Couldn't have said it better, although I personally was not too happy with Stapp's solo album. About half of the songs seem to fall flat on their face, though there were some real winners like Broken, You Will Soar, Sublime, and The Great Divide. Since he was basically using a good bit of the album to bitch about the Creed break-up, I'll forgive him for it. But I expect more from him on the upcoming album (which, judging from his video blog, I have little doubt will happen
).
But about what you said, you are right, we are all not perfect, and who cares if Stapp didn't learn to play a guitar. He has his own talents and uses them well. Also, even if Creed didn't reunite as a band, it would be nice to see them go back to being friends, considering all that they've been through together over the years.
I have a confession to make; I don't own Alter Bridge's first album. In fact, the only song on the album that I've heard is Open Your Eyes. It just doesn't interest me all that much. But what I've heard from the new album, there is a serious chance that I might get it once I get the money. If I like it, then I
might buy One Day Remains. I don't dislike AB, but there earlies stuff just sounds like generic rock that I hear on the radio all the time. To a certain extent, so was Creed. But Creed had something special that AB's older stuff just doesn't seem to have. Their newer stuff is much different, but ODR just doesn't appeal to me all that much.