Blender [ENHANCED]

Collective Soul

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B00004YMJQ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,925 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Collective Soul again turn back the clock to the '70s, when rock bands were bigger than life, guitar riffs were circuitous, lyrics tended to the repetitive, and the drumming was bombastic. The Roland brothers and company reinvigorate the power ballad in a way that even Jon Bon Jovi has never been able to--and they do so totally without irony. In fact it's no joke that they've convinced old-school rock icon Elton John to croon on "Perfect Day." Collective Soul allowed a contest-winning fan to name their fifth album Blender, but it's not a particularly apt name, since they deviate so little from their classic-rock approach, save the frenetic, Prince-like "Vent," with its flashy guitar gymnastics and laughable lyrics ("You bite before you lick / Why? Because you're such a prick") and the well-executed psychedelic frills in the rhythmically challenged "Skin." But other than those artistic curves, Collective Soul serve up muscular anthems about being misunderstood, ("You Speak My Language"), finding one's way out of chaos ("Turn Around"), and love gone bad ("Why Pt. 2") with the same lumbering lyrics that colored their first four albums. --Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Collective Soul launches into the 21st Century with "Blender", February 9, 2006

By	Eddie Lancekick "A Regulator" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Collective Soul had already given us a major dosage of their anthem rock style mixed with bluesy tunes and the occasional soft power ballad. With "Blender" we're in for even more of a treat: Another album diverse in structure and noble in effort.

Blender starts out with no less than three gems that are worthy of praise for their power and style. "Skin" "Vent" and the MTV video hit "Why pt. II" are good enough by themselves to carry the rest of the album. However, that is not the case with this band, who with the exception of Pearl Jam, has survived the 90's messy musical scene by sticking together and putting out solid albums that make rock music fun again.

The fast paced rocker "You speak my language" and the moody envoked, soft drifter of "Over Tokyo" are other tracks to relish on BLENDER. Collective Soul continues to produce songs that are powerful, fast, slow, fun, funny, and serious, all the while maintaining their lineup with great guitars and heavy drums. If you have been looking for a rock band that's not a one hit wonder, and has the diversity of songs that are not found with formula rock or whatever you are hearing on the radio, BLENDER is a great album to check into.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't let a fan think of the title next time, May 8, 2001

By	29-year old wallflower "Eric N Andrews" (West Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

It's great to have prolific bands like Collective Soul around in a day and age where people prefer to take years in the studio crafting an album. Within 6 years, Collective Soul has released 5 albums of music that's been more influenced by Bad Company than Nirvana. Their debut HINTS, ALLEGATION AND THINGS LEFT UNSAID (1994) found a home with both pop and modern rock radio, with "Shine" even becoming a #11 hit. The 1995 self-titled follow-up showed a more subdued sound with hits in ballads like "December" and "The World I Know", proving Collective Soul wasn't all about turning up the guitars. But DISCIPLINED BREAKDOWN (1997) not only didn't conquer the charts like their previous albums, it indicated that the band was suffering from the same-old, same-old syndrome. Then came DOSAGE (1999), along with shorter haircuts and a slightly more modernized sound. Collective Soul seemed to be tapping into a fresh vein of creativity. Even with a throwback sound, the band still knows the meaning of quality. But by now it seems quantity is more important than quality for Collective Soul, because their latest BLENDER seems like it left the studio a bit too soon. The album's 40-minute length, which while is quite welcome, only further hints at this album rushed's production. I'm a sucker for a short 3-minute song as much as top 40 radio is, but BLENDER's songs still sound like they were in embryonic form as they were given the final mastering. Just as soon as you're turning up the volume on songs like "Skin", "You Speak My Language", the proto-ballad "Why Pt. 2" and the Prince-derived "Vent", it's all over too soon. I think maybe Ed Roland was trying too hard to combine 5 minute-long ideas into 3-minute singles. Some songs are just plain wonderful like the sweet-but-not-saccharine ballad "10 Yrs. Later" and the duet with Elton John on "Perfect Day", while the rest sound too much like works in progress to be taken as full songs. When I heard that the title of this album was BLENDER, I expected it to be just that, a diverse selection of various styles. But it turns out to be anything but, and that BLENDER was tht title suggested by a fan that Collective Soul thought sounded great. BLENDER comes only 18 months after the creative recharging that came along with DOSAGE. But whereas that album breathed some new life into what seemed like a stagnating Collective Soul, BLENDER seems to indicate the band needs to again take stock of what they're doing right now, and decide if this is really what they think their music should be about. BLENDER doesn't really indicate a shortage of ideas, just a dearth of what to do with those ideas.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasing / A Good Pop Effort, June 17, 2005

By	sdwagle - See all my reviews

I didn't come into this album as a fan. In fact, I thought this band had kinda disappeared after the early 90s! Of course now I'm starting to realize how much music they did put out.

This CD doesn't seem to be as loved by the fans on here as their earlier works, and I'll agree it sounds slick and "poppy".

Still, this is a good "car album". I'm kinda impatient, and if there are more than a few klunkers on a CD, it's not worth loading into the player. But only track #7 (Speak My Language) gets the finger.

Sometimes you have a few CDs in your collection that are kinda commercial-- but still listenable and better than the tired singles on the radio. I place this one in that category.