Spiritual Unity

the Juice was ponderin' the other day, want is the measure of a great band? is it longevity? is it musicianship? or is it how many fingertaps per second? the Juice takes on these mortal questions when tryin' to describe the greatness that is the band Collective Soul. In a world of over hype, these guys are seriously under-rated. Besides sleep, the Juice would say that they are one of the most underrated things in life. the Juice don’t get why the band doesn’t get more radio play than they do. Well, that’s not true. I do understand why. And it had less to do with the greatness of Collective Soul and more with the shortsightedness of the record industry. It’s yet another reflection of the world we live in.

But, I digress...

The new album Youth seriously rocks. From what the Juice hears, the band totally financed the cd themselves. I say, good for them! The cd, top to bottom, is great. The first 3 songs, right off the bat, make you all jittery from the tasty guitar licks. There’s a couple of slow, thoughtful numbers in the middle for good measure (I normally would point that out for the ladies, but my lawyer tells me I have to be careful with sexist comments. Remember that one post i did? Sheesh! I still get emails about it). For the Juice' money, though, track 10 (“General Attitude”) makes you want to punch the teeth out of a rabid monkey you’re rockin' out so fuckin' hard. Also not to be missed are the cd’s first single “Counting the Days", “Under Heaven’s Skies” and “Satellite”. I know. I know. I know what you're thinkin'. You're thinkin': “Satellite”???? Yea, well what can the Juice say? I guess I do have a thoughtful side. No matter how much the Juice tries to repress it. The song has really grown on the Juice, sorta like a fungus. It’s very reminiscent of CS's prior outings “Forgiveness” and “In-between” from Disciplined Breakdown. Two very touchin' songs that the Juice enjoys thoroughly. And I don’t mean touchin' in the porno sense, either. Which is fairly unusual for the Juice.

Pound for pound, I would rate this up there as one of the Juice's favorite Collective Soul cds. I might even put it in a 3 way tie with 95’s Collective Soul and 97’s thoughtful Disciplined Breakdown. To be honest, over the last few cds (Dosage and Blender) the Juice was beginnin' to think that CS lost a little of it’s mojo. Don’t get the Juice wrong, both are fine cds in their own right. But not the powerhouses of previous outings. In the end, though, the Juice still worships at the altar of Collective Soul. And I will sacrifice small, helpless animals to prove it. (Before you folks at PETA start, I'm just kiddin'. The Juice would never sacrifice animals. Nor do I condone the punchin' out of rabid monkey teeth, while we're at it. I'm just tryin' to impress my friends with clever word stylin's. So, for the love of the Christ, please don't send any letters to me. Or your lawyers' letters, too. the Juice is just funnin' around a bit. Besides, who'd want to touch a disgustin' animal anyway?)

And just for the record, the Juice got paid a lot of money for this endorsement. So, don’t just steal the cd. Get off your ass!!! Go to your local Best Buy (ch-ching! ‘nother plug) and BUY the damn cd. Support the band!

I’m not a shill. I just play one on TV.

So? The measure of a great band? When Dolly Parton covers one of your songs. Check out Dolly’s version of “Shine”