似乎每隔10年就会产生一个代表那个年代的精神指标乐队，而且乐风一定要走中坚流行摇滚路线，主唱一定要才色兼具，90年代的传统美式摇滚乐队Collective Soul就是这样的乐队。 来自美国佐治亚的乐队Collective Soul以主音歌手Ed Roland为中心，另外4位成员分别是：Ross Childress（主音吉他）、Dean Roland（节奏吉他）、Shane Evans（鼓）以及Will Turpin（贝司）。这支乐队风格有金属、另类、民谣等元素，有人称他们的风格为POST-GRUNGE。像传统美国乐团一样，也艰辛的渡过成名前的潜伏时期，直到Atlantic Records慧眼识英雄和他们签约。
Collective Soul在94年便以双白金首张专辑《Hints Allegations And Things Left Unsaid》缔造出Billboard年度最佳歌曲《Shine》；95年的同名专辑，除了在Billboard停留76周外，还产生了《The World I Know》、《December》、《Gel》等受到排行榜及电台青睐的歌曲。迄今为止，Collective Soul拥有8首冠军摇滚单曲，专辑在全球的销售量已经超过700万。
[Biography by James Christopher Monger]
When Seattle grunge went mainstream, it was only a matter of time before the ripple effect was felt in regions other than the Pacific Northwest. Georgia quintet Collective Soul, along with fellow inheritors of the now commercially lucrative post-grunge landscape like Live, Bush, and Candlebox, developed the genre into a more succinct brand of angst, turning the sonic cacophony of bands like Mudhoney and the Melvins into radio-friendly hard rock.
Collective Soul — taken from a line in Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead, were formed in the small town of Stockbridge in the early '90s by principal songwriter Ed Roland (lead vocals/keyboards/guitars), guitarists Dean Roland and Joel Kosche, and rhythm section Will Turpin (bass/percussion) and Shane Evans (drums/percussion). Originally released in 1993 on the Atlanta indie label Rising Storm, Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid proved popular enough on the local level that it was picked up the following year by Atlantic. Within months of its release, "Shine" became a modern rock and MTV staple, and Collective Soul found themselves with a platinum debut, playing everywhere from arenas with Aerosmith to Woodstock 1994.
They released the eponymous sophomore effort the following year, which featured the hits "World I Know" and "December," once again going multi-platinum, but their fan base began to wane upon the release of 1997's Disciplined Breakdown. Released in 1999, Dosage was a return to form for the group, yielding the hit singles "Run" and "Heavy," but despite their best efforts, the post-grunge genre was suffering under the weight of the emerging nu-metal scene. In 2000 they released Blender, an image-seeking misfire that saw the group attempting a clean-cut (no facial hair) image and mixing in heavily produced AOR with dance-pop, even performing a duet with Elton John. The following year, fans were treated to 7even Year Itch: Collective Soul's Greatest Hits 1994-2001. In 2004, the group returned to their roots, bringing on new guitar player Joel Kosche and releasing the stripped-down and dynamic Youth on its own El Music Group imprint. An eight song EP (From the Ground Up) arrived the following year.
