Shine" earned Collective Soul a massive 1994 hit, with guitars raw enough for college radio and a chorus so hummable that it ruled AOR playlists. That trendy low-fi MTV-saturating video helped, and so did upbeat lyrics that slotted the new quintet alongside such sunshine boys as Hootie and the Blowfish and Spin Doctors. Even more elevating, however, was the grass-roots nature of Collective Soul's success: Out of Stockbridge, Ga., a virtual nowhere southeast of Atlanta, they came and conquered.

Collective Soul's debut CD, Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid, was basically Ed Roland's demo. If the record company sweetened the mix, the spotlight was still firmly set on the singer and guitarist's playing – and his sure hand at penning guitar pop. Co-produced by Roland and mixed by veteran Bob Clearmountain, Collective Soul is emphatically a group instrumental effort – lead guitarist Ross Childress and bassist Will Turpin especially kick. Roland's new songs are better, too – they're structurally more sound. With Roland's brother Dean joining in, the band's three-guitar attack is punchy and precise (check the funky "Smashing Young Man"), and with "Gel," Collective Soul have nailed down another radio-ready chorus.

While Ed Roland is sometimes dogged by lyrical overreaching ("Just tilt my sun toward your domain"), his songwriting remains the band's strength. Bluesy turns occasionally surface, but Collective Soul are most influenced by the Beatles. Truly rare for a Southern guitar outfit, Roland's flair for McCartneyesque melodic detail is what makes his tunes so engaging. This gift is obvious on a string-embellished ballad like "The World I Know." Sly studio touches (treated vocals, percussive blips and beeps) and instrumental grace notes (an unexpected dobro lead on "Reunion") point up Roland's deft popcraft.

With Collective Soul, the band proves it has the goods to continue to shine on brightly. (RS 710)

PAUL EVANS