thevoid99's Full Review: Weathered by Creed (1~Post-Grunge)
(Dedicated in memory to the late and great American rock critic Lester Bangs (1948-1982), may his wisdom guide the many young music critics today.)
Since the 1990s grunge rock explosion, there have been many bands that were innovators and there were those who were imitators. From grunge icons like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains, to the imitators like Silverchair and Bush, grunge had become a trend that saturated rock in the early and mid-90s. By 1998, many grunge icons like Alice In Chains and Soundgarden had either burned out or called it quits. Nirvana died in 1994 due to singer Kurt Cobain’s death that year and Pearl Jam was on a commercial decline. During that year, more mediocre modern rock bands from Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind to more grunge wannabes like Marcy Playground and Fuel. Another grunge wannabe was a stupid-*ss, piece of sh*t band from Tallahassee, Florida who came in like another godd*mn Pearl Jam clone ripping off early U2 lyrics. They’re called Creed but to myself and the other Epinions.com colleagues and anti-Creed fans, they’re known simply as Crud.
Crud was formed in the mid-90s by guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips, bassist and *sshole extraordinaire Brian Marshall, and singer/egomaniac/thief/p*ssy boy/sh*tfaced/Doors-obssessed c*cksucking mothef*cker named Scott Stapp. In late 1997, Crud released their debut album for the indie label Wind-Up Records called My Own Prison to negative reviews and slow but huge sales that included four number one rock hits. Sure the band sold a lot of records but they got a lot of sh*t for sounding like many grunge bands from the past like Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and notably, Pearl Jam. Stapp’s vocals are similar to the vocal styling of Eddie Vedder except Vedder put emotions and feeling into his vocals unlike Stapp. Stapp just f*cks it up by putting his own ego into his vocals thinking that he’s not only better than Vedder but also thought of himself as the new Bono or Jim Morrison.
While Crud was riding the wave of success, the band released another album in 1999 titled Human Clay where it sold a lot of copies and making the band big enough for VH1 where they gave them a Behind The Music and a bunch of VH1 awards being the *sskissers they are. While they made it to the big time, the critics still wouldn’t give them respect and why the hell should they? They pull many of their music sources from the grunge bands of the past. Plus, Stapp’s lyrics aren’t even original. Many of lyrics, especially the ones that contained references to Christianity, are from early U2 albums from their debut Boy to The Joshua Tree. Stapp always cites U2 as a huge influence in their lyrics and many of the early U2 lyrics dealt with Christianity, which is why Crud got tagged as a “Christian Band”.
While Crud got trouble with critics, they also got into spats with other bands like Pearl Jam and THE WORST BAND IN THE WORLD L___ B_____. L___ B_____’s leader and BIGGEST *SSHOLE IN THE WORLD Fat Freddy Durst dissed Scott Stapp at a concert in NYC and got into a verbal feud with him until Stapp challenged him to a boxing match. Durst like the punk*ss he is didn’t go for the fight since he’s a p*ssy anyways. Crud’s feud with Pearl Jam began after *sshole bassist Brian Marshall said awful comments about Pearl Jam saying that Eddie Vedder should learn to write lyrics and crap and the critics then attacked Crud. Stapp then sent a bullsh*t apology to Pearl Jam about Marshall’s comments and Pearl Jam didn’t respond and why should they? I was happy along with many Pearl Jam fans when Vedder kicked the living sh*t out of Stapp on MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch with help from Tom Waits.
While Crud was getting kicked in the *ss by critics and rock fans, they gained a hit that made many of us here sick to their stomachs. The song was called “With Arms Wide Open” about the birth of his son (?) Jagger that was so huge that it featured a video of Stapp on a mountaintop doing his usual and idiotic Jesus Christ pose. Jesus, kick this motherf*cker’s *ss now, please. He’s ripping off your pose and he’s also trying to become you. The song was so big that for some godd*mn reason, he wins an award for father of the year when we got fathers who are working their *sses off trying to put food on the table, paying bills, and putting the roof on their kids heads and you got this motherf*cker who writes a stupid-*ss, overplayed song and he wins father of the year? Man, that is f*cked up. He can’t even keep his marriage going. Look at his ex-wife. She’s got blonde hair, sl*tty Southern accent, huge t*ts, she must be a stripper or something. Hell, I’m not even sure if Stapp is that kid’s father. It could’ve been anybody in the band or probably the road crew.
After that awfully overplayed song hit the radio, Stapp fires Brian Marshall for his Pearl Jam comments and Stapp becomes even more an egomaniac by trying to claim they’re a real serious rock band to the critics. If they’re a serious rock band, then why does Scott like to perform without his shirt? Is he trying to be a sex symbol with models all over him or what? Who in the hell is trying to be, Jim Morrison?
That’s another problem with Stapp, his obsession with Jim Morrison. Sure, he’s performed with former members of the Doors singing stuff like Light My Fire and Roadhouse Blues but he can’t sing like Morrison. Hell, Jim Morrison isn’t even that great of an icon. Sure, the Doors made some great songs and had some cool albums but it was always about Morrison and his excessive indulgence. “I am the Lizard King, I can do anything”. Wrong Jim, if you could do anything, you could be alive or appear to us rock fans somehow. Stapp’s obsession with Morrison is not only because they both lived in Florida or are both leading a rock band, Stapp even puts the influences of the Doors to their music thinking they could be great. Lester Bangs never was a fan of the Doors very much; he always had comments about Morrison including a famous scene in the movie Almost Famous where he was played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman saying “The Doors, Jim Morrison? He was a drunken buffoon”. Scott, you’ll never be Jim Morrison, you’ll never sing like Morrison. Hell, you can’t even make an *ss of yourself like Morrison did.
Ok, enough ranting about Morrison, Crud, Stapp, and everything else. Let’s get on with the f*cking review on Crud’s new album Weathered.
Like their previous albums, Crud put the same old melodic grunge sounds that made bands like Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden famous except Scott Stapp puts his ego in front of the music making it bloated and unimaginative at the same time. Plus, Stapp’s ego got him in trouble early on when he says Weathered is going to have the same musical dynamics that U2’s The Joshua Tree had. No, this is not like The Joshua Tree. If it was, it would be called the poor man’s The Joshua Tree with bad lyrics and an egotistical lead singer which is why the musicianship of guitarist Mark Tremonti and Scott Phillips is pretty overlooked most of the time due to Stapp’s ego. Tremonti and Phillips are good musicians who can each hold their own but they’re so overshadowed by Stapp and it’s a shame that a couple of good musicians are stuck with that *sshole.
The first single off of this album is the Doors-influenced My Sacrifice aka Higher Part 2. The song starts off with a Doors-like guitar intro reminiscent of the melodic/Indian structure from Robby Kreiger until Tremonti’s hard rocking guitar comes in along with Phillips hard-hitting drumming and Stapp’s unimaginative Eddie Vedder vocals that want to makes you say “Stop singing like Vedder you *sshole” especially in the chorus of “When you’re with me I’m free/I’m careless, I believe/Above all the others we’ll fly (Note, when he says “fly”. He hits a high note where he sounds like Cartman of “South Park”)/This tears brings to my eyes/My sacrifice”. Aw, Blech! Those lyrics suck! Syrupy and sour. I haven’t heard horrible lyrics since the days of Air Supply.
Bullets starts off with a distorted intro with Morrison-like vocals and melodic Doors guitars until it becomes a grinding-metal mid-tempo track with distortion breaks that has some brilliance due to Tremonti’s guitar performance along with Phillips’ drumming but Stapp is all over the song who sounds like he’s having an identity crisis. He’s either trying to sing like Layne Statley of Alice In Chains or Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. Whatever he’s trying to do, it isn’t working. Freedom Fighter features more Vedderesque vocals (whoa, new word!) in a mid-tempo hard rock track that is a little reminiscent of the brooding rocking style of Tool except Stapp just puts his idiotic vocals in front of the song.
(Note: Due to lack of lyrical information or inaccurate song listings, I listened to the new album from a MTV2 playback this past weekend since I’m a cheap bastard who refused to pay $14 for the stupid album. As for the lyrics, I only found lyrics to a few songs in other Crud websites and not all the lyrics to the songs on this record were listed on their sites. I try to be professional about approaching this review but Crud and their websites are trying to limit that. If I hear any complaining about inaccurate song descriptions, lyrics, or whatever. F*ck You! When it comes to my reviews, I don’t compromise when it comes to my work and I won’t compromise unless someone wants to make a compromise with me personally on a professional level).
Who’s Got My Back?/Signs starts off with a Cherokee Indian chant that is so Jim Morrison who had an obsession with Indians for some reason. The song includes a melodic guitar intro reminiscent of Krieger by Tremonti and Stapp trying to be Jim. The song is a blend of dark psychedelia that made the Doors famous and the hard rock styling that Creed shamefully made that comes in for the last 1/3 of the song. The song includes religious lyrics (another Crud trademark, no I’m sorry early U2) where Scott is trying to claim this isn’t a religious song saying “This is not about age/Time served on earth doesn’t you were in mind/In mind/This is not about God”. Ok Scott, stop f*cking around with Bono’s lyrics or he’s going to give you the *ss-kicking of a lifetime. One Last Breath at first sounds like the usual melodic-guitar structure that Pearl Jam has made famous on some of their songs but it goes into a hard rock mode where Stapp again does Vedder. Stand Here With Me is another metal-driven mid-up tempo track that features more egotistical vocals from Stapp doing Vedder but there is however some good drumming from Phillips and an impressive guitar solo from Tremonti who is a good guitar player but is often overlooked because of Stapp.
By this point, the album goes nowhere as the songs then become a bore and you want the album to be done. The title track to Weathered starts off with Soundgarden guitar-melodies and it’s the typical power chord charge that’s made Crud so famous. Plus, there are the predictable Vedder-like vocals from Stapp whose vocals have become a pain to listen to by this point. Hide is another melodic-driven hard rocking track that features more reminiscence of Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains even though there’s some good guitar playing from Tremonti who again is overshadowed by Stapp’s egotistical vocals thinking he’s better than everyone. Don’t Stop Dancing starts off acoustically but then comes the power chords in this melodic-driven rocker that sounds a bit like the previous song where Stapp comes in with the usual Vedderesque vocals. Man, this is getting really old. Finally as the album closes comes the acoustic ballad Lullaby which is a lullaby to who? His, dad, or God? I don’t know. The song is mainly performed by Stapp and Tremonti where Stapp I think says “just give love to God” repeatedly at the end of the song and believe me; this will put you to sleep.
Its obvious Weathered is going to sell big numbers but will it be big as Human Clay? I don’t think so. Stapp’s ego has gotten too big and he’s says this new album their most dynamic yet. For those who liked the previous two records, you’ll like this of course. Fans who hated Human Clay will definitely hate this. So far, this is one of the worst releases in 2001 but they couldn’t be the worst release this year. That honor might go to Stapp’s rival Fred Durst and his idiotic band. At least Crud isn’t those losers. L___ B_____ has not talent at all since they lost Wes Borland. In the meantime, if you’re into this crap you’ll definitely like this. It’s bloated, bland, unimaginative, and derivative as hell. It’s another bad record from a band we all know as Crud.
Human Clay, Creed s 1999 album has been in the top 10 for almost a year. Creed s third album, Weathered will no doubt be recieved with arms wide open ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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