Filmed at Elvis’ Palm Springs get-away in early 2023, and containing archival footage from the band’s early days, Give Me a Word: The Collective Soul Story is the definitive feature-length documentary on Collective Soul. Currently in their 30th year, the band has sold over 15 million albums worldwide – 6 of which have gone gold / platinum. They boast 7 number 1 singles, including SHINE, DECEMBER, and THE WORLD I KNOW.
Give Me a Word tells the untold story, the family component to the band, the creativity, and the wisdom that has been hard won over a three decades plus career.
What We Thought:
Unless you’re a diehard fan, Collective Soul is a band you don’t realize had so many hit songs. Watching Give Me a Word: The Collective Soul Story made me realize just how big of a band they were in the 1990s. I’m older than most people think so the 1990s were actually my heyday. With songs like Shine and The World I Know, I remember Collective Soul and actually saw them live like 15 years ago at a free concert in Boston.
All that being said, I don’t think I knew just how popular they were in the 1990s. They were just as big as huge grunge names and even outsold other alternative bands of that era. Their first five albums sold in the millions and they were a radio staple. The documentary shows how they went from a small town Georgia band one minute to college radio station darling to MTV mainstay. Then after putting out a greatest hits collection, they went the independent label route and sort of left the videos and major hits behind.
The documentary was shot in early 2023 when they were recording a new album in the home of Elvis Presley. No, not Graceland, but his west coast home in Palm Springs. They are shown recording and writing new music and it mixes in archival footage of live performances and music videos from the 1990s and 2000s. The current lineup talks about coming together over the years and the original members talk about previous band members. Like any rock band that has survived for over 30 years, they had their highs and lows. There are deaths, drugs, divorces and everything you expect if you grew up on VH1’s Behind The Music series.
It’s also pretty personal because two of the original members are brothers and one member’s father had a beloved music studio they all spent time in. The brothers talk about growing up in the Christian south and their dad being a religious man. Ed, the lead singer and lyricist, lost a close friend as a teen in a car accident that he walked away from and that seemed to push his determination to do something in life. He talks about his divorce from his wife and why an original band member had to go because of it. No one seems too shy to share about their lives both on and off stage.
Even if you aren’t a big Collective Soul fan, if you know the music of the 1990s you’ll dig Give Me a Word: The Collective Soul Story. Like me you’ll probably recognize way more songs than you realize. I like stories of college radio rockers turned superstars so I got into the film. If you are a fan, then it’s a must see. I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to listen to their new music, but seeing what they went through and how much they love music, I have a new level of respect for Collective Soul.
The Nerds Templar 