Creed
The first rule of Rock criticism: any massively popular CD can't be any good.
However, this notion has repeatedly been proven wrong.
For Rock musicians, it's always a good idea to never read your reviews - not even the good ones. Musicians are insecure and impressionable. There's often a desire (or temptation) to appease the critics but it doesn't work. That "brilliant" album critics "love" can send a group back to "opening act" status in no time. Critics get paid to be snots, everyone else wants to Rock.
That brings us to Creed. They got slammed by critics but rather than ignore them, the reviews took root. Creed's third full-length release "Weathered" hit the streets in '01. The symbolic title, as in "weathered the criticism," should have been warning enough, but hey, this was a group with a pretty incredible track record. Still, "Freedom Fighter" was the only cut with any teeth. To add insult to injury, the critics weren't all that excited about this "artistic statement" either.
Too bad, because just a few years earlier Creed came roaring out of the chute.
Vocalist Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti were high school friends. A few years after graduation, the two teamed up in Tallahassee, of all places, with bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips.
The group's debut "My Own Prison" played like a greatest hits collection. The '97 release had Alt. hits with the title track, "What's This Life For," "Torn," and "One." Thanks to Stapp's dad, a Pentecostal minister, and Stapp's own religious leanings, the lyrics often dealt with spiritual matters.
As impressive as that was, the follow-up, two years later, "Human Clay," did even better. It topped the album charts upon release and featured the single "Higher." Ten million copies rolled out the door for that one.
The group embarked on a successful '00 tour but lost Marshall, who left to "pursue other interests." Brett Hestla stepped in and Creed delivered "Weathered" in '01.
The group parted ways in '04. Tremonti, Phillips and Marshall (returning) formed Alter Bridge with vocalist Myles Kennedy. Stapp pursued a solo career.
Five years later the band put the bitter breakup behind them. "We realized what was important, and that was that we experienced something really amazing together," explained Tremonti. Stapp put it this way. "We all realize one little chapter doesn't tell the whole story of what this band was about." The group recorded their comeback album "Full Circle" then launched a tour.
Creed played to a lot of empty seats on the trek - never a good sign. But "Full Circle" made its debut at #2 on the Billboard album chart (behind Michael Jackson's posthumous "This Is It").
While Creed can Rock, most of their singles (the songs most people recognize) have been mid-tempo ramblings. On "My Own Prison," Stapp and Tremonti compose all the songs with "One" being the most forceful of the lot. "Human Clay" finds Stapp writing on his own and coming up with "What If" and the huge hit "Higher." It's the better of the two. "Weathered" is just one of those third album things (we're on the road, there's no backlog of songs and we have to get a new album out now!). No big deal. Of course, it entered the charts at #1. Led by hits "My Sacrifice" "Bullets" and "One Last Breath," the album sold more than 5 million copies.
"Full Circle" features sparse, often acoustic laced verses that give way to heavy, hard-hitting choruses. It's their version of the soft-loud template. No doubt it works. But it's the songs that break the mold; the title track, "Suddenly," "Good Fight" and "The Song You Sing;" that have the most going for them.