I heard the album!!!

[uncertaindrumer]

Quote: (Originally Posted by Ana4Stapp)

Well he is OFFLINE!!!!!!!

I know. It was a rhetorical question... Just kind of like "Where is *insert something* when you need it..."

lol to Lith. I wish that were so...

[TeriB19]

Quote: (Originally Posted by InMyOwnMisery)

I pronounce myself "King Of The Moderators!!!!!"
First order of business,..OUT W/ FALTERBRIDGE.......from now on we will only talk Stapp.........kneel before your king!!!

We've already got one King here, he's X, and he's king of the idiots. We tolerate him because he's been with us so long, he's like our sick little foster child.

[Ana4Stapp]

Quote: (Originally Posted by uncertaindrumer)

I know. It was a rhetorical question... Just kind of like "Where is *insert something* when you need it..."

Lol Uncertain...Im not so dense! I got it... i was kidding- by the way, I was posting it when I received a PM...so it confused me ...

[Dogstar]

Quote: (Originally Posted by TeriB19)

We've already got one King here, he's X, and he's king of the idiots. We tolerate him because he's been with us so long, he's like our sick little foster child.

Best
post
of the
day!

[InMyOwnMisery]

Quote: (Originally Posted by Dogstar)

Best
post
of the
day!

NO MAMMMM!!!! I have won that honor.

[Bridge of Clay]

Well, it's about time I post my review on TGD but I didn't want it to write it before for 2 (fair) reasons:

- I had to listen to it all the way through in my car (best soundsystem I have)
- I didn't want the excitement of the new release to influence me. I'd rather calm down, coz I still was anxious for new music.

I'll begin track by track and then make an overall analysis. My intention is to do it with no bias but I also don't want to sound like Simon from American Idol! lol So here it is...

Reach Out => the album begins way better than I ever expected. This is one of the best songs of the album. It even has a guitar solo... definately the best guitar work. The lyrics are ok, I think the pre-chorus line "love again" doesn't make much sense though. Stapp's voice cracks during the song, though. I hope it's not the final cut.

Fight Song => another good guitar work, except for the pre-chorus that's really annoying. The screaming "I'll go another round" (third time) is uncalled for. The lyrics are ok.

The Hard Way => this is one of my favorites of the album. I like how he builds the song and the lyrics are pretty good, they are long and tell us a story instead of being random poetry. I like the bridge as well, the harmonies work good which I like and would like to see more of it. I can't wait to see a live video of it. A toast to "Stapp from the roots"!

Justify => another very well built song, I like the talking, very different. The analogy to Superman also shows a more "informal" Stapp, per say. Although it's the longest tracks, I'd like it to be a single - therefore, I hope Screw-Up doesn't screw it up when editing for radio. The music flows well and follows the Creed pattern: clean verses, dirty chorus - not that it's a bad thing.

Let Me Go => this is an attempt to make a new epic song on the vein of Faceless Man and WGMB but it's kinda poor to the others if you compare the lyrics. The melody doesn't help much either. It's the song you listen to, but doesn't pay much attention.

Surround Me => I think that's my favorite song off the album and one of the best (coz as you know, the best doesn't have to be necessarily your favorite). The lyrics are good, although all of those "Surround Me" after the 2nd verse are only good to make it stuck into your head - which is the key to make a major hit. And it's has a Matchbox feel to it that will please a broader range of people than the modern rock does lately.

The Great Divide => The first thing I said when I heard it for the first time, I said "shit, it's good!". The lyrics are good, specially for those who are Christian and start hesitating on faith sometimes. But the verse is just a rip-off from My Sacrifice and there's a lot of influence of Tremonti on it, except for the intro and the bridge. Probably something Wind-Up "suggested" to set a transition from Creed to solo Stapp. Again the harmonies sound very good, although "our love is beautiful" is a bit cheesy... being Stapp, I believe he could polish it a bit better. I don't know if it's due the fact it's the "oldest" song and I overplayed I find it a bit annoying now, but I'm skipping this song lately... nonetheless, it's a good song, but nothing exceptional.

Sublime => I like the intro of this song, sounds like a little train! lol! This is a very radio friendly song too, with some Creed-ish tone before the bridge. I also think of "The Beatles" when I hear it, don't ask me why coz I have no idea... maybe it's the second guitar. The lyrics are half good, half lacking something...

You Will Soar => mood wise, this song fits to Weathered, doesn't it? right after Stand Here With Me! There's a duet "Stapp feat. Stapp" on the verses that sounds good. It's ok. Very catchy song, I bet it'll make on a "favorite list" of a lot of people.

Broken => Very different song from his previous works. I like how the song "grows" over time, adding instruments from time to time. Piano & Strings are neat! This is a song that can he sang in any church, sounds like my churche's groups and I like it. Everybody should pay attention to its second verse coz it tells you the Truth. I like the choir as well. I hope it's a single and it'll be very interesting to see it live coz it'll be obviously changed since I don't think choirs and orchestras are going to be on stage... but that's just my assumption.

Goneblind => they're very competent and did their job. Props to the bassist and the drummer. The guitar lines aren't exceptional or breath taking, but they work good.

Scott Stapp => He has a much broader vocabulary than most of the artists out there nowadays. And he knows how to use them, which is a plus. I like he took some risks and bet on a different style in a couple songs, even though his voice still shows signs of deterioration when compared to MOP and Human Clay given all we know that happened to him. I'm curious on how he'll handle it live. You'll see me criticizing this here and on other boards and I still think he should take some vocal training. I'm not saying this coz I don't like the guy, but he must learn how to spare his voice and control his range for his own sake otherwise he'll have to lipsynche (sp?) in the future in the worst scenario... Being pissed also helped him to write the anger songs, it's funny how it's easier to express your feelings when you're angry than when you're happy. The albums has ups and downs on the lyrics, but I still think he can do better if he puts more effort when he's inspired. (no, I'm not saying he's lazy but he did better lyrics back in MOP and HC)

Overall => well, I consider rating very subjective and unfair since my criteria is different from person a, who has different criterias from person b, and so on. So it's hard to put a grade on it and I won't. If you asked me if it's worth buying the album or not, I'll say "yeah, go ahead and get it". If the album was stolen or lost, would I get another one? Probably so, since I'm a Creed fan but I'm not sure if the average and casual listener would instead of downloading it.

So that's it! And that's my opinion, I don't expect you to agree or disagree, I just hope you respect it as I'll respect yours. And when you post on what disagree, do it based on reasoning instead of passion and it'll be ok!

PS: Feedback on my review and writing is welcomed!

[uncertaindrumer]

Don't mind any of it except the props to the drummer... what on Earth did he do... lol

[Bridge of Clay]

Quote: (Originally Posted by uncertaindrumer)

Don't mind any of it except the props to the drummer... what on Earth did he do... lol

well, everybody thinks he's good on PBF... he does nothing special, but it sounds good. I know shit about drums to be honest...

[titan9]

Quote: (Originally Posted by Bridge of Clay)

well, everybody thinks he's good on PBF... he does nothing special, but it sounds good. I know shit about drums to be honest...

Haha, I saw that. I'm a non-posting member of PBF; I don't post because I don't feel comfortable there(something about the 10,000+ pictures of Stapp everywhere I look..). Anyway, I think he's a competent drummer, although, like you, I don't know much about drums.

[Ana4Stapp]

Quote: (Originally Posted by titan9)

Haha, I saw that. I'm a non-posting member of PBF; I don't post because I don't feel comfortable there(something about the 10,000+ pictures of Stapp everywhere I look..). .

Funny, cuz its the same here...not exactly because of the pics , but gals there are so crazy about Stapp that theres no discussion...lol

[Ana4Stapp]

Some points:

Quote:

Reach Out => the album begins way better than I ever expected. This is one of the best songs of the album. It even has a guitar solo... definately the best guitar work.. .

Agreed.

Quote:

Fight Song => another good guitar work, except for the pre-chorus that's really annoying. The screaming "I'll go another round" (third time) is uncalled for. The lyrics are ok.

Really? I love that song: music and lyrics.Very good one.

Quote:

Let Me Go => this is an attempt to make a new epic song on the vein of Faceless Man and WGMB but it's kinda poor to the others if you compare the lyrics. The melody doesn't help much either. It's the song you listen to, but doesn't pay much attention.

No doubt: the weakest song on album.Dispensable imo.

Quote:

Surround Me => I think that's my favorite song off the album and one of the best (coz as you know, the best doesn't have to be necessarily your favorite). The lyrics are good, although all of those "Surround Me" after the 2nd verse are only good to make it stuck into your head - which is the key to make a major hit. And it's has a Matchbox feel to it that will please a broader range of people than the modern rock does lately

Actually every time i listened to SM I think I like it more and more. Certainly a second single.

Quote:

Justify => another very well built song, I like the talking, very different. The analogy to Superman also shows a more "informal" Stapp, per say. Although it's the longest tracks, I'd like it to be a single - therefore, I hope Screw-Up doesn't screw it up when editing for radio. The music flows well and follows the Creed pattern: clean verses, dirty chorus - not that it's a bad thing.

The best of all.

Quote:

The Great Divide => ... I don't know if it's due the fact it's the "oldest" song and I overplayed I find it a bit annoying now, but I'm skipping this song lately...

I always skip that song...lol - Seriously, he can do better songs than that.

Finally one question Marcos: do you think The Great Divide is going to be released here in November 22 too?

[titan9]

Quote: (Originally Posted by Ana4Stapp)

Funny, cuz its the same here...not exactly because of the pics , but gals there are so crazy about Stapp that theres no discussion...lol

I think the thing that bugs me the most is the excessive use of Stapp smilies. I can tolerate that pic at the top, but all of those smilies in almost EVERY post.....it just makes it unbareable. But PBF is a great fan site and you get more info on Stapp there than any other place, so I'll definitely at least visit the site every now and then. But presently, I cannot see myself posting....for the reason you gave above, and because of all the smilies.

[Ana4Stapp]

Quote: (Originally Posted by titan9)

I think the thing that bugs me the most is the excessive use of Stapp smilies. I can tolerate that pic at the top, but all of those smilies in almost EVERY post.....it just makes it unbareable. But PBF is a great fan site and you get more info on Stapp there than any other place, so I'll definitely at least visit the site every now and then. But presently, I cannot see myself posting....for the reason you gave above, and because of all the smilies.

Yeah, PBF its a great site, you find everthing about Stapp there- almost a official site--but I CANT post there...(how could I say I didnt like the Great Divide song ?-lol)- theres no discussion and I'd certainly miss some people from here... if you get me

[titan9]

Same here. This is the only Creed/Stapp/AB related site that I actually feel comfortable at. I have memberships at PBF and ABB.net, but I just don't feel as at home there as I do here. I think that's a testament to the great forums found here.

[Ana4Stapp]

Quote: (Originally Posted by titan9)

Same here. This is the only Creed/Stapp/AB related site that I actually feel comfortable at. I have memberships at PBF and ABB.net, but I just don't feel as at home there as I do here. I think that's a testament to the great forums found here.

Exactly!

Hey Titan, we agree on everything lately...lol