The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Summary

Bree Tanner is a vampire. She spends her days in a dark basement with eighteen or so other vampires. At night she hunts human blood in the rough edges of Seattle and hides the bodies in the sound.

Riley is the babysitter. All these vampires were created by a mysterious her. Riley teaches them the rules: don't go out in daylight, don't make huge messes, keep a low profile. That sort of thing.

Bree meets Diego. An older vampire, older than her, by a few months, which is a lot. They hunt together, and hide together in a hole in the ground when they find themselves far from home at daybreak. Through experimentation, they discover that not everything they've been taught about vampires is true. But why would Riley lie?

What I liked

The book is well written. It's easy to read and somewhat interesting too. Plus, it's short. I like seeing how Riley and Victoria manipulate people by lying to them and how people are controlled by the lies they've been told and can't see it because they are so driven by their own appetites.
 

What I didn't like

I found it difficult to connect to the characters. The writing isn't very evocative.

Conclusion

A good short read. It expands a bit on the story told in Eclipse, and it is nice to see the other side of it. 3.5/5 vampire hedgehogs.

The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

Summary

Book four of the Wheel of Time series follows the continuing adventures of Rand al'Thor and his companions.

This book's story begins shortly after the events of the previous book. Rand, Perrin, Mat, Egwene, Elayne, Nynaeve, Moirraine, and Lan are hanging out in the fortress called The Stone of Tear with their new Aiel friends and the uneasy nobility of Tear.

The 'Great Lord of the Dark' isn't happy and sends some bubbles of evil at them. At least that's how Moirraine explains it. Rand ends up fighting his reflection, Perrin gets attacked by his axe, and Mat gets stabbed in the finger by a playing card.

Rand decides to send all the lords of Tear on foreign missions to get rid of them, and plants his sword into the floor of the Stone so that the folks will remember him and heads off on another mysterious quest into the Aiel waste. His adventure takes him to Rhuidean, the mysterious city where the Aiel go to become clan chiefs or 'Wise Ones.' He goes in and has a vision explaining the entire history of the Aiel people and their link to the Dragon. When he comes out, he is marked with two dragons on his forearms, and the Aiel make him their chief of chiefs or something like that. He then takes a journey to a place where all the Aiel will gather so he can tell them. On the way, they get attacked by Trollocs and Draghkars and by the end, some of the Forsaken even show up.

Mat goes through a mysterious twisted doorway and enters another world where he can have any three questions answered. He finds out that he has to go to Rhuidean with Rand and ends up finding another twisted doorway, but when he goes through the people there try to kill him or something, but he won't talk about it. After that, he just follows Rand around and gibbers in the Old Tongue, and finds out that he has other people's memories in his head.

Perrin finds out that the military society, The Children of the Light, has invaded his home town, looking for him (because he killed a few of them in book one). So he gets Loial, the Ogier, and his girlfriend, Faile, and their three Aiel friends Gaul, Bain, and Chiad to come with him. At first he intends to surrender to the Children of Light to make them leave his family alone, which is why he tries to leave Faile behind, but she persistently follows him. When he arrives, he finds out that his hometown is being ravaged not only by the Children of Light but also by Trollocs. So he buckles down and helps the people defend themselves against the increasingly savage Trolloc attacks.

Meanwhile, Egwene contacts an Aiel Wise One in her dreams who promises to teach her how to dream better if only she'd come meet her in the Aiel waste. So, she goes along with Rand and Mat.

Nynaeve and Elayne keep pursuing the Black Ajah and their hunt takes them to Tanchico and throws them in the middle of some kind of civil turmoil. They meet Egeanin, who is a Seanchan, sent back to mop up after the Seanchan's failed invasion at Falme in book two.

What I liked

The suspense. This was the most suspenseful book yet. It kept me turning the pages late at night.

Also the character development. I liked how the characters developed in this book. I found the characters a little more complex and interesting than in the previous books.

What I didn't like

The drama. As always. Elayne loves Rand, she sends him a letter to tell him so. Rand doesn't react the way she wanted him to, she sends him a nasty letter. Rand is very confused. Berelain tries to force herself on Perrin. Faile finds out and gets angry at Perrin. Perrin tries to make Fail stay behind when he leaves for Emond's Field. Faile gets even more angry and gives him the silent treatment almost the whole way there. It seems a little too melodramatic--like if these people come from a dumpy trailer park and watch too much Jerry Springer and Maury.

This book was LONG! One thousand pages! It took me a really long time to get through it and it was extremely suspenseful. At the end of the book, Rand uses a talisman that he has been carrying to open doors while he's having his climactic battle but I couldn't remember where he'd picked it up or what its significance was or anything and it had all been explained near the middle of the book.

Conclusion

This is my favourite book so far in the series. A little long, but good, and entertaining. 4/5 dragon tattoos.

Creed (the band) and its Spin-offs

Introduction

Way back in 1999, when I first started listening to rock music, or any music at all for that matter, Creed was my first favourite band. I listened to their first two albums My Own Prison and Human Clay over and over again. I eagerly anticipated the release of Weathered in 2001 so I could download it illegally on Napster (or was it Kazaa? I really don't remember), and I did. And I was only slightly disappointed.

Then Creed broke up and three of its original members formed the band Alter Bridge while Scott Stapp started his solo career. Now Creed is back together with a new album. Needless to say I was curious about the new album, so I got my hands on it and gave it a listen.

Now, instead of just reviewing that one album, I decided to listen to all of Creed's albums and the albums of its spin-off bands, and I present them to you now in chronological order. For your interest, I will also include some details of the drama surrounding the careers and public and private lives of its members.

(Almost all the information supplied in this blob is either stuff that I already know or something I read on Wikipedia. I found the lyrics on the internet too.)

My Own Prison


Creed formed when Scott Stapp (vocals) and Mark Tremonti (guitar), who were friends at Florida State University in Tallahassee and classmates at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando recruited Brian Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums) into their band called Naked Toddler in late 1994. When they decided to change the name of their band, Marshall suggested the name Creed, after the band he had previously played in, Maddox Creed.

The debut album, My Own Prison, was released on Blue Collar Records, their independent label on June 18, 1997. The album was distributed to radio stations around Florida. Shortly afterwards Diana Meltzer of Wind-up Records heard them live at a small gig and signed Creed to her label. The album was remixed and re-released by Wind-up Records across the country.

It reached the top 40 on the Billboard 200, and its singles, My Own Prison, Torn, What's This Life For, and One placed very high on rock radio charts.

The lead single, My Own Prison peaked at #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #7 on the Modern Rock Track chart. The album itself has been certified six times platinum (ie. it has sold six million copies) by the RIAA in 2002 and is one of the top 200 selling albums of all time in the United States.

Needless to say, Creed went from being a local indie rock band to a super famous, super wealthy, internationally known band with their first release and its members became the kind of superstars that occasionally show up on the evening news and the front cover of entertainment magazines and tabloid newspapers.

Personality

My Own Prison is a hard rock album. So, like a typical hard rock album, it's a little dark and angry. It opens with, Torn, an angry song about control or something like that: "Despise you that control me" and "Torn, I'm filthy/born in my own misery/stole all that you gave me/control you claim you save me." So it's not too clear who's doing the controlling, but it's really upsetting. The next track, Ode is no less vague and just as angry: "Let me see you smile as I die .../one step on your own/and you walk all over me."

The album is also a little dejected. In the track titled Pity for a Dime, Stapp sings, "So I sat down for a while/forcing a smile/in a state of self-denial/is it worthwhile?/sell my pity for a dime, just one dime." In Illusion, he sings, "My constitution keeps changing/'til it slips away/so I lie awake and stare/my mind thinking just wandering/does anybody care?" And, "This life remains the same/but I change/I try to fool myself into believing/things are going to get better/but life goes on." What's This Life For? seems to question the purpose of life, but supplies no hope.

Some of its songs look up. My Own Prison pictures a courtroom scene where a man is condemned for his sins: "I cry out to God/seeking only his decision/Gabriel stands and confirms/I've created my own prison" but, "I hear a thunder in the distance/see a vision of a cross/I feel the pain that was given/on that sad day of loss/a lion roars in the darkness/only He holds the key/a light to free me from my burden/and grant me life eternally." Sister seems to sympathize with someone in a dysfunctional family. And In America is a social commentary: "Only in America/we're slaves to be free/only in America we kill the unborn/to make ends meet/only in America/sexuality is democracy/only in America we stamp our god/'in God we trust.'"

So it's a mixed album. It's short on optimism, though. 3/5.

Lyrics

The lyrics are often difficult to decipher. They're kind of cryptic. The anger comes through loud and clear, but the rest is a little garbled. So high points for rage, low points for communication... and communication trumps rage, so 2/5.


Sound

The sound of this album is phenomenal. It's not exactly unique, every post-grunge hard rock band pretty much sounds the same. But Creed has its own flavour. This album uses the bass prominently, it's even the lead instrument on a few tracks, and Illusion has an extended bass solo. I'm a big fan of that. They don't use many instruments (one guitar, one bass, one drum kit) so it's not a very layered sound, but they certainly make good use of the instruments they have. And Mark Tremonti's back up vocals are phenomenal. Also, My Own Prison is a very unrefined album, very raw, and that works extremely well. I'm a big fan of the sound. 5/5.

Conclusion

When I used to listen to this album all the time, I thought it was deep stuff. But ten years later I just don't get it. Maybe I was angrier back then and could relate. Maybe I was just a little naive and inexperienced. I don't know. Maybe I just don't have patience for self-pity anymore. I'll give the album an overall 3/5 mud sucking song birds, riding on the high points of its sound.

Human Clay

Creed's second album, Human Clay, was released on September 28, 1999. It sold eleven and a half million copies in the United States alone (as of 2007) and did extremely well internationally as well. The album's fourth single, With Arms Wide Open won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song and the first single, Higher was listed by VH1 as one of the greatest hard rock songs of all time in 2009.

The album's four singles are, Higher, What if, With Arms Wide Open, and Are You Ready?

Higher and With Arms Wide Open crossed over to pop radio.

Following the release of this album and with the band's growing popularity, there was a great deal of media speculation and controversy about Creed. A big question in the media frenzy around the band was, 'Is Creed a Christian Band?' Scott Stapp replied, "Are we a Christian band? This is a question we are asked a lot because of some of the references made in the lyrics. No, we are not a Christian band ... Those references were made at a time in my life when I was questioning how I was raised, and searching for where I stood concerning those issues. This is not to say I have abandoned those beliefs, just searching for where they fit into my life."

Every media source out there had an opinion on the question. Even Focus on the Family's Plugged In magazine published an article titled, The Gospel Truth About Creed, commenting on the above quote and several others, including this one, also by Scott Stapp:

When asked, 'Are the members of Creed Christians?' Stapp replied, "This is a very personal question because the whole foundation of being a Christian is a personal relationship. I can say that all the members believe in God, but we each differ on our methods to reach Him. We are still learning and growing, and God can only answer this question, because who are we to say that being a Christian is the only way to heaven."

Creed's albums can be found in many Christian book stores and music retailers.

In the same year that Human Clay was released, Creed's front man, Scott Stapp, and his wife of sixteen months, Hillaree Burns, were divorced. Shortly afterwards she gave birth to Stapp's son, Jagger.

So, what's my take on this album? And on the band at this point?

Personality

Human Clay is a polished album. Its tone is more optimistic than My Own Prison, it's still a little angry, a little dark, but it definitely looks up.

Higher, the album's first single, wishes for a better place "with golden streets" "where blind men see" and insists that "the only difference is/to let love replace all our hate." Inside us All says "there's a peace inside us all/let it be your friend/it will help you carry on." Never Die daydreams about a "swim in the fountain/of youth" and says, "so let the children play/inside your heart always/and death you will defy/'cause your youth will never die."

Elsewhere, What If asks, "What if you lied?/what if I avenge?" and concludes with "I know I can't hold the hate inside my mind/'cause what consumes your thoughts controls your life." Faceless Man describes an encounter with a supernatural entity who "looked me right in the eye, direct and concise to remind me/to always do what's right." In that same song, Stapp sings, "Next time I see this face/I'll say, I choose to live for always/so won't you come inside/and never go away." Say I includes the lines, "We're incomplete and hollow/for our maker's gone away."

Wash Away those Years sympathizes with a victim of domestic abuse, I think. And Beautiful reflects on the emptiness of physical beauty: "beautiful is empty/beautiful is free/beautiful loves no one."

With Arms Wide Open, perhaps the most meaningful song on this album, commemorates the birth of Stapp's son, Jagger.

So it seems that, to counter the doom and gloom of My Own Prison, Creed turned to wishful thinking and vague spiritual references. The optimism here has no substance. Death is inevitable, and while the world can be made better by love, it won't fix blindness. The vague spiritual references sound kind of cool, though. Overall, I'll give this album a 3/5 for personality. It would have been nice to see some substance.

Lyrics

Overall, some better writing than what was exhibited in My Own Prison, a little development there, but still vague and lacking in substance. 3/5.


Sound

A strong sound. More polished than My Own Prison. Heavy and consistent. Grinding post-grunge sound. Strong bass. I miss Tremonti's back up vocals on this album, though. 4/5.


Conclusion

High marks for sound. Average marks for personality and lyrics. The band, at this point, has a lot of personality, it's just not very meaningful or even intelligent, although it tries to sound like it is. The Albums liner material contains symbolic images that reflect some of the symbols in the lyrics, and it feels kind of cool, but it's still shallow. Overall score 3.5/5 clay men.

Weathered

Following the release of Human Clay, more controversy fueled more media frenzy.

In addition to the question of Creed's Christianity, there was also much speculation comparing Creed to other bands. Creed was often criticized for being a derivative of Pearl Jam. Allison Stewart described front man Scott Stapp as having Eddie Vedder-like mannerisms. In response, bassist Brian Marshall issued a statement, saying that Scott Stapp was a better writer and a better vocalist than Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam's front man. Stapp immediately distanced himself from Marshall's comments and issued a statement negating Marshall's statement.

Shortly afterwards Brian Marshall voluntarily left (or was fired from) Creed. The reasons are unknown, but Marshall left saying that he would never again play on the same stage as Stapp. And both parties have been silent about it since.

(My unsolicited commentary: Eddie Vedder is an excellent vocalist with a unique voice and unique style. He cannot be compared to Scott Stapp who has an equally unique style but not a unique voice. As far as their writing abilities, I would have to say that Stapp is the better writer, but only because he's slightly less vague. In any case, it doesn't matter. The point is, if my band mate made a statement comparing me favourably to another band's singer, I would certainly back him up, and maybe even challenge the other guy to fisticuffs or something, just to stir up more publicity.)

Creed's third album, Weathered, was released on November 20, 2001 by Wind-up Records. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 by selling almost nine hundred thousand copies in its first week. It has been certified six times platinum

Its singles are My Sacrifice, Bullets, One Last Breath, Don't Stop Dancing, and Weathered.

On the album, Mark Tremonti recorded the bass parts in the absence of Brian Marshall and Brett Hestla joined Creed as a touring bassist until the band's break up in 2004.

Personality

Weathered tries to be more meaningful than Human Clay, with a little success. It's a contemplative album. It's optimistic, but its optimism has more substance. It's also a little more understated than Human Clay, which, I think is a step in the right direction.

Bullets is an angry sounding song that seems to confront the band's (or Stapp's) critics: "the mindless clutter my path/oh these thorns in my side" and "in my lifetime when I'm disgraced/by jealousy and lies/I laugh aloud 'cause my life/has gotten inside someone else's mind." That song concludes with, "those who hide behind the shadows/live with all that's dead." The next song, Freedom Fighter seems to continue on that same theme: "The mouths of envious/always find another door .../I'll scream it from the mountain tops pride comes before a fall;" and "so many thoughts to share/all this energy to give/unlike those who hide the truth I tell it like it is." In that song Stapp describes himself as "a freedom fighter ... raging on in holy war."

Who's Got My Back alludes to a covenant that "has been broken/by mankind" but affirms that "all that has been devastated/can be recreated" by "pick[ing] up the broken pieces/of our lives/giving ourselves to each other." Lullaby says, "If there's one thing I hope/I showed you/just give love to all."

Signs may be an attempt on the band's part to weigh in on all the media frenzy surrounding it, "This is not about age/time served on the earth doesn't mean you grow in mind/this is not about God/spiritual insinuations seem to shock our nation ... this is not about race/it's a decision to stop the division in your life/this is not about sex/we all know sex sells and the whole world is buying." If so, the line "I'm fading underneath the light" is significant.

In the title track, Stapp sing, "I'm rusted and weathered/barely holding together." And on One Last Breath he says, "I'm holding all to all I think is safe/it seems I found the road to nowhere/and I'm trying to escape ... I'm down to one last breath/and with it let me say//hold me now/I'm six feet from the edge." In Hide, he sings, "I've been dancing with the devil way too long/and it's making me grow old."

My Sacrifice says hello to a long absent friend: "hello my friend we meet again/it's been awhile, where should we begin/feels like forever" and says, "when you are with me, I'm free/I'm careless, I believe/above all the others, we'll fly/this brings tears to my eyes." And Hide begs, "Let's leave, oh let's get away/run in fields of time/where there's no reason left to hide."

Don't Stop Dancing acknowledges the darkness of the world: "at times life is wicked and I just can't/see the light/a silver lining sometimes isn't enough/to make some wrongs seem right" but refuses to be suppressed by it: "but I know I must go on/although I'm hurt I must be strong/because inside I know that many/feel this way." That song asks God, "Hey God, I know I'm just a dot in this world/have you forgot about me?"

So the album has a lot of different stuff, some anguish, some rage, some other emotions. There seems to be a little more substance than the last two albums. 4/5.

Lyrics

The writing has improved. There are some consistent themes, more substance. 4/5.


Sound

The sound in this album is a little more understated than the previous two. The album opens with two heavy tracks, Bullets and Freedom Fighter, but becomes a little more subdued. It ends with the soft, acoustic, Lullaby. The sound is more guitar driven, but less grinding and more melodic. The bass takes a background role and supplements the drums, rather than being featured prominently like in My Own Prison. I still missed Mark Tremonti's background vocals. The sound isn't bad, it just isn't great and I think that justifies a score of 2/5.

Conclusion

Stronger writing, more substance, but poorer sound. When one aspect improves, the others suffer. A total score of 3/5 weather men.

Interlude: The Big Break Up and Anecdotes

Scott Stapp was involved in a car accident in April 2002 and suffered a concussion and some back damage. Creed canceled the rest of its Weathered tour but Stapp recovered quickly, and the band rescheduled many of its show dates during the summer. However, Stapp developed an addiction to Percocet and he began taking many other medications while on tour, including Xanax and Prednisone. The tour ended with a performance in Chicago in which an obviously inebriated Stapp performed one song lying on his back.

A disappointed fan had this to say about that show; it was posted on The Creed Pit forums: "As soon as Stapp staggered on to the stage it was obvious it was going to be bad. He about fell down numerous times. Sat down through the majority of the show. Layed flat on his back and could hardly get back up. When he did get up he slammed his mic and took out his ear plugs and pack."

Creed issued this statement: "We apologize if you don't feel that the show was up to the very high standards set by our previous shows in Chicago. ... For now, we hope that you can take some solace in the fact that you definitely experienced the most unique of all Creed shows."

Stapp told the Orlando Sentinel that he hadn't passed out but that he had made "a symbolic personal gesture" by dropping to the floor and playing unconscious. He later admitted, "I don't even recall doing that show."

This kind of crazy behaviour led to the unraveling of the band.

On June 4, 2004, Creed officially announced its break-up. And "once home, Scott Stapp quit all drugs, at which point, he says, like any rational human being, 'I wanted to end my life.'" (Quoted from the celebrity drama website, Encyclopedia Dramatica.)

Apparently, Scott Stapp then tried to commit suicide but, when he saw a picture of his son, Jagger, he shot up his house instead.

In an interview with Christianity Today before the release of his solo album, The Great Divide, Scott Stapp said this about the break up of Creed:

"Mark and I had been working together for the last ten years. There comes a point with any collaboration like that where you start having other interests creatively. I was moving in one direction musically, and as a guitar player, Mark wanted to move in another direction. That was essentially the reason we broke up. Those feelings actually started happening right after Human Clay (1999), and we went ahead and made Weathered (2001) together... When something like that happens, people want to try to find some dirt and make it more of a soap opera. But I think we both walked away with the door still open, if we want to do something together again. So yeah, I would call it a friendly break-up."

Feuds

During a Thanksgiving Day break in Baltimore, a drunken Scott Stapp started a fight with the members of 311 who were watching a basketball game in a hotel lounge with their wives and some of their friends. The police arrived and restrained everyone. Stapp was asked to leave the hotel.

While on tour, Creed shared a venue with Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit was scheduled to play earlier in the day but refused to play during daylight and took the stage an hour and a half later than scheduled. Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit's front man, proceeded to insult Creed and Scott Stapp saying, "I want to dedicate this next song to the lead singer of Creed ... that guy is an egomaniac." He then threw microphones into the audience. Stapp found a book on anger management and, as a joke, wrote a dedication in the cover for Fred Durst and had it hand delivered. When Creed took the stage, Stapp said, "It takes a lot more guts to say something to somebody like that than from behind their backs." There were rumours of a boxing match challenge between the two men, but nothing ever came of it that we know of.

A drunken Scott Stapp told an interviewer that Dave Grohl, front man of The Foo Fighters had a small penis. What I want to know is, how did he know? No, I don't want to know.

In 2006 the California pornography company, Red Light District, tried to release a sex tape featuring Scott Stapp and Kid Rock with four of their groupies. One of the girls featured on the tape filed an injunction that blocked its release. Scott Stapp and Kid Rock also filed injunctions against the release of the tape. Kid Rock later called Stapp "an idiot" and blamed him for the tape's being leaked.

Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge was formed in 2004 after the break up of Creed. Guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips reunited with bassist Brian Marshall and recruited Myles Kennedy (formerly of The Mayfield Four) to form the new band.

The band was named by Mark Tremonti after a bridge that used to be near his home on Alter road in Detroit.

One Day Remains

Alter Bridge's first album was released on August 10, 2004 by Wind-up Records. It sold seven hundred fifty thousand copies world wide.

Mark Tremonti said in an interview that the title of the album is a reference to the movie, Donnie Darko.

Because Alter Bridge is made of the orphaned members of Creed, it can't escape comparison to the old band. But to anyone who is tempted to think that Alter Bridge is just Creed with a different lead singer, I say, Alter Bridge is totally different. It's a whole new thing.

Personality

This is an aggressive, energetic album. It's neither dark, nor optimistic, it has a totally different personality than anything Creed ever did. It's more uplifting, for certain. It's a little more self-conscious, a little more personal, I think. It looks for change, but it's not angry.

Find the Real is about finding real satisfaction: "And all that I've taken/I hunger for more/'cause I'm selfish/and all I'm left with is a crown of thorns/and I'm helpless//well it seems I've finally thought of everything/I want to love/I want to feel/find peace/find the real."

Metalingus looks ahead, and presses on after defeat: "I've been defeated and brought down ... /On this day I see clearly everything has come to life/a bitter place/and a broken dream/and we'll leave it all behind/I'll never long for what might have been/regret won't waste my life again .../on this day ... another chance to chase a dream .../another chance to feel alive."

Down to My Last thanks Alter Bridge's fans and audience, I think: "And to the ones in which we sing/we are honored you let us in."

I think Shed My Skin reflects on the freedom found in personal expression: "I am not alone/I live with the memories/regret is my home/this is my true freedom:/express all the feelings of what I've become/I watch the rising sun."

In Loving Memory is a tribute to Tremonti's dead mother.

Burn it Down 'burns down' a past of defeat and failure and rebuilds: "So burn it down/discover the dusk of your day has reached its dawn/so burn it down/remember to find a new way to carry on."

So, like I said, it's mainly uplifting stuff that admits failure and defeat and regret and looks to a new beginning. That works for me. 5/5.

Lyrics

Mark Tremonti shows off his writing ability in this album. He is the writer of most of the songs. Most of the material for this album was already written before Myles Kennedy came aboard, so most of this stuff is purely Mark Tremonti.

It's not super strong writing, I'd like a little more concrete imagery, a little more specifics, but who am I to complain? For what it is, it's good, and it works. The metaphors get the message across. 4/5.

Sound

I like the sound. It's got energy and it's aggressive. It's loud, and it's heavy. It doesn't sound like Creed at all. Tremonti uses a completely different style. Where Creed sometimes tended towards a pop sound, Alter Bridge heads towards metal. The guitar is very distinct. This album also features a little of Tremonti's harmonizing back up vocals. I like that. If I have any complaints about the sound, it would be that the guitars feature a little too prominently here, leaving the bass and the drums in the background. I like instrumental variety. But it's not a big complaint, it sounds great anyway. 4/5.

Conclusion

A fantastic sound with lots of energy, decent lyrics, and an uplifting personality. It's good for me. 4.5/5 Detroit cityscapes.


Scott Stapp's Solo Career: The Great Divide

After the release of his solo album, Scott Stapp married Miss New York, USA 2004 winner (and Miss Florida America 2008) Jaclyn Nesheiwat in Miami. On their way to their honeymoon in Hawaii, Stapp, who was inebriated at the time, was arrested for causing a disturbance in the airport. He was later released without being charged.

To date, they are still married and have two children, Milan Hayat Stapp (born January 4, 2007) and Daniel Issam Stapp (born July 4, 2010).

The Great Divide was released by Wind-up Records on November 22, 2005. It went platinum within a month of its release.

Right up front, I think this album sucks, so instead of exploring its personality and lyrics and sound, I'm just going to show you why it's such a terrible album right off and be done with it.

If you read the lyrics or listen to the album, you'll probably agree with me. I think the album sounds okay--I was actually pleasantly surprised by the sound when I listened to it because the single: The Great Divide made my list of most annoying songs ever when I heard it on the radio. So, I've got no major problems with the sound, except that it's not amazing, my problem is with the personality and lyrics. So here goes:

Reach Out, the introductory track, is straightforward: "welcome friends/I have nothing to hide .../I'm sure you've heard the rumours, jealousies/and all the lies."

So right off, Stapp admits this is personal. Good for him. I like personal. Let's move on.

Same song: "No victimes/these choices were all mine/looking within/these scars will heal with time/there's no excuse for weakness, selfishness/or compromise."

And the next song, Fight Song is combative and confrontational: "you still think I look upon this with hatred in my mind/I won't lie/it took some time//but I know one thing/it took me away from/all the things love gave me/so I had to let things go//I can go another round despite you//I'm still healing/no I'm not reeling/ yes I'm feeling/this is my fight song." It ends with: "I will land on solid ground/I will go another round."

Hard Way is just as combative and just a little threatening: "Just when I thought I had it all/caught a sucker punch and lost it all/Just never thought it would have come from you... /I found out the hard way/and your day's coming soon... /I sit here on this park bench/knowing what you are thinking/I wonder how you close your eyes to sleep."

So far, it's been an angry, confrontational, and combative album. It makes no apologies.

The next song, Justify sounds a little self righteous and arrogant to me: "So let me tell you a story/let me feed it to you//we fly around like we're superman/live in another trance/a different way to dance with dark romance/you get another chance to do that dirty dance without consequence//I do not have to justify the way I live my life...//Let me change the timber of this section/add a little booze to ice/I guess you probably noticed/I've been living a double life."

It goes without saying that you don't have to justify the way you live your life, unless your a crazy fool and you don't want people to think you're a crazy fool. If not, then it should go without saying. I kind of want to smack people who go around saying, 'I don't have to justify how I live my life.' It's just annoying. It's like saying, 'I can do whatever I want, you have no moral authority over me.' Of course I don't. So on the one hand, stop assuming that everyone is judging you wrongly and on the other hand, stop being so confrontational, it alienates people.

I've already mentioned The Great Divide and how it made my list of most annoying songs ever. Here's one reason why: "You set me free/to live my life." Apparently, the song is addressed to God, Stapp claims to be a Christian. I think his theology is a little shoddy, though. He sure seems to live like he's been set free to "live his life" "without consequence." Lame.

Does this album give any advice about how to succeed in life? You bet it does! Here it is on You Will Soar: "Keep hoping and dreaming/and you will soar/with a little faith and love/you will soar." So lame.

Broken is equally lame: "Look above to find love and you've found eternal life ... why can't everyone tell the truth and learn to love again?" Like, it's that easy!

Where this album gets optimistic, it's just the same old substance-less optimism and wishful thinking that plagued Creed's Human Clay. The rest of the album is self-righteous, confrontational, and arrogant.

I'm not a fan.

Now back to Alter Bridge...


Blackbird

Apparently Alter Bridge switched from Wind-up Records to Universal Records because Wind-up kept pushing for a Creed reunion. So Blackbird was released by Universal Records on October 9, 2007. It peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard 200 chart. In its first week it sold forty seven thousand copies, and by December 2008, over one year later, it had sold two hundred twenty seven thousand copies.

Personality

This is an even more aggressive album than One Day Remains. It's a little more self-conscious and introspective than One Day Remains and it takes a more self-focused perspective on the same themes as that album. Here are some examples:

Before Tomorrow Comes says, "I couldn't sleep I had to listen/to a conscience knowing so well/that nothing comes from indifference/I look inside of myself" and concludes: "so don't let it be/before tomorrow comes.../you could change everything."

Coming Home says, "As I peel away/all the years of pain/I discover what's been all along/you were so right/I was so wrong...//I'm coming home...//every broken man/comes to understand/that he'll never find paradise/when all that he wants/was there all the time//I'm coming home."

Blackbird was written for a friend suffering from sickness: "Let the wind carry you home/Blackbird fly away/may you never be broken again."

You get the idea. Same themes, a little more introspection. I like honest introspection. This sometimes sounds a little bit cliche, though, especially after One Day Remains. The metaphors aren't that great, either. Not bad though. Lower points for being cliche 3/5.

Lyrics

The writing here is a lot like on One Day Remains. It's pretty good. I'll give lower points for lack of development, though. 3/5.

Sound

Alter Bridge has a trademark sound. It's not exactly unique, but it's good. You could hear a little bit of post-grunge hard rock influence, but also some influence from heavy metal and stuff like Led Zeppelin. It makes a good mix, to me.

I disagree with people who say it's not original. I don't think Alter Bridge tries to sound like anyone else, they produce their own material, so they are original. Just not unique. Like Creed, it's original, in that the material is their own, nevermind that it can be compared to Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains.

This album is a little heavier than One Day Remains, but aside from that, there's not much development in the sound. I'll give it a 3.5/5.

(I have to confess that it's hard for me to judge sound, not being a musician myself. I just have to go by what I like and don't like, and by comparison with other sounds. I think I've listened to enough music and have a distinct enough taste that I can make that comparison well, though.)

Conclusion

Overall, 3.5/5 scary looking sick black birds. Not a bad album, but just more of the same.

Creed's Full Circle

On April 27, 2009 Creed announced the reformation of its original lineup for a new tour and plans for a new album on its website.

In June 2009, the band performed together for the first time in six years on AOL Sessions. Creed's reunion tour started on August 6, 2009.

Creed's fourth album, Full Circle, was released on October 27, 2009. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 (Second to Michael Jackson's This Is It) and sold one hundred ten thousand copies in its first week. Most recent figures say the album has sold three hundred fifty thousand copies so far.

It has been confirmed that Creed plans to release some more albums in the future.

Personality

This is a different album. It has some of Creed's traditional feel, but it also feels strongly influenced by Stapp's solo work. Needless to say, I'm not much of a fan.

Though not as arrogant as The Great Divide, this album's attitude is very self conscious.

The lead track and first single, Overcome, refuses to be a victim, but says, "Everything I am and hope to be/cannot be lost/I'll be damned/fighting you/you're impossible/say goodbye with no sympathy//I'm entitled to overcome." ("Entitled," are you?)

Elsewhere Rain looks to a new beginning: "I feel it's going to rain like this for days/so let it rain down and wash everything away/I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine/with every tomorrow comes another life."

Away in Silence asks a partner not to give up on a relationship.

So there's a varied personality here. It's a little more confessional and a little more vulnerable than Creed's older stuff. The personality doesn't come across very consistently, though and it's kind of hard to decipher. It's like this album is not sure what it's about. I'll give it a 3/5.

Lyrics

All of the metaphors and symbols that featured so prominently in Human Clay and My Own Prison are gone. The writing is more like what was featured in Scott Stapp's solo work. That's not an improvement, especially after we've seen what Mark Tremonti is capable of in Alter Bridge. 2.5/5.

Sound

The sound is also kind of varied and hard to pin down. There are elements of Creed's old sound, and comparisons with Alter Bridge can be made, I'm sure. Bread of Shame reminds me a bit of Alice in Chains. Scott Stapp even has a different singing style than in earlier Creed albums. It's like he's taken his solo work into the band. I'm disappointed. 2.5/5.

Conclusion

Not such a great album. Because I'm generous, I'll give it 3/5 awkward reunions.


Conclusion


Why am I picking on Scott Stapp so much? Well, three reasons come to mind. The first reason is that Creed was my favourite band when I was younger, and now I find them so disappointing. The second reason is that he claims to be a Christian but has a totally weird life. (Not that I think Christians should be perfect or have their lives all sorted out nicely. But a little humility would go a long way towards changing my opinion.) The third reason is that Scott Stapp is totally ridiculous! I get the impression that he's trying to be the Britney Spears of rock music. Lame, so lame. Enough said.