Collective Soul - Home

This is an experiment that has been botched beyond belief many so times before that it's a wonder there are still droves of bands shameless enough to do it. Metallica gave it the old college try when they were kings of the rock scene back in the late 90s -- and failed miserably. In their heyday, Creed tricked out some of their biggest hits with melodramatic orchestral tracks -- and made complete asses out of themselves. Thus it would seem totally reasonable to write off Collective Soul's latest effort, Home, a live album recorded with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, as just another lame attempt by a band whose 15 minutes of fame passed long ago to reclaim its relevance by crossing genres. If Metallica couldn't pull it off, there's no reason why a group tailor-made for VH1 aficionados and aging hipsters should any fare better…right? Much to dismay of the metal gods, though, it appears James Hetfield has been one-upped and by a band that was at its peak when pogs were popular and Lebron James was still in elementary school. Home is actually a poignant collection of songs that mesh seamlessly with massive orchestral arrangements. It's no fluke that tunes like "December" and "The World I Know Sound" sound good in this style -- the original cuts were also backed by strings. But even some of the band's harder hits of yesteryear like "Shine," "Gel" and "Heavy" sound electric with the extra instrumentation. Maybe Collective Soul didn't get a fair shake when it was designated for early entry into oblivion. Their work here shows they are more than capable of waking up the echoes of past commercial greatness. [www.collectivesoul.com]