March 11, 1997 - Disciplined Breakdown

Two years after their very succesful self-titled album, Collective Soul released their third album "Disciplined Breakdown" on March 11, 1997. Collective Soul were going through a legal battle with their former management and so despite the success of their previous album they didn't actually have a lot of money and they recorded this album in a much smaller space. It's the same pop-rock style as always though, let's see what the latest from Collective Soul sounds like!

The album kicks off with a very succesful single titled "Precious Declaration". It's driven by a cool main guitar riff that is pretty catchy and despite it being very short, it never seems to get old. Ed Roland sings a solid verse and chorus and the "aha-aha-ah" backing vocal in the chorus is very catchy indeed. This song strikes a great balance between made-for-radio and still having a cool rock song and it's a no-brainer for a single. It's just so catchy! Up next is "Listen" which was also a succesful single. It's got s pretty light and breezy verse and chorus but it has a solid bridge riff that connects the two. After a couple goes through there's a guitar solo that is fairly tame but it fits the mood of the song nicely. This is an alright song but it's not one of their better ones if you ask me. Track 3 is "Maybe" and it's got a very light and pop-y main riff that has both acoustic and electric guitars. Once again, things aren't bad, but they are very fluffy and way more pop than it is rock. Ed's vocals fit this description as well, but there is a pretty cool guitar solo midway through to break up this otherwise dreamy song. The next track is "Full Circle" and it's got a nice upbeat main riff with some catchy guitars and some solid vocals by Ed. There's some horns as well that sooce things up and the chorus is very catchy with it's "round and round and round". The solo in this song is a guitar solo and some cool horns at the same time and it makes for a pretty interesting solo. They tie things back to the main riff and this was a pretty cool jam. Track 5 was the final single and the least succesful by far, titled "Blame". It's got a simple but catchy main riff and everyone builds nicely around it to form a pretty smooth beat. This beat just keeps pounding for the whole song, so it drags a little, but it's a decent song still. Up next is the title track "Disciplined Breakdown" and it's got a catchy beat right from the get-go with some cool bass by Will Turpin and some cool lead guitar by Ross Childress. Ed's vocals sound epic and perfectly match this cool beat and this is a pretty cool tune! A catchy and cool verse and chorus! Track 7 is "Forgiveness" and it's a pretty quiet and pretty chill song. The guitars are very light and Ed's vocals are light and fluffy to match. It's an alright sing still, but definitely a lesser one that isn't very exciting. The next track is "Link" and it's also pretty light, but it's a bit more upbeat and certainly a more interesting main riff. The solo isn't very flashy, but it matches the mood nicely and this was a decent little short song. Track 9 is "Giving" and Childress leads the way with a catchy guitar riff as Ed sings a nice high verse overtop. It's a little repetitive as they don't stray from this main riff, so it's another song that falls into the "good but not great" category. Up next is "In Between" and it's got a very chill and fairly catchy main riff. Ed sings nicely overtop and it's a very smooth song even though there's not a ton happening. It'a par for the course for this album. Track 11 is "Crowded Head" and it's got some of the best guitars on the album as Childress plays some cool stuff throughout, including a catchy main riff. The vocals are very catchy as well and this os definitely one of, if not the best song on the album for me. The album wraps up with "Everything" and Turpin plays some cool bass on this one and the verse is pretty cool but the chorus is excessively average. You take the good with the bland I guess.

That is the end of "Disciplined Breakdown" and I thought it was a decent album, but not a great one. It certainly had it's cool moments but there were others that were a little light and fluffy for me. It still amounts to a decent album overall and I think it's still better than their debut "Hints, Allegations And Things Left Unsaid". Their last album was much better though and this is certainly a step down from the pretty sweet "Collective Soul". Ihope they can return to form next time!