From the Ground Up (Dig)

Collective Soul | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 24, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: El Music Group
• ASIN: B0007YMV60
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,033 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the multi-platinum selling Collective Soul comes a unique collection of hits and rarities performed acoustically. "From The Ground Up" will be the perfect piece to accompany the band's current release, "Youth". SoundScan on "Youth" has exceeded 120,000 units in the US, the record has consistently charted on the Top 20 Independent Album Chart, and it has fostered two Top 5 Rock singles ("Counting The Days" and "Better Now"). Initial pressings of "From The Ground Up" will include a Collective Soul guitar pick.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chill, August 20, 2005

By 

John P. Thompson (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From the Ground Up (Dig) (Audio CD)

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!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The songs & band sound great, but the CD becomes tiresome, June 21, 2005

By 

George Dionne (Cape Cod, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From the Ground Up (Dig) (Audio CD)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Been Waiting for this!, June 27, 2005

By 

Jeremy S. Gates - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From the Ground Up (Dig) (Audio CD)

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.