Collective Soul is one of my favorite bands from the 90's. Their music is pretty simple, and most of their songs are enjoyable. Their debut is no different. Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid is definitely a great debut album, showcasing great talent amongst other things.
One of my favorite aspects of this band's sound is frontman Ed Roland's voice. It's pretty unique, as he shifts from deep tones to more raspy sounds. He singing is at its best during Breathe and Shine. Shine is a fantastic song, with very catchy verses and a memorable chorus and guitar hook. He really adds a good dimension to this band to make them less bland.
The guitar playing here is also quite top notch. Collective Soul is built around three guitars, so sometimes you get very interesting riffs. Love Lifted Me would be a good example, but if you're looking for a perfect hard rock riff, I would say Goodnight Good Guy stands out. Not only is the guitar playing to perfection, but the vocal harmony is also great. In A Moment and Heaven's Already Here interwine electric and acoustic guitars for a very sweet effect.
This album is really somewhat devoid of filler, most tracks are quite worthwhile. Even Pretty Donna, which features zero of the band members is actually very good, as long as you don't mind the occasional violin ballad. In my opinion, the best tunes here would be Burning Bridges and All. Both songs have great riffs, lyrics and vocals. Ed Roland and Will Turpin's voices go together very well. The biggest flaw with the album is cheap production, but that's basically it.
If you're a fan of their second album, which was a vast improvement, I would reccomend this. It shows them in a less mature stage, but still with enough great talent to make a fine debut.
