Collective Soul ‘Welcome all Again’

Collective Soul just released the second single from their upcoming album on iTunes this week. The album, Rabbit, is due out August 25th (the date has been pushed back), and the single is called ‘Welcome all Again’. I gave it a listen the day of release and was very ‘meh’ about it, so today while driving, I put it on repeat and listened to it cranked up, four times in a row. Here’s what I think.

Technically, this song sounds more like the Collective Soul we all knew and loved back in the day – this is Vintage Collective Soul sound – but the song misses the mark for me on a personal level. The song basically tells the story of the band meeting at singer Ed Roland’s lake house to record their new album. It talks about ‘meeting your friends’ after a long absence, about waking up in the morning to start the day’s work with amazing scenery on your doorstep, about getting your morning java and about putting in a good day’s work… about midnight swims in the moonlight and drinking beer at day’s end. All the various things the band has done (and captured on Twitpics and video for the fans to watch as well!) during the recording of Rabbit. It should be a good song – and live it might be – killer guitar riffs and heavy rock drumming all building excitement at the beginning of the song and continuing throughout.

But, unlike their first single release, Staring Down, this one is not easily singable by audiences I think. The chorus isnt as catchy and really doesnt have a ‘hook’. Also.. there is something lacking in this song. I’m not sure what exactly; it doesnt seem to have any emotion to it. It’s as if the writer observed and wrote about events rather than participating in them – I don’t get any sense of excitement or happiness from this song, as I”ve come to expect (and do) from most Collective Soul songs. The infectious nature of wanting to share that joy and energy just isn’t there on this song.

On a positive note, Welcome all Again is one of the most ‘gelled’ (no pun intended) songs from Collective Soul in a long time. I’m a firm believer that when a band plays together, jams together, lives together in the same space at the same time – it comes across on the music they record. Much like the flop of Star Wars Phantom Menace being due in part to the actors acting to a blue screen and not to each other – I’m old skool and believe a band that records each instrument weeks or months apart and emails them in to be mixed, misses capturing the ‘chemistry’ that only comes when they’re all together and brainstorming.

This song lacks something (in my opinion only -my friends all love it), but the first single, Staring Down, (I think) has that chemistry – and we’re only on the first two singles from the new album. I have faith that there will be something on this album for old Collective Soul rock fans, and new Collective Soul pop fans, and everyone in between.

Mojave – Review of Crow’s Funeral cd

It was with trepidation that I accepted Mojave’s newest Cd – Crow’s Funeral. Why? Because I agreed to write a review of the album for Mojave’s Paul and LJ and wasn’t sure I could do that fairly and honestly.

Having listened to Crow’s Funeral three times from start to finish, I can honestly say I do like it – very much in fact. I expected it to be folk/acoustic but this album is very much a mix of folk and rock with some definite shades of ambient tossed in. It’s a fabulous mix that keeps me entertained and guessing from song to song. There are not many albums out these days that are not simply a collection of two or three radio hits and fillers; the idea of an entire album making sense and flowing from one song to the next seems to be a lost concept. This album does just that.

As you listen, the album takes you on the journey of a young woman who’s been through a life changing experience – possibly a broken heart, a failed relationship, abandonment of some sort – but all is not doom and gloom. This young woman has a brain as well as a broken heart, and sorts out the issues, and gets on with life. ‘California’ is the turning point (song) in the album, and the story continues with her healing and becoming stronger (rather than jaded) by her experiences, including forgiving the person(s) who caused the hurt in the first place (‘Thank You’)

On technical issues – this album is polished and professional – just what you would expect from a band who’s been in the business for many years. The arrangements are lush on songs that benefit from it, stripped down and raw on others – all adding to the overall feel or listening experience of this album.

If you haven’t heard Crow’s Funeral by Mojave yet, go purchase it… you won’t be disappointed.

*you can find Mojave on Twitter Here, and free ringtones from the album Here . Click on the picture up top to find Mojave’s official website including tour dates and such, as well as the album purchase info.

Small town radio woes

I have recently moved from a large metropolis to a smaller community and have been missing a decent radio station for a month! There is a station up here of course, but it plays ‘nearly hits of yesterday’ ie: songs that were almost hits in the late 80’s. Not really my cup of tea thats for sure… I’m missing my regular rock and roll station, CFOX.com, that plays new and current rock as well as alternative and local indie stuff.

However, today I traveled from my new home town, to the next town over – a distance of about 45 kilometers – and started flipping the dial on the car stereo as soon as I hit the new location. And what did I find? A ROCK STATION. Yep. First song was Coldplay’s ‘newest’. Second song was U2’s Magnificent. So far so good. Third song was Lenny Kravitz Are You Going My Way, and lo and behold, 4th song was Collective Soul’s Heavy. Not all new, not all current and up to date, but all good rock and roll and all welcome to my ears! Just wish Collective Soul’s new single, Staring Down, was on their setlist too! It was the ’song in my head’ all day today while walking around the shopping mall. Catchy tune with a hook and decent lyrics. Not many of those around these days.

Collective Soul’s new single-Exclusive!

Collective Soul courtesy Dean Roland

Collective Soul has been on Twitter for about two months – dropping gems in their followers laps – such things as twitpics of Ed’s lake cabin and their new album recording sessions, videos of rehearsals and snippets of new songs from the band’s upcoming 8th Studio album.

Tonight, they released their first single, in its entirety, available for fans to listen to. You can find it HERE

So what are my thoughts upon first listen? “I need to listen again.” And so I did. Technically, this song is a masterpiece. It’s the right length (not too long), has a good back beat and excellent bass line beneath the surface. The keyboards enhance the tune and bongos give it flair. The lyrics are catchy and upon second listen I can sing the chorus easily. It has a hook – I can easily picture fans at concerts swaying and singing along to this song, and I can see people hearing this on the radio and wondering – who? who’s singing this one – I have to hear it again!

But there is more to any song for me than technical merit – how does the song make me feel?

It’s an amazing song. Singer Ed Roland opens the song speaking about how his pride kept him from seeing things in life. Quite the opening statement and the rest of the song follows suit. How he hasnt been able to see what’s in front of him until now, and one would think from the lyrics that Roland has had an epiphane of some sort. The lyrics fit so well with the melody that it just has this smooth rock/pop groove that is infectious, harmonious and makes your spirit dance. As with all Collective Soul songs, this song is uplifting and hope-filled and can be taken at face value or interpreted in spirital context. “I’ve found my way home” can of course mean his physical home, family, spouse, or can mean his heavenly home – I leave it up to the listener to gauge for themselves.

I”ve listened to this song 5 times now as I type this impromptu reveiw and I was wrong on one point – its too short! I’ve also typed out the words (to the best of my ability on a so-so sounding laptop and earbuds). Words in Italics I’m unsure of. If this song is any indication of what the rest of Collective Soul’s new album is going to sound like – I’m going to be hooked by it and will be listening to it for years to come.

Staring Down (words used without permission)

loosened from my pride oh
that moster he kept me so tight
i threw my aces down
just to face the here and the now

so here i go again
i want to please
here i go again
sweet till i sleep
sweet till i dream

i’ve been looking
been staring down
been searching
been staring down
and your love is what i’ve found

was cautious as a thief oh
but restless for all of my needs
now i stand before
all i want and all that i adore

so here i go again
i need to please
here i go again
sweet till i sleep
sweet till i dream

i’ve been looking
been staring down
i’ve been searching
i’ve been staring down
and your love is what i’ve

long days long nights
just blinded by what was already in sight
now i’ve found
i’ve found my way home
yeah i’ve found my way home

i’ve been looking
i’ve been staring down
i’ve been searching
i’ve been staring down
i’ve been looking
i’ve been staring down
i’ve been searching
i’ve been staring down
and your love is what i’ve found

U2 No Line on the Horizon

Anyone that knows me, knows that U2 is: top of my listening pile, number one favorite band, will do anything to get to a concert put on by them in my hometown, etc… and also knows that no other band will ever topple the foursome from that slot.

So… why have I not done an album review of their lastest release, No Line on the Horizon? Surely as a die hard fan and proflific writer, it should have happened the very day I purchased and listened to the album? But it did not.

I’ve been thinking about that for a very long time actually. And truthfully, I didnt buy the album the day it was available in store either – I waited nearly a week before picking it up, then nearly two more weeks before plugging it into my walkman (yes I still sometimes use my walkman) and giving it a spin. I wanted the very first listen to be me alone, undisturbed by phone calls, dogs wanting out or work obligations pulling me away from the experience. so I waited.

Finally, the day came and I plugged in the cd, sat down to listen with trepidation, not excitement. And?

Its okay. I think the band made a mistake by releasing Get on Your Boots as the first single. I think Brian Eno was right when he said in video interview (exclusive to U2.com members) that HE thought they should have released Magnificent as the first single. Indeed, they should have. I’ve come to realize that hearing Boots on the radio was part of what led to my hesitation about the album-its not a great song. Its possibly danceable, will do well live I think, but its not a great song – not by the yardstick (meterstick?) I and everyone else use to measure U2’s worth.

I was also influenced (I hate to say it) by my local radio dj Neil Morrison over at CFox.com. He’s a big U2 fan as well and he said on air, that the album was ‘not their best.. not even their fourth or fifth best’ and he was sorely disappointed in it. As I said, that influenced me – but knowing that Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno worked on it spurred me on to at least seeing for myself. The two U2 albums I like best, Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby were both produced or co-produced by these two men – so I had hope.

After listening to the album 8 times in the last few months, I’ve come to realize its not going to be on my top 5 U2 album list. It will be stacked in the secondary pile with All That You Cant Leave Behind, Boy, and Pop. Which is fine. And which is not to say its not a good album; IT IS. Its just not going to be MY favorite U2 album.

No Line on the Horizon is a collection of songs – some of them stand out immediately to me; Magnificent, Moment of Surrender, Breathe – but the rest are just songs. There are a few stand out lyrics, thoughts etc that show what could have been – but again to me it missed the mark. U2 has never been just to listen to, for me. They’ve always been a band who have something to say and you’d better listen or they’ll shout it louder. This album has no story to tell. Bono has written a few songs from the viewpoint of a ‘fictional character’ as he puts it – instead of from his own perspective, and I think that’s what irks me most about the entire album. It’s not a U2 album, its more like a collaboration of too many musicians and too many ideas with nothing solid to get your teeth into.

As I said though,  few stand out to me. Magnificent especially is one such song and I fully intend to blog about it -to give it the due it deserves. I’ll leave that for another day. As for the album, it sits on my ipod, my laptop and in my pile of cd’s on my shelf. I do expect one day that I will love it and see the songs in a new way – such a thing happened with Zooropa (took me years to actually like that U2 album), but for now, the time hasnt come.

Twitter Exclusive

There’s so much going on in the music industry these days it’s impossible to keep up with it all. Here’s a tidbit though, Exclusive to Collective Soul’s Twitter following; a video clip of the band rehearsing a brand new song currently being recorded for their 8th Studio Album, due out August 2009.

Collective Soul Rehearsing in Tree Sound Studios from Christopher Tuff on Vimeo.

Last week Coldplay gave away a sort of ‘best of’ album, via digital download at their site, but somehow I’ve always found Chris Martin to be a bit of a cold fish. Collective Soul’s infinitely more interesting as a band and as individuals. How do I know? Because 3 out of 5 of the band members are now doing personal ‘tweets’ in response to nearly 12,000 ‘followers’.

Enjoy. (just be sure to let the video download completely the first time before trying to view it or it will ’stutter’. )

Our second video project -Collective Soul Lake House recording sessions

This time we used digital editing software (our first Collective Soul fan promo video was straight from camera) Its been a very satisfying experience coming up with an idea, finding the perfect photos and clips, fitting it to the song and even asking permission from those involved to use their media to help promo them.

My first foray into Video

What better way to initiate oneself into directing and co-producing, than to join forces with a like minded friend and use it to promo a great band currently recording their 8th studio album (out in August)? It was a blast. Maybe one day we’ll release the blooper reel.

New Rules for Artist and Fan Engagement

I dont often repeat other people’s blogs but this is too good to not pass on I think. I found this through my friend Thorny Bleeder Blog and it originally came from Dave Allen’s blog. (Dave Allen is founding member of UK Post-Punk band, Gang of Four)

Props to Dave Allen founder of Gang of Four for these suggestions below. Well considered (and annotated). I recommend that you do what he says.

“Humans are subconsciously moved by the emotion of music, it provides a link to their ancestry and to their tribes, it stirs not only positive but sometimes negative feelings linked to moments in time and is often steeped in nostalgia and memories. No other art form is ‘consumed’ as broadly and passionately as music on a daily basis around the world.

How music was delivered used to be in the hands of the few – bands, concert promoters, record companies and their retail distribution companies, radio, and video shows such as MTV. In tech-speak this system embraced ‘push’ – we the mighty and powerful will “provide you” [at a price determined by “us”] with access to our treasures when “we” feel like it. These days that system is rapidly breaking down as music fans now ‘pull’ what “they” want to listen to.

Control has moved from the few to the millions of many. Dull labels and dull bands offering dull, flat, non-experiential product – e.g. a CD, will go the way of the CD as it goes the way of the Dodo. Consider what Cirque Du Soleil provides as an experience compared to Barnum and Bailey’s circus. Or Burning Man compared to your average music festival. Even the Las Vegas Beatles-themed show ‘Across The Universe’ wipes the floor with most rock concerts these days.

Music fans are no longer patiently waiting for their favorite bands to deliver new music according to the old customary cycle – album, press release, video, radio, tour. No, the fan base has to be regularly and consistently engaged.

Some Ideas (for artists, managers and labels):

- First, communicate openly and ask your fans what they want from you
- Listen to what they have to say. Really listen
- Provide unique content such as early demos of new songs
- Never under estimate the power of a free MP3
- Forget completely the idea of an organizing principle (album). Invent a new one
- Use social media wisely. Twitter and Facebook Pages are best, MySpace is too cluttered
- Don’t push messages to your fans, have a two way interaction with them
- Invite them to share, join, support and build goodwill with you
- Scrap your web site and start a blog
- Remember to forget everything you know about the CD “business”
- Start to monetize the experience around your music
- Remember – the browser is the new iPod

Read more from Dave Allen here at his Pampelmoose blog

Don’t push messages to fans, have a two way interaction with them – and – scrap your website and start a blog – are both ones that stand out for me. I see this all the time – bands with websites which are loving and artistically created, updated regularly with news items and tour dates, but which fans wont visit for info. Why? Because I think young people crave interaction – that two way street. They’d much rather go to Facebook or Myspace to get news.. its more personal for some reason. More spontaneous. AND they can have interaction with other fans. A static website wont allow sharing with like minded people.

For myself – I love finding a band I love on Twitter especially when that band does their own tweeting (like Chris Cornell) AND responds back to as many fans as possible (like @collective_soul ) And contests, rewards, free downloads (even partial song clips), and Q+A sessions all add to the experience for fans.

Did the Experiment Work?

Ed Roland. photo by Dean Roland

A week ago, Atlanta rock band, Collective Soul, engaged their fans in a Q + A session on Twitter to expand their fan base and generate buzz for their new album, due out August 4th. (you can read more about the actual Q + A session HERE ). So, did it work?

A month ago, Collective Soul joined Twitter with little or no fanfare. Three days into it, they gave away free tickets to their Darfur Benefit Concert, and were tweeting before the show including sharing back stage photos. A week into joining Twitter, the fans were given a rare look at what recording is like, with photos snapped on the spot of some of the band members. That same day, they broke 1000 followers and the buzz from the fans was Ed Roland’s new hair cut (general concensus was positive – Dean twittered the next day that it had only been pulled back in the photo).

The 2000 followers barrier was broken about three weeks into the band joining Twitter, and was announced by the band’s management, and Ed joined Dean in periodically updating the band’s status shortly thereafter. Follow with the Q + A session already mentioned, and management sweetening the pot with promise of an autographed photo to the 3000th follower, and the fan base multiplied exponetially in a few short days. Dean went one step further, ensuring that a few ‘loyal fans’ would receive the same personalized autographed photo in return for spreading the word about the band being on Twitter, as well as offering all followers the chance to vote on which photos of the band to include in the new record. Nearly 1000 new people on Twitter followed Collective Soul in this time period, driving their followers to over 3000. Dean was so fired up to have that many join in such a short time that he bet a friend $500 dollars they could find 1000 more in one 24 hr period. (what were you thinking???? ) Needless to say, they almost did it, but not quite.

$500 dollars lighter, and life starting to intrude (more recording of the album, flying here and there for meetings etc) and the 4000 mark was reached and went unannounced. One thing about fans though – they’ll love you forever, but they’ll also remind you of things and keep you honest. Someone reminded them and another autographed photo was promised, and time marched on.

So is it working? Are the band getting any real promo out of it? Have they gained fans who will actually go spend money on concerts and buy the new album? Or do people only want to be on there to talk to band members – to feel like they’re on first name basis with celebrity? My own personal viewpoint is that they are indeed getting some good promo from all this.

Case in point – Dean tweeted about going to New Orleans for a show. Fans went to look up the band’s concert schedule, found no such listing in New Orleans, next thing Dean is fielding numerous tweets about ‘what show’? (Turns out it was a benefit show for a local children’s charity). People are asking about the new album, and the next tour – and its forcing the band to make sure the pertinent information is out there.

And, when Dean was under the gun to win his bet – fans posted on his behalf at his Facebook page to try and help him attain that goal. Which means, when the album comes out – they’ll spread the word to their friends via social networking. I also firmly believe most will purchase the album rather than illegal download or file share, due to the fact that they are indeed on a first name basis with the band (or at least Dean). You support a ‘friend’ especially if that’s the way they earn their living and pay their bills. A band who is unapproachable to fans is much easier to ‘take from’ without feeling guilty about it.

The experiement, or should I say, the experience, is not over. The next months will prove to be interesting indeed; sharing pics of the photoshoot with us and having us vote on them, another Q+A session perhaps, the goal to attain the next 1000 followers, more free giveaways, perhaps (hopefully) the other band members tweeting too – but for some too; true relationship building, an appreciation for what musicians do to entertain us – these are things I anticipate in the coming weeks and months. Let the experiment continue.