Ravinia 2021 - Issue 3

JOHN FULTON (COLLECTIVE SOUL) PAVILION 7:00 PM WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 JUST LOOKING AROUND TOUR TONIC † –Intermission– BETTER THAN EZRA –Intermission– COLLECTIVE SOUL † Ravinia debut COLLECTIVE SOUL Born in the college-rock hotbed of Georgia, the quintet Collective Soul exploded onto the scene in 1993 with the rock anthem and gold-selling single “Shine” from its multi- platinum debut album Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid . With that track high on the airwaves and “Breathe” also proving a ma- jor hit, the group quickly gained international recognition with the backing of Atlantic Re- cords and found itself on the lineup of Wood- stock 1994. Collective Soul’s guitar-driven melodies and passionate vocals were further showcased on its eponymous follow-up al- bum, which included number-one rock hits “December” and “The World I Know” as well as the top-10 tracks “Gel” and “Smash- ing Young Man.” The group topped the chart again with “Precious Declaration” and “Lis- ten” from 1997’s Disciplined Breakdown as well as “Heavy” from 1999’s Dosage , from which “Run” also became a hit single. Near- ly a decade later, “Tremble for My Beloved” from Dosage was featured on the Twilight film soundtrack, introducing Collective Soul to a new generation of fans. Following 2000’s Blender , featuring “Why, Pt. 2” and “Vent,” as well as a collaboration with Elton John on “Perfect Day,” the group formed its own label, El Music Group. After 2004’s Youth , Collec- tive Soul created a live album of a concert with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, releasing it on DVD and CD in 2006. The group’s seventh studio album, Afterwords , fol- lowed a year later, and its single “Hollywood” became the theme for the seventh season of American Idol . A second eponymous album was released in 2009, the same year the band was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Collective Soul’s members focused on solo and side projects for a few years but reconvened in 2014 with a refreshed lineup and began work on See What You Started by Continuing , which added “AYTA” to their catalogue of hits. The band marked two mile- stones in 2019, 25 years making music and 10 studio albums with the release of Blood , and the single “Right as Rain” put them back on the rock chart. Collective Soul first played Ravinia in 2015 and is making its first return to the festival. BETTER THAN EZRA The New Orleans–bred trio Better Than Ezra was at the head of the pack for the 1990s’ explosion of alternative pop-rock groups. In 1988 Louisiana State University students Kevin Griffin (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Tom Drummond (bass, backing vo- cals) inaugurated the group, then a quartet, for performances around the college town. After early cassette demos, including 1990’s Surprise , the trio form of Better Than Ezra made its debut on the independently re- leased Deluxe in 1993. Within two years, the band’s audience had grown dramatically and the trio found themselves on the major label Elektra, which reissued the collection in 1995. The album soared into Billboard ’s top 40 and achieved platinum sales with the emergence of “Good” as an MTV favorite and rock ra- dio number-one, while “In the Blood” and “Rosealia” also proved major hits. Another pair of definitive anthems spun off 1996’s fol- low-up Friction, Baby , “King of New Orleans” and “Desperately Wanting,” both tilting the rock radio scales in the top 10. The trio closed out their Elektra tenure with 1998’s How Does Your Garden Grow? , which sent “At the Stars” onto both rock and Top 40 radio. Following the rarities and B-sides album Artifakt in 2000, Better Than Ezra returned with Clos- er in 2001, bringing in Beck collaborator DJ Swamp for the hit single “Extra Ordinary.” Before the Robots (2005) marked another cre- ative high with the Top 40 track “A Lifetime” matching their previous single’s success as “Juicy” went on to soundtrack promotion- al spots for the second season of Desperate Housewives . Paper Empire followed in 2009, and then Better Than Ezra tapped M83 and Beck producer Tony Hoffer to helm 2014’s All Together Now , the band’s best-charting record since Deluxe and the home of the hit track “Crazy Lucky.” Over the last decade, Griffin has also established himself as a hitmaking songwriter, having songs popularly covered by Taylor Swift and Train and penning num- ber-ones for the likes of Howie Day and Sug- arland. Better Than Ezra made its Ravinia debut in 2015 and is making its first return to the festival. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 51