Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid

Album: Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid
Artist: Collective Soul
Release Year: 1994
Genres: alternative rock, pop-rock

1) Shine; 2) Goodnight, Good Guy; 3) Wasting Time; 4) Sister Don't Cry; 5) Love Lifted Me; 6) In a Moment; 7) Heaven's Already Here; 8) Pretty Donna (Instrumental); 9) Reach; 10) Breathe; 11) Scream; 12) Burning Bridges; 13) All.

Best Song: Shine

Well, if your debut album has "Shine" on it, why bother making any of the other songs memorable? Am I right? Nah, most of the others are decent, but "Shine" is unquestionably the winner here. Who can resist the carefree melody or the "Whooo-ooo-o-oaah...heaven let your light shine down" in the chorus? What a great summertime anthem, huh? Brings back memories.

The band's name has some real significance on this album, since over half the songs have this "gospel" feel to them, trying to be uplifting, I assume. Sometimes it works, like on "Goodnight Good Guy," but just as often, it makes a mess of things. Some of the songs sound like they belong in the soundtrack of a sappy teen drama. Not that all the softer ones are bad, though--I will admit I like "Burning Bridges"--but since these guys are obviously more suited to straddling the fence between pop and hard rock, hearing them try to embrace only the light side is disappointing. "Scream," for example, is awful, trying to rock out but ending up sounding more laughable than anything.

Like I said above, the guys are obviously trying to strike some deep emotional chord within the listener with their tender vocal deliveries and soaring guitar passages. Trouble is, they're still just a pop band, and it's hard to be truly convincing when you've been blatantly commercial from the start. But, I think the major flaw of this album is that it's just so tame that none of the songs (except "Shine") stand out. It's mostly uniform and bland, with a few nice hooks scattered here and there to keep you awake. I don't listen to it often, but at least I don't grate my teeth to it, either.

Rating: 6