Collection

Steve Camp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 1995)
• Original Release Date: April 4, 1995
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sparrow
• ASIN: B000002UEM
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,145 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Wonderful CD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty close but not comprehensive Camp collection, May 11, 2005

By 

Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Collection (Audio CD)

Steve Camp got his start in Christian music through the help of friend Larry Norman, managed to make some of the most popular Christian music of the 80s (along with a classic in the album JUSTICE), and continues to perform and speak at churches (though to smaller numbers these days). This 2 CD set renders just about all previous collections superfluous.

PROS:
-Lots of selections from the 2 albums generally acknowledged as his best: 1989's JUSTICE (4 tracks) and 1983's FIRE AND ICE (5 tracks)

-Inclusion of rare song "Do Something Now" from the C.A.U.S.E. (Christian Artists United to Save the Earth). The song was a gospel reaction to the flood of megastar charity songs like "We are the World" that came out in the 80s from mainstream rock artists.

-18 of his 20 hits for Sparrow Records are here (#6 "On the Edge" and #11 "The Church is All of You" are missing)

CONS:
-Biggest one is that this collects Sparrow material only...no attempt was made to license material away from his old label (Myrrh) or his later label (Warner Alliance). This means you get re-recorded versions of "Run to the Battle" and "It's a Dying World" and no cuts from the albums SAYIN' IT WITH LOVE, FOR EVERY MAN, START BELIEVIN',IT'S A DYING WORLD, MERCY IN THE WILDERNESS OR TAKING HEAVEN BY STORM.

-Missing songs "Squeeze" from FIRE AND ICE, "Justice" from JUSTICE, and "Asleep in the Light" from SHAKE ME TO WAKE ME, a great cover of the Keith Green classic. Those are some of his best work and were all done on the Sparrow label, so it's hard to accept their omission.

-Amid the poppier "radio hit" material (like "Shade for the Children"), it would have been nice to make room for CONSIDER THE COST's "Could I Be Called a Christian?" a weightier tune about transforming our inner attitudes of the heart to loving God, rather than just actions that make us "look good".

BOTTOM LINE:
This is still the best collection available on Camp for casual fans. Camp aficionados will find it incomplete so they'll need to fill the gaps with "Only the Very Best" (for his Myrrh Records output), used copies of his later 2 Warner Alliance releases, and JUSTICE and FIRE AND ICE (the 2 CDs most frequently mentioned by Camp fans as his best).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great songs with an uncompromising message!, December 20, 1998

By 

Josh Simpson (Hico, TX.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collection (Audio CD)

Though many of the songs will make you feel sentimental with the 80's sound, the message in these songs will last forever. There are many songs on this cd set that will challenge you and will make you examine your current walk with God. This cd has songs that will make you laugh, cry, and worship with a fervent heart. If you love music with a great message, get this set.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not What You Expect, January 16, 2007

By 

Scott Lewis (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collection (Audio CD)

If you are expecting a "greatest hits" compilation, then skip this one. Some songs are original, but alot have been re-recorded by Camp. And, sorry to say, the re-dos are not as good as the originals. They lack the energy, rawness, and life the originals had. "Light Your Candle" was probably one of his best songs. Trivia: That's Dann Huff on guitar on the original version. The version on this Collection is terrible. It's full of synthesizers and sounds as though it wasn't mixed and mastered quite right. In all fairness, Steve probably attempted to add a sense of maturity and modernize his material so that it wouldn't sound so "dated" due to some of his material being so "old." And, with modern digital recording technology, he thought he could accomplish it.

Nice try! But, as they say, "You're first answer is usually the correct one." He should have just re-mastered the old material. Again, in all fairness, it may have been neccessary to re-record material due to the master tapes being too old. I don't know.

If you are really a Steve Camp fan, then find the original recordings.