Music Review - COLLECTIVE SOUL - Youth

Let me explain one thing about me and Collective Soul. I love 'em. Absolutely my favorite band of all time. I like every song on every album they've ever done. Saw them live in 2000. So it was with great anticipation that I greeted their first album in 4 years, Youth. I hesitantly say I'm kinda disappointed. This is still great stuff. They write riff-based, 4 minute rock/pop gems. After just two listens, I had these songs stuck in my head and couldn't wait to get back into the car to listen again. That being said, Youth doesn't quite live up to Collective Soul's standards. Maybe it's because their last two albums, 1999's Dosage and 2000's Blender, are my two favorite Collective Soul albums. I guess I was expecting something along the same lines. While the sound and style is the same, certain aspect sound weak. The lyrics seem random and cobbled together. I don't listen for lyrics, so that's not huge for me, but it seems Ed Roland just mailed it in. Also missing are the ripping guitar solo's from Ross Childress who I consider a tone genius. There's one or two good leads, but from Collective Soul, I expect a little more. My last little complaint is that the best song on the album (Track 5, "Him") is only 2:30 long and sounds half finished. A little more work and this could have been a hit single, but it sounds like they gave up on the song. The lead single, "Counting the Days" is a good indicator of the style of the album. Other song highlights are "Home" (track 3) and "How Do You Love" (track 4). There's more rockers then ballads. Overall, I'm satisfiedwith this album. It's definantly one of the best of 2004, in my opinion. It just doesn't surpass Collective Soul's previous strong efforts.

Sneaky Cheetah Update! - 12/20/04 - I just discovered that Collective Soul lead guitarist Ross Childress left the band before the recording of Youth. He was replaced by Collective Soul's guitar tech Joel Kosche. No wonder there are no killer solos. Damn.

The Sneaky Cheetah's grade: A-