Collective Soul is one of those bands that hold an iconic place in the 90s rock music soundscape. After “Shine” became an underground hit, their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid was re-released on major label Atlantic Records. “Shine” would continue to be their best-known song, however, their sophomore, self-titled album became the release that really cemented their place as a favorite among fans of 90s rock. Songs like “December”, “The World I Know”, and “Where the River Flows” helped to skyrocket the album to triple-platinum. The decade saw two more releases from the group, Disciplined Breakdown and Dosage. While those albums never saw the same sales, they did include some solid hits like “Precious Declaration” and “Heavy”.
The group has released six more studio albums as well as two live albums this decade that did not garner the same success as their nineties output. However, this is not unusual for bands of any era as tastes change through the decades. Most bands fail to keep their same fan base as music styles evolve in a new decade and many bands tend to fall apart. It’s a testament to Collective Souls’ love of music that they have continued to release new music to this day. Luckily for bands from our past, we are seeing a major surge of nostalgia for things from our youth. This is manifesting in reboots of old TV shows and movies, defunct bands reforming for tours, and most importantly for vinyl collectors; reissues of albums that had highly inflated prices for original copies or, in the case of albums from the 90s and 00s never had a vinyl pressing.
Craft Recordings has now reissued the first two, multi-platinum selling albums from Collective Soul. The reissue of Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid is the first widely available release on vinyl, as it was previously only available on Record Store Day as a limited-edition in 2018. Their self-titled album is also being issued on vinyl for the first time in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Both albums are pressed on black vinyl and include a glossy inner sleeve with lyrics. The albums have been excellently mastered for their vinyl release and sound great. Any fan of the band with a turntable needs to add these two albums to their collection.
