I Love 1995: Collective Soul & No Doubt

Continuing our I Love the 90s series, we move on to 1995, the year the O.J. Simpson trial ended with a verdict that split the country in two and Beanie Babies turned into an overnight playground obsession. Don and Dude drop the needle on one arena ready rock record still riding grunge's fading wave and one horn driven pop album born out of a breakup happening inside the band itself, connecting both records to a world of Microsoft rolling out Windows 95, Pixar's Toy Story becoming the first fully computer animated feature film, and Cal Ripken Jr. breaking a fifty six year old baseball record with his 2,131st straight game.

The Albums

Collective Soul – Collective Soul (1995)

Ed Roland, a preacher's son from Stockbridge, Georgia, wrote around 35 songs for this self titled follow up to the surprise hit Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid (1993), trimming them to 12 and recording with brother Dean Roland, Ross Childress, Will Turpin and Shane Evans in about five weeks with producer Matt Serletic. Known as the Blue Album, it built melodic hard rock and grunge era guitars around strings and gospel style backing vocals on singles like "December," "The World I Know" and "Where the River Flows," going triple platinum and spending 76 weeks on the Billboard 200.

No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom (1995)

Formed in Anaheim out of Southern California's ska scene, No Doubt had already survived the death of co-founder John Spence and a commercially disappointing debut before Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young made Tragic Kingdom, produced by Matthew Wilder across eleven Los Angeles studios over roughly two and a half years. Stefani's songwriting turned unusually personal after her real life breakup with bassist Kanal, and the album folded ska, new wave, punk, reggae and funk into massive pop hooks on singles like "Just a Girl," "Spiderwebs" and "Don't Speak," eventually spending nine weeks at number one and closing out 1997 as the second best selling album of the year.

Diggin Albums

Collective Soul – Touch and Go (2026)

Collective Soul's 13th studio album finds Ed Roland trading the band's usual melodic hard rock for a Cars inspired, new wave leaning sound across ten songs including "Rainbow," "Eye On You," "Uh Oh" and "Love Your Way."

Matthew Sweet – 100% Fun (1995)

The Nebraska born power pop songwriter's fifth album, produced by Brendan O'Brien after Sweet asked for something stronger and simpler than the murkier Altered Beast, paired grinding guitars and powerful drums with his usual chiming melodies and dark relationship lyrics.

Graham Hunt – American Pyramid (2026)

The Wisconsin based indie rock musician's sixth full length, and his first made in a proper studio, moves away from years of home recording as he brings an eight piece band to Pachyderm Studio in Minnesota.

Cage the Elephant – "Beaches in Tennessee" (2026) single

The Bowling Green, Kentucky band's first new music since 2024's Neon Pill and first release for Big Loud Rock turns a difficult personal experience into a lighter, fictionalized single produced by Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, known together as SADPONY.

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"I feel like such a heifer. I had two bowls of Special K, three pieces of turkey bacon, a handful of popcorn, five peanut butter M&M's, and like three pieces of licorice." - Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), Clueless (1995).