THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1999

Collective Soul unifies with harmonious sound

By Jimmy Chai

On-Line Forty-Niner

 

Music unifies. And since Cal State Long Beach is a commuter school, what this campus needs is a little Collective Soul.

The band's fourth album, "Dosage," shoots up harmonious sounds of easy guitar strumming, but also injects high-flying rock sounds.

Technically speaking, the album has many different styles. The first track, "Tremble for my beloved," gives a light dose of 1980s style rhythm. The next song, "Heavy," carries the same mood, but the guitar solo follows evolution and gives a 1990s hard-edge style. But the band does not cling to one style on the album. Songs as mellow as their earlier hit "The world I know" can be found in the album's seventh song "Run."

The song releases a great vibe - perfect for long drives alone.

But of course, the album would not be truly Collective Soul if it did not make one think.

"In this world of purchase, I'm going to buy back memories to awake some old qualities," sings lead singer Ed Roland.

The album gives one community love and a little collective soul.