Youth

by Collective Soul

Overview

Well, this is a weird one. Collective Soul parted ways with their longtime record label, Atlantic, following the release of the 2001 hits collection 7even Year Itch, and it took them three years to deliver a new album, which meant there was a gap of four years separating their last proper studio album, 2000's Blender, and its 2004 follow-up, Youth. Freed from the pressures of a big record label and the constraints of post-grunge modern rock radio, the band seized the opportunity to reinvent itself. While they still retain some of their essential DNA, especially when they delve into ballads like "How Do You Love," they restyle themselves in fuzzy, shiny glam threads, sounding like a weird cross between David Bowie and INXS (and on "Feels Like (It Feels Alright)," Roland recalls nothing less than Peter Murphy in his vocals). Since Collective Soul are natives of the American South, they favor big riffs ready for big arenas to slinky T. Rex grooves, and since they once had big hits on the radio, they still favor big, glossy productions, but Youth still comes across as a stylized, somewhat modernized spin on heavy glam rock. It sounds a little bit like a streamlined, stateside Spacehog, which means that it doesn't necessarily sound hip, or like something that the "youth" of the album's title would dig, and it's not necessarily something that fans of their big ballads like "December" and "The World I Know" would like, either. But that doesn't mean it's a bad record. Far from it, actually. While the ballads are still a little too saccharine, there aren't many of them, and the rest of the record is fizzy, outsized, hooky, trashy fun. Anybody who considered Stone Temple Pilots a guilty pleasure, or thought that "Gel" was far and away Collective Soul's best song, should check this out -- it doesn't sound much like anything that the band has done before, or like anything that's on modern rock radio, but it's easily one of band's best records. It's a Collective Soul album for people who don't like Collective Soul. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/16/2004
Label:	FUZZE-FLEX RECORDS
UPC:	0187966000128

Tracks

1. Better Now
2. There's a Way
3. Home
4. How Do You Love
5. Him
6. Feels Like (It Feels All Right)
7. Perfect to Stay
8. Counting the Days
9. Under Heaven's Skies
10. General Attitude
11. Satellite

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Collective Soul   Primary Artist
Joel Kosche   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
David Davidson   Violin
Dexter Green   Piano,Guitar,Keyboards
Kris Wilkinson   Viola
Chris Donohue   Bass,Keyboards
Dean Roland   Guitar (Rhythm)
Kenny Cresswell   Percussion
Michelle Rhea Caplinger   Vocals (Background)
Melissa Mathes   Vocals (Background)
Sari de Leon-Reist   Cello
Jim Hoke   Saxophone
Ryan Hoyle   Drums,Percussion
Anthony J. Resta   Keyboards
Dave Angell   Violin
John Lancaster   Piano
Shane Evans   Drums,Percussion
Will Turpin   Bass,Percussion
Ed Roland   Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Joey Huffman   Organ
Teresa Schaefer   Vocals (Background)
Vanessa Davidson   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Stephen Marcussen   Mastering
Shawn Grove   Mixing,Engineer
Annie Shu   Cover Model
David Davidson   Arranger
Dexter Green   Composer,Producer,Programming
John Jaszcz   Track Engineer
Zack Odom   Engineer
Mills Logan   Track Engineer
Aaron Chmielewski   Engineer
Anthony J. Resta   Programming
Grant Green   Assistant
Chris Lord-Alge   Mixing
Ed Roland   Composer,Producer
Lee Clower   Photography
James Warner   Engineer,Assistant
Brian Porizek   Art Direction,Package Design
Zach Harkey   Cover Art Concept
Mark McNairy   Stylist