Creed My Own Prison CD

Creed: Mark Tremonti (vocals, guitar); Scott Stapp (vocals); Brian Marshall (bass); Scott Phillips (drums).
Additional personnel: John Kurzweg (keyboards).
Recorded at The Kitchen Studio, Tallahassee, Florida and Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida.
Originally released on the band's own label, Creed's debut album, My Own Prison, was re-released on Wind-Up Records in a remixed form. The remix was designed to accentuate the group's powerful post-grunge sound so it could find a crossover audience. Evidently, the gambit was successful since the album became a platinum hit shortly after the title track was issued as a single. Creed don't have an original or distinctive sound -- they basically fall into the category of post-Seattle bands who temper their grunge with a dose of Live earnestness -- but they work well within their boundaries. At their best, they are a solid post-grunge band, grinding their riffs out with muscle; at their worst, they are simply faceless. The best moments of My Own Prison suggest they'll be able to leave post-grunge anonymity behind and develop their own signature sound. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The music of Creed was born out of the strife and tumult of singer Scott Stapp's personal life. He turned down a university scholarship and left home at 17, estranging himself from his parents, whose strict religious mindset he had been at odds with for years. Eventually, he hit bottom, living in a car and scribbling down the ideas that became the lyrics to Creed songs. The mainstream success of MY OWN PRISON has taken Stapp and his fellow Floridians in Creed a long way from dumpster-diving.
The band's combination of spiritually-oriented lyrics and guitar-based post-Nirvana hard rock connected in a big way with rock radio and with their vast, rabid following. MY OWN PRISON reflects the band's belief in the redemptive power of both God and rock and roll. On such tunes as "In America," "What's This Life For" and "Pity For A Dime" the band expresses both sociopolitical and spiritual concerns while leaving plenty of room for world-class headbanging riffs.