Collective Soul - From the Ground Up Dig (8 tracks) +Album Reviews

The songs & band sound great, but the CD becomes tiresome

George Dionne | Cape Cod, MA | 06/21/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The Good

The production of this release is perfect. The acoustic guitar tones are comforting and enjoyable. Ed Roland is in perfect voice as usual on tracks like "Youth", Perfect to Stay", and "Under Heaven's Sky". But...

The Bad

The CD is incredibly boring. All the tracks tend to sound the same with no real tempo changes. By the time the cowboy be-bop sounds of "Counting the Days" came around, I was ready to chuck this CD out the window. I can't believe for one minute that this is what it originally sounded like. They also chose not to include their biggest hit, and a near acoustic number to begin with "The World I Know"; or even "Shine" for that mater. That would sound killer acoustic.

The Verdict

Collective Soul is probably one of my favorite bands of the last decade, so it's very difficult for me to say how disappointed I was with this release. As I said before, the songs and band sound great but the album as a whole becomes tiresome. This may be a treasure for die-hard fans that just have to have everything by Collective Soul regardless of what it is or sounds like, but if you're a regular fan you can skip it. If you're a casual fan, you better off buying Youth. It won't disappoint.

"

Chill

John P. Thompson | Saint Paul, MN United States | 08/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is just a chilled out CD. I usually play Collective Soul to rock out and sing along. This album strips and slows down the song...but you know what...I'm still singing loud. If anything, this album makes me even appreciate more(if that's possible) how much I love Collective's soul lyrics. And boy did they ever choose some of my favorite songs of theirs: My favorite CS song Compliment, She Said, Under Heaven's Skies and Perfect to Stay are all just as great as their originals on this release.

I really really really love the new song called Youth. It's classic Collective Soul...very emotional and serious with intelligent CS lyrics that we all love "But if the river we know can dry to dust I guess the angels we've learned to trust can fly away." Simply beautiful. Really every word in the song is just beautiful. The more and more I listen to this song I almost think...just almost think it's my new favorite Collective Soul song...eh but I do love Compliment so much. How bout I notch it in at my #2 all-time CS song. It's that good.

Now the other new song...I have no idea what it's called as it's not credited but a secret track. I really don't care for at all.

I'm also not impressed with December on this release. I like the original but this just doesn't do it for me...especially since they took out the great ending vocals of the original, "December Promise you have unto Me, December Whispers of Treachery, etc...".

Still, I like this CD a lot. As I said before I think it nailed many of the song, which just happen to be some of my favorite CS songs. And the guitar pick was a nice added bonus! This CD is cheap, like $10 everywhere. There is no reason for a CS fan not to own this, if not to hear some of these brilliant songs slowed down then at least to hear the amazing new song Youth. Thumbs up!

"

Been Waiting for this!

Jeremy S. Gates | 06/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD totally rocks! I've been waiting for Collective Soul to release an unplugged album for awhile now. The entire CD is great. If you are a true Collective Soul fan then you will love this CD. If you just liked one or two of their big radio hits then this may not be for you, especially if you listen to Top 40! I would highly recommend this CD to anyone who has an appreciation for music. The album title says it all. These are songs in their purest form. Ed's vocals are awesome and the guitar work is great. This CD is worth it for "She Said", "Satellite" & "Youth" alone. "She Said" is much cleaner than the hidden track version on "Dosage". And to the reviewer who said it was tiresome, if you want tiresome, listen to disc 2 of the Foo Fighters "In your honor". That is tiresome & uninspiring. Buy this disc, it is great, with a GREAT bonus track too."

Very chilled

Taralyn Bro | East London, South Africa | 12/05/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"From the Ground Up

Collective Soul

It's not often that an acoustic, unplugged collection of songs goes down as well as the originals.

Too often the intangible magic captured in a proper recording studio is lost in an echoey rendition, and fans may feel cheated by what appears to be a poor brothers version of a hit.

Not so with Collective Soul's From the Ground Up, eight no-frills, no-fuss unplugged songs, mostly taken off their fairly successful Youth album.

It helps that lead singer Ed Roland's voice is as manly mannish without the polishing that comes with the producing process, and it is a tribute and a compliment to the band itself that they pull off popular songs at such a slower pace.

Because I think this is what hard-core fans may notice on this album: the tracks chosen, while familiar, are all slowed down quite substantially.

This is not a bad thing, as the overall mood to the album becomes one of chilled, relaxed tunes.

This is the perfect CD to play as background music on a lazy day, or louder when in a melancholic mood.

Best tracks include perennial favourite Compliment and the somewhat raw She Said.

"

Can't help it!

Juan Isava | Caracas, Venezuela | 02/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I would only NOT GIVE this album five stars, because it "only" has 9 songs, I think they should consider someday playing their entire song list in acoustic like they did here. This was something Ed (Roland) wanted to dedicate to the fans, as his own written introduction on the Cd says: from the very nature of the songs without the editing and sound effects.

I can't have enough of C.S. This album must be seen as a compliment to "Youth", and not as an album on its own. Although you get new material (Youth and the "No name song") it's for the fans to acknowledge how well these guys come up with a song from its roots, and it does actually sound terrificly without all the sound and mixing, just with the basics: percussion, bass and guitars.

I will display this Cd and "music from high places" and put the music in a lounge, where people can just chill and enjoy great musicians, playing power songs with amazing virtuosity.

Must buy CD."

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