock song, for Ed Roland neither has the voice or the intensity to pull this off. Not to say that Roland isn’t emotional however, his vocals are soothing and effective on acoustic track
Heaven’s Already Here which proves to be one of the record’s best. The lyrics are simple but sufficient, Roland passionately sings, “Who could bring me heaven? Heaven’s already here.”
Instrumental
Pretty Donna gives the listener a taste of later Collective Soul, as this is all strings and is incredibly beautiful. This experiment seemed to pay off well for the band, since they incorporated more and more strings into their following records. “Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid’s” most powerful song can be found at the penultimate track,
Burning Bridges. Arguably one of the band’s greatest songs to date,
Burning Bridges is perfect and passionate with beautiful harmonies, a great guitar solo, and calming vocals. Closer
All ends the record in style, again highlighted by excellent harmonies and a catchy chorus.
Collective Soul’s “Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid” is a solid debut from what would become a very good alternative rock band. Despite the inconsistency and somewhat poor production, Collective Soul’s debut offers some excellent tracks in which make the album worth listening.
Recommended Tracks:
Shine
Goodnight Good Guy
Heaven’s Already Here
Pretty Donna
Burning Bridges
