Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits (w/ Bonus DVD)

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Creed made 3 albums, all one bigger than the other, between 1997 and 2001, and then called it quits. The Florida band came out of nowhere with 1997's "My Own Prison", which truly was a classic album, with not a weak track on it, the perfect soundtrack to alternative rock in its heydays. The other 2 albums (1999's "Human Clay" and 2001's "Weathered") were far more mixed bag.

"Greatest Hits" (13 tracks, 63 min.) is a straight-forward compilation of Creed's biggest hits and best known album tracks. The songs run chronologically, 4 tracks from each of the first and second album, ending with 5 tracks from the last album. Admit it, Creed had an amazing string of hits in that 5 year period: from "My Own Prison" to "One" to "Higher" to "With Arms Wide Open" to "My Sacrifice" to "One Last Breath", just to name a few, wow. Nevertheless, I cannot rate this compilation "higher" than 4 stars for a couple of reasons: (1) the first album, by far the band's best, is underrepresented with only 4 tracks. Where is "In America", a genuine radio-hit? (2) there are no rarities on here. Why not add the Doors cover "Riders on the Storm" (from the Doors tribute album "Stoned Immaculate"), which also was a radio hit? At 63 min., both of these songs could've easily been added without exceeding the 80 min. capacity of a CD. The bonus DVD brings all of the music videos, along with some live performances.

In all, "Greatest Hits" does a pretty good job, although it falls *this* short of the perfect compilation of Creed. Meanwhile, 3 of the 4 Creed members have gone on to different things (forming "Alter Bridge"), but who knows what has become of lead-singer Scott Stapp, who seemingly has vanished from sight.

Whatever your take on Creed, one must admit they were a successful band with a steadfast and passionate fan base. I brought this album for the extras only. I have all the albums. Whilst rehashing on the 'hits' of Creed on the audio CD what I really wanted was the bonus DVD and watched the video clips and the live performances of this once great band.
It indeed is the greatest music hits collection of Creed and the bonus stuff is well worth watching.

I've been a avid Creed fan since "My Own Prison" was first released back in '97. I fell in love with their music because I felt they were the first band in recent years to have band-members and song-writing skills worthy of being compared to more legendary bands. They wrote real songs with real heart, instead of all that pop-punk or rap-metal garbage. Ironically, I told everyone that when Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Blink 182 and Kid Rock were long gone, Creed would still be around. I even defended them when people called them a Christian band, which THEY WERE NOT. But unfortunately, their career was cut short. At the very least, they went out on a high note and never burned out.

CD: This CD portion of this package is an accurate collection of all the bands singles. All the big hits are on here like "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", "My Own Prison", "One Last Breath", "What If", "My Sacrifice", "Whats This Life For", and "One". The collection also features their lesser-known but equally awesome singles like "Torn", "Are You Ready", "Weathered", "Bullets" and "Dont Stop Dancing". These are all great songs, but I think to really appriciate the band, you should pick up all 3 of their albums. With a couple exceptions, all of Creed's hits were their more commercial, radio-friendly songs. Some of their darker and heavier songs like "Say I", "Unforgiven", "Beautiful" or "Freedom Fighter" never made it to radio, and as a result, only one side of the band was shown. Also, seeing how this collection only contains 13 songs, I think it would have been cool if they had put some of the group's fan-favorite songs on here like "Ode" or "Faceless Man". There are no newly recorded or unreleased songs featured on this collection, which is good in my opinion because it's just a marketing ploy to get the fans to purchase something they already own. Over-all, this is a great collection of Creed's hits, and if you like it all the way through, consider picking up their individual albums.

DVD: This is a collection of all 9 of the band's music videos: "My Own Prison", "Whats This Life For", "Higher", "What If", "With Arms Wide Open", "My Sacrifice", "Bullets", "One Last Breath" and "Dont Stop Dancing". Also featured are 3 live performances of "Torn", "Higher" and "Weathered". As a big fan, it's cool to have all of the band's music videos, but sadly, most of their videos were pretty cheesy, even the band has admitted to that. As for the live clips, I was a little let down. The band always sounded awesome in concert, but 2 of these live-clips were taken from award-show performances, and the band usually didn't sound right when playing award-shows. Still, it's a cool DVD and it's not bad for an added bonus!

I have never encountered anyone who thinks Creed is just "OK". It's one extreme or the other. As you can see from all of the reviews here, people either love them or hate them. This CD is a decent compilation of the band's music. Would like to have seen "In America" from My Own Prison included.
I won't try to talk any of the Creed haters out of their opinions, that would be a waste of time, but...if they hate the band so much, why would they buy a greatest hits compilation? If they haven't, why waste their time reviewing it??? Their are plenty of bands I don't care for, but if I haven't bought the CD, I don't waste my time reviewing it.

Creed was one of the few nu-rock/nu-metal bands that always seemed to get a large amount of airplay on most stations that featured rock as its format. It also seemed like any fan of rock music, all knew the songs of Creed. There were those folks who griped that there was too much Eddie Vedder in Scott Stapps voice, and of course that was bound to happen since the Seattle Sound gave way to that being a standard in modern rock music. The band had an illustrious and interesting career from their first record "My Own Prison" to their last piece "Weathered". Each CD the home of numerous songs that not only became hits on the radio, but also became staples in the clubs as well as in many local band repertoires.

This CD includes every one of the tracks that you would expect to find on it. There are no unreleased songs that some bands push on you in a hits piece. Just the 13 numbers that received high chart position or generated the best sales. While there is a decent amount of space left on the audio portion, the band did include enough numbers to warrant praise. I did not find myself lacking in material as I listened. The booklet, while in black and white as far as photography, makes sure to include lyrics for all of the songs. I always remembered Creed for having a big sing-along factor when I listened, so this makes it easier for those who indulge in this practice. The second disc that is included, is a DVD. This DVD Features the entire scope of the bands video work. Every single MTV/VH1 video is here for you to enjoy. This might have well been sold as a separate piece, but given the bands breaking up, it makes the most sense to give the fans the most bang for their buck by adding it to this package. Included videos are: My Own Prison, What's This Life For, Higher, What If, With Arms Wide Open, Bullets, My Sacrifice, One Last Breath, Don't Stop Dancing. The DVD also has a few unreleased live performances. They are: Torn, Higher, and Weathered.

The Creed videos were always well-thought out. Shot with a sense of artistry and difference. Songs that stood out for me in the video sense were "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open" and "My Sacrifice". On the live pieces, "Higher" is an excellent visual as the band performs on the roof of a skyscraper with fireworks shooting off during the piece. Arena rock at its finest.

Quite honestly this is a great amount of material for the dollar. I have seen it for sale at the major retailers for $10 bucks and that is a steal. I recommend it highly and am sad that such a good piece comes at the expense of such a talented band. I felt there was still some good music to make as a single unit. Mid 2004 Guitarist Mark Tremonti, Drummer Scott Philips, and Bassist Bryan Marshall have since gone on to form "Alter Bridge" while Scott has been doing solo stuff. It is too early to tell if both splinter acts will hold up the same way as Creed was able to. Only time will tell.

So I was a huge Creed fan that had all three of their CDs, watched them every time they were on T.V. and saw them play live and I was sad when they broke up. Ironically, their breaking up led to one of my favorite bands, Alter Bridge. They rock! Anyway, this Creed Greatest Hits CD/DVD is good and for the average Creed fan, it could even be considered great. But like people before me have said, there could have been a lot more. It's cool to have all the music videos and the three live performances, but how about a whole entire live concert? That would have been nice. Or how about a behind the scenes type thing, or even better, the VH1 Behind The Music special that they did on Creed a while ago? Or some B-sides and live tracks, or their rendition of "Roadhouse Blues"? That would have been nice as well. (Just for your info, Wind-up records is actually very good about releasing stuff like that. See Seether, Finger Eleven, and Evanescence as examples).

The thing I like the least about this release is the fact that in the song, "What's This Life For?" they took out the word "God" when Scott sings, "Don't have to settle no God damn score" So now it just sounds like, "Don't have to settle no ___ damn score" and it sounds horrible. Totally lame.

I guess in the end, it's a good package for Creed fans and considering they didn't have to release anything, we should be happy that we got this.

After three albums...it's a shame, but Creed decided to call it quits.

Thankfully they left us with this Greatest Hits album, which i must say is pretty good. Every song is great. Although, alot of good songs were left out. Than again, they could not have put some 30 or 40 songs on the album.

The greatest thing about this cd is that it comes with a bonus dvd that includes all their videos and a few live performances.

We have to accept that Creed is no more, but that does not mean we can't enjoy their old hits.

This album represents Creed very well, therefor it deserves five stars *****

THE RECORD
It took three years for Creed's greatest hits to be compiled together after the release of the rock group's final record. This time, the compilatiors choose perfect singles from the group's work and created a must have record for any music fan. All of the tracks display not only the sound of the band's musical progression, but their own creed on the ways of the world and our country. The music is powerful and heartfelt.

THE DVD
The vidoes off this disc are awesome. Of course Creed's music is there, but the films to go along with their music are very entertaining. In "My Own Prison", it is filmed in and around an actual prison and this adds evem more flare to the song. The most notable features to the videos are the special effects used in the tracks from Creed's last two albums. "With Arms Wide Open" has the great effect of falling fireballs from the sky and Stapp falling into a water pit. In "Higher", the famous bullet time effects made popular by The Matrix are used in this video. Except, no computers were used. People actually had to freeze and allow the cameras to slowy move around them as the film rolled. "Bullets" is very unique, for it is entirely computer generated and looks like parts to an actual computer game. "One Last Breath" is cool in the effects of Stapp falling from a cliff and giving the illusion of the band perfroming in a sand storm. In "Don't Stop Dancing" the viewer gets to see the beautiful Amie Stapp perform with her husband, and that is worth anyone's time. And there are a couple of live performance vidoes, and those are always fun to watch. This is an awesome greatest hits record, and one I recomend hearing and viewing.

Let me take a minute to explain the title to my review and in the process, I'll write my review. The title has a dual meaning. The first meaning is this: How can anyone not like this CD? I mean, on the first page of reviews, there were three one-star reviews and only about three with more than three stars. I pose the question: Have the people with one-star reviews even listened to the CD. Granted, I agree with the reviewer that raised the issue that My Own Prison only got four songs on the greatest hits album, but why does everyone hate Creed so much? Is it because they are a *gasp* Christian band? People would disagree with me on that one, but as I listen to this CD, I believe Scott Stapp's Christian beliefs (which he does have, thank you very much) truly shine, especially on songs like Don't Stop Dancing and Higher. But I digress...

The second meaning of my title comes from the fact that I am in absolute awe of this CD. I have always enjoyed Creed and to have all their greatest hit songs on one CD is just uber cool. All three CDs have songs on this CD; My Own Prison enters the title track, What's This Life For, and two others, Human Clay blends songs like What If, Higher, and the mega-popular With Arms Wide Open, and Weathered sees songs like (my pick for favorite song) Bullets, My Sacrifice, Don't Stop Dancing, and One Last Breath.

Even though Creed is gone, their music and the messages it carries will live on long into the future. I leave you with my favorite line from Don't Stop Dancing: "At times life's unfair and you know it's plain to see; Hey God I know I'm just a dot in this world - have you forgot about me?" It's a question that all of us have asked at least once in our lives, and I am no exception. Let's hope that Creed lives on in our hearts so we don't forget their relevant message to today's society. Creed has put it in front of us; all we have left to do is listen.

Creed was a popular band when they were together. They were also a very disliked band. Some people say they ripped off some greater bands, mainly Pearl Jam. I say so what. I liked them some still, and they were very famous.

After releasing 3 albums: My Own Prison (1997), Human Clay (1999), and Weathered (2001), we get this Greatest Hits (2004) album. It comes with a bonus DVD of all of their music videos and a few live performances. If you own all of Creed's previous albums, you may still want this for the bonus DVD.

This album has no new songs and no b-sides or rarities. And that is one of the lacking points of this album, besides the 63 minute length and only having 13 songs. They should have included the b-sides: To Whom It May Concern, Young Grow Old, I'm Eighteen, and there are many others that they could have choosed from.

They should have put more songs and made this album as close to 80 minutes as possible. This has all of their biggest hits though.

My favorite two songs off each album being: My Own Prison, What's This Life For off their first and best album My Own Prison; Higher, With Arms Wide Open off their second and most popular album Human Clay; and One Last Breath, My Sacrifice off their third and last studio album Weathered.

I wish they had released more albums and were still a band. You either liked Creed or you hated them. I liked them myself.

If you don't own any of their other albums, buy this since this has all the stuff you probably have heard on the radio, and because of the great bonus DVD. If you own only one or two of their previous albums, pick this up too. If you own all three of their previous albums, then you may not want to get this, but if you do get it, get it for the bonus DVD.

I am hoping that they release a b-sides and rarities album later this year with all there hard to find songs on it. That would make a great companion piece to this album.

So pick this up and listen to the album and watch the bonus DVD. I am sure if you get this, you will like it, like I do.