Review Summary: Collective Soul returns with another fine album.
1997's Disciplined Breakdown did not sell as well as its predecessor. In 1999 Collective Soul came back with Dosage. It sold much better and was overall a much better album.
Collective Soul:
Ed Roland: vocals, guitar, keyboards
Ross Childress: lead guitar, vocals
Will Turpin: bass
Dean Roland: guitars
Shane Evans: drums
1. Tremble For My Beloved
The album kicks off with a long psychedelic intro. Once the drums and bass kicks in, followed by Ross Childress's signature distorted guitar, you know for sure who this band is. The song has a very spacey feel to it. Ed's voice is backed by some alien-like high pitched voices. He sings about a world and the things about it. This is a great way to start off the album. 4.5/5
2. Heavy
This song is basically what the title states, a heavy song. The intro is kind of weird and bounces from speaker to speaker. The guitar riff is so good and very very catchy. Other than the chorus, Ed only has four lines, but that doesn't matter because the musical aspect of the song is so good. Ross has a wicked awesome guitar solo in which he switches between a bunch of different wah peddles. The chorus is very catchy, and repeated 100 times. "And all your weight, it falls on me it brings me down." 4.6/5
3. No More, No Less
This is the first point in the album where you might think that it is a little overproduced. A sound that I think is something like shattering glass is repeated throughout the song. The keyboards in this song are just plain beautiful, but the whole "Let's shake it like this," thing is annoying. This song goes on for a long time. This song may explain all of the bees in the albums art, because Ross’s solo has this weird buzzing sound that sounds a lot like a bee. You may love or hate this song, but in my opinion it's not bad at all. 4/5
4. Needs
This song includes more orchestral arrangement than any other Collective Soul song. Ed's lyrics are quite sad. He sings about how he doesn't need anyone to help him in his life and that all he needs is himself. Then the song seems to end. It pauses for a few seconds until the violin and drums start coming back and Ed instead sings, "You're all I need!" If you haven't ever heard this song you should watch the music video. It's pretty cool. 5/5
5. Slow
This song begins on a great riff using lots of crazy distortion. Ed and Dean wrote this together, something that rarely happens. The verses to this song are great and sung well. As usual, it's pretty hard to tell what the song is about. There is a sample of a song made the previous year called "Winter Song." 4/5
6. Dandy Life
This is the first song by Collective Soul that was not sung by Ed Roland. Ross Childress gets lead vocals here. Ed harmonizes the chorus pretty well. The only person who I could compare Ross's voice to would be The Edge from U2. He's not a bad singer, but the lyrics to this song are pretty much pointless. I guess he's just trying to sing about how great his life is. 3.5/5
7. Run
Run is one of Collective Soul's biggest hits. It was used on the soundtrack to Varsity Blues. The lyrics are perfect. "Are these times contagious, I've never been this bored before, is this the prize I've waited for?" Ed switches between his falsetto and his regular voice perfectly. The violins add a great touch for this song. But the best part has to be the guitar solo that comes unexpectedly. It's just so catchy and goes with the music so well that you'll love it. 5/5
8. Generate
This is a much faster song, similar to Slow. The verses are pretty simple and not that exciting. The chorus is much more catchy and easy to sing along to. Will adds a great bass line to a nice song. 4/5
9. Compliment
Ed and Dean once again share writing credits. The verses make you wonder what the heck the song is about. Once the chorus is sung for the first time it becomes a much faster song. The chorus does blow you away. "And there it goes my innocence, while gathering up a compliment, and here I lie with words to swear, It's something more than the world out there." Ross plays a mean guitar while backed by a steady rhythm section. Ed reveals later in the song that instead he is dying for a compliment. I dare you to not sing along with this song. Sadly it ends at only 3:01. 5/5
10. Not The One
A lot of synth is added here. Yet another ballad, but this one's pretty catchy. There is little guitar, just Ed singing along with the keyboards. The guitar solo is distorted in an odd way, just like most others on this album. 4.3/5
11. Crown
The beginning of this song sounds odd, like it's being heard from a distance. The bass makes Crown sound very dark and eerie. The chorus is slightly catchy, but the prechorus is awesome. "Well I hope I'm not lost, but I think that hope is now distancing, and the words that secure a thought, are now faint whisperings." This is a sad sounding song written as a tribute to Ed and Dean's father. Of all of Ross's solos, this one fits the music the best. After not playing at all during the first part of the song, he just plain takes it away before Ed starts asking, "Who's gonna wear my crown?" more. 5/5
She Said
This song was on the soundtrack for one of the "Scream" movies. It makes me wonder why, because the lyrics aren't about stabbing or anything like that. They are about a conversation Ed had with either his mother or grandmother about her problems. For one of the few times in a CS song, lyrical perfection is achieved. The lyrics are very meaningful and quite catchy. The more you listen to it, the more you'll love it. 5/5
Overall I think this album was quite a work of art for a great band. Sure, the ballads might outweigh the rockers, but that's not a bad to do once. The only real problem is overproduction. They added a few too many weird things here and there, things that they would have been better off leaving alone. But you should still buy this if you like any of the band's songs. If you're new to Collective Soul this would be great to buy. I highly recommend it.
Final Rating: 4.2/5
