Collective Soul Announce Special EP Release

Michael Angulia | 03-08-2020

Cover art courtesy ABC

Collective Soul have announced that they will be releasing a special limited edition vinyl 45 rpm/180g vinyl EP called "Half & Half" for this year's Record Store Day on April 18th.

As the title implies, the special EP will feature two parts. One part will feature two brand new songs and the second will be covers of Neil Young and Crazy Horse's "Opera Star" and R.E.M.'s "The One I Love".

Frontman E Roland had this to say, "It's an honor to be a part of Record Store Day with this exclusive new EP. Being a vinyl guy myself, that's all I listen to when I am home, I don't stream, and it has always been about vinyl for me. I think I have over 5,000 pieces of vinyl now.

"We decided to do covers on HALF & HALF' which we have never really done as a band. The first one we chose is 'Opera Star' by Crazy Horse and Neil Young, originally released on Re-ac-tor in 1981. I had been playing guitar for about two years, at that point, and I remember getting that record and going, 'This is how I want to play guitar!' My father was also operatically trained, so the line in there, 'You were born to rock, you'll never be an opera star...,' was kind of where I got the vibe of...'I'll just rock man!'

"We also did a cover of R.E.M.'s, 'The One I Love.' Being from Georgia, or really anywhere, R.E.M. is one of the most influential bands of all time. For everyone in the band, being able to play something from another Georgia band is very special.

"Support vinyl and support mom-and-pop record stores man, it is very important. It is the way music should be heard, vinyl." See the tracklisting below:

Side A:
Opera Star
Let Her Out

Side B:
Back Again
The One I Love