================================================ Subject: Cleveland review From: "Creed - 7M3 - Live" To: Date: Tue 11 Dec 2001 19:43:19 -0500 ================================================ Thanks Lee for finding the review. It sounds interesting enough for a debate over. Jim Lyrics in new Creed album don't measure up to music WIND-UP 12/09/01 Singer Scott Stapp recently boasted that he and guitarist Mark Tremonti wrote Creed's new album in a mere three weeks. Judging from the results, they should have indulged themselves with a few extra months. Minimum. Musically, "Weathered" ably retreads the band's previous album, 1999's "Human Clay" - stock post-grunge riffs alternated with epic power balladry. But lyrically, Stapp sounds like he was having a bad three weeks. How else can one explain a singer who sells 10 million discs and still feels like a persecuted underdog? For most of the album, Stapp takes the world's weight on his back and rails against an unspecified "they" who put it there. Creed has never confirmed or denied the Christian-rock tag, which turns out to be a real service to Christians: even though Stapp sings of larger-than-life battles, his struggles are of the playground variety. On "Bullet," for example, jealous people telling lies translates as snipers shooting "bullets through my head." Adolescent overreaction has made for some great rock music. This isn't it. Here Stapp just sounds certifiable. And almost scary. Rather than Christ-like, the singer resembles a fanatic using cliched religious imagery to suit his own purposes. On "Freedom Fighter," Stapp no longer seems interested in turning the other cheek, bellowing, "I'm just a freedom fighter. No remorse. Raging on in holy war." But reassuringly, he concludes "Bullet" with the lines, "Please help me find a place. Somewhere far away I'll go, and you'll never see me again." Maybe we can interest him in some prime mountain real estate opening up in Afghanistan. - Robert Cherry -- Keep up the good work! But please don't ask me to help. -- Hacker's Law: The belief that enhanced understanding will necessarily stir a nation to action is one of mankind's oldest illusions. To unsubscribe or change your preferences for the Creed-Discuss list, visit: http://www.winduplist.com/ls/discuss/form.asp