Restored [Enhanced]

Jeremy Camp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Bec Recordings / Emd
• ASIN: B00068CV9E
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,281 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Within the span of three releases, Jeremy Camp has quickly established himself as one of the powerful "voices" in Christian music. Since day one, Camp's powerful vocal presence has been enabled, in part, by his own strong songwriting and outstanding studio production. Restored follows along these lines offering a number of solid tracks that will no doubt continue to fuel Camp's ascension. The opening title track may be the strongest rocker on the release and a likely standout single with "Lay Down My Pride" a close second. The majority of the album features mid-tempo pop and softer ballads, casting a duller sonic pall over Camp's previous work. That's not to say this is unworthy of a good listen as "Take You Back," "Be The One," and "My Desire" are equally appealing. Ironically, Camp's best strength (powerhouse baritone voice) may be his biggest weakness on Restored. If there are any drawbacks here it may be Camp's limited range that, over the course of a full release, could make the listener a bit weary. Ultimately nothing here is earth shattering, it is yet another solid step of maturity for Camp and a release that will please his fans while making a few new ones in the process. --Michael Lyttle

Product Description

Within the span of three releases, Jeremy Camp has quickly established himself as one of the powerful "voices" in Christian music. Since day one, Camp's powerful vocal presence has been enabled, in part, by his own strong songwriting and outstanding studio production. Restored follows along these lines offering a number of solid tracks that will no doubt continue to fuel Camp's ascension. The opening title track may be the strongest rocker on the release and a likely standout single with "Lay Down My Pride" a close second. The majority of the album features mid-tempo pop and softer ballads, casting a duller sonic pall over Camp's previous work. That's not to say this is unworthy of a good listen as "Take You Back," "Be The One," and "My Desire" are equally appealing. Ironically, Camp's best strength (powerhouse baritone voice) may be his biggest weakness on Restored. If there are any drawbacks here it may be Camp's limited range that, over the course of a full release, could make the listener a bit weary. Ultimately nothing here is earth shattering, it is yet another solid step of maturity for Camp .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD, November 21, 2004

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Restored (Audio CD)

No, this is not the kind of CD I would normally get. But the youth at church just love Jeremy Camp, and it was on sale, so I thought I'd take a chance. And I love it!

What I love most about this CD is the honesty of the lyrics. The overarching theme seems to be surrendering to God in the struggle with pride and our sinful nature. This is something anyone can relate to no matter where they are in life. This is most obvious in "Lay Down My Pride," but shows up again in such songs as "My Desire," "Be the One," and "Letting Go."

Another theme is the faithfulness of God when we aren't faithful to live for him. Which brings us to my favorite song from the disc. "Take You Back" is based on God's promise to keep forgiving us no matter how much we sin. Close behind it, and on the same theme, is "Even When."

While the style has been toned down a peg from the hard rock of his debut, this CD still rocks. My only real complaint is that many of the songs sound the same and start to run together.

This is a great CD that will introduce many new people to a fresh talent in Christian music.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting Closer To God, May 16, 2005

By 

Dan Blankenship "Author of THE RUNNING GIRL" (Lowell, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Restored (Audio CD)

Looking for music that brings you closer to God and his gift of salvation? Jeremy's music is a simple offering to the One who gave him his ability - God. It is what you may be looking for.

#1. Restored - This song is perfect for the title of Camp's CD. It is also a great intro-to-the-CD song. It demonstrates his ability to keep his music simple yet moving, grounded yet heavenly. "I've only come to realize my strength will be made perfect at your throne." Oh, won't it be great when we all get to bow down before our King? We are indeed RESTORED.

#2. Take You Back - I do believe this song gets the most radio play. It is a song about falling down. It is a song about the God-Man who is there to lift us up and tell us He'll take us back. This is an inspiring song that flows so well I expect angels sing it in Heaven! I look forward to the day when I can sing-a-long with Camp, the angels, and Jesus to celebrate the One who takes us back. Is it really that far away?

#3. Even When - A little slower song. This one relies a little more on Camp's voice to carry it. It is really hard to follow up the first two songs on this CD, but "Even When" is pretty good.

#4. Lay Down My Pride - Starts of more like dialogue than a song, but this song then kicks into high gear, proving that Camp has real diversity in his music. If you like songs that move around quite a bit, you'll like this one.

#5. My Desire - This one kinda carries over "Lay Down My Pride", but way slowed down. I had to listen to this song more than one time to really like it. Adrienne Camp is on the background vocals of this one, but it was hard to hear her voice. Couldn't really tell if she is as great on vocals as Jeremy. Not that I'm gonna lose any sleep over it. The cool thing is, I've listened to this song three times now, and each time I like it more!

#6. Be The One - I'm starting to notice that Camp's lyrics aren't very specific. In other words, up to this point of the CD, I don't see the kind of personal, up close, dramatic lyrics like Bethany Dillon has on her CD. That's not a bad thing. I just am trying to get a sense of the person Camp is by reading into his lyrics. At times, I don't get a glimpse. So my only complaint on this song and a couple others is that some of the lyrics seem a bit generic. Just trying to be honest. I'm 38 years old and have been listneing to music since I was a tot. My first word as a baby was RADIO! :-)

#7 Everytime - Good beat, good message, and this song really shows Camp's ability to sing. I liked it more than "Be The One".

#8. Letting Go - This one seemd like filler. Certain songs on a CD just seem like they are there to take up space. I think the lyrics on this song are fine...the music needed a rewrite. There was nothing special or uniquie about the way this song was put together. It was almost too simple.

#9. Breathe - Very unique entry. Grabbed me in right from the start. I was wondering where Camp would take me to with this song. It was definitely a change-up from "Letting Go", but even this song was a little bit of a letdown. In my honest opinion, Jeremy Camp needs to push his creativity a little more. He needs to be more edgy, risky, and reaching. Go beyond what he thinks he can.

#10. This Man - A song about what our Savior did for us. A strong, powerful song about the man who changed our destiny, a man who conquered evil with love. One of the most powerful songs on the CD. This song deserves more airplay!

#11. Innocence - This one just didn't work for me. It seemed forced, normal, not inspired. Man, I can be brutal, can't I?

#12 Nothing Else I Need - Lyrics are good, music is a little too simple, repetitive, and predictable.

All in all, a good CD. But if there is one thing I learned about Jeremy Camp, it is this - this guy's best CD has yet to be made. I think this is one musician with more potential than he may even know. I look forward to his next CD.


See ya next review!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Restored is not Stay, that doesn't mean it's bad., November 25, 2004

By 

Andrew Romig (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Restored (Audio CD)

I'm not sure I'm what you'd call a Jeremy Camp "fan", but I enjoy his music and he carves a little bit different niche than most contemporary christian artists. Let me be clear, I loved Stay, and I was disappointed with Carried Me. In that context, I will say unhesitantly that Restored is an outstanding album. I enjoy almost every track (if I had to cut one track, it would probably have to be "My Desire", which seems painfully slow and out of place with the rest of the album). My personal favorites from this album include "Restored", "Take You Back", "Everytime", and "This Man". While it's true the album takes a generally softer edge than Stay (the only song that reminds me of that album is "Lay Down My Pride") it still manages to have Jeremy Camp's tone of 'hard, but not too hard'. I think some of what people are really griping about is that this is a softer, more personal album than Stay, but it's that extra dose of emotion and tenderness which I find so compelling. Overall, a great album, and a great look into the soul of one of God's more astute messengers.