- Restored
- Take You Back
- Even When
- Lay Down My Pride
- My Desire
- Be the One
- Every Time
- Letting Go
- Breathe
- This Man
- Innocence
- Nothing Else I Need
Jeremy Camp entered the Christian music scene in the aftermath of tragedy, using the sad-yet-uplifting testimony of losing his first wife to cancer. In the two years since, the 26-year-old has been blessed immensely. On the personal front, he married Adrienne Liesching (formerly of The Benjamin Gate) and they recently became proud parents. Professionally, Camp's debut sold very well, due to six No. 1 hits off the album—a rare feat. Camp also took home Dove Awards for Male Vocalist and New Artist of the Year. Building on the popularity of
Sincerity and sound have never been an issue for Camp as much as his songwriting, his greatest strength and weakness. Is it any surprise that Camp, like MercyMe, does so well in the wake of the modern worship revival with scripturally derived, vertically focused lyrics? The disappointment is that he has such a great testimony, yet it's only present in his music because of context—hearing him speak between songs in concert or learning about his story in interviews. These are incredibly generic songs of faith, popular because any Christian can relate to them. But instead of expressing
Take the title track as an example: "You're making me complete/You've given all these open doors/I'm humbled at your feet because of what You've done for me." Knowing the context with which this was written, it's clearly autobiographical praise for the last few years. But is it any different than what other Christian artists have said, or any of us, for that matter? On the prayerful but derivative "Breathe," he sings, "You lift me when I fall/You break down every wall/You feel my every need/I dedicate my all." There's similarly formulaic rhyming in "Letting Go," with a chorus that is simply, "Letting go of the things I hold so dear/Letting go of all my pain and all my fears." Surrender is also at the heart of "Lay Down My Pride," but again the words are so uninventive—"Every single word I say/You know it before I speak/You know every thought/The deepest part of me/You draw me closer than I see/Your presence is every thing I need to be/The child that you've created me to be."
There's something generic about the music too, which has been a little too often unfairly compared to Creed—Camp's baritone is not as loud or guttural as Scott Stapp, and the guitars don't come close to that band's hard rock and metal. This is more like Matchbox Twenty meets Three Doors Down, MercyMe with more of a rock edge, and Third Day without the classic Southern rock charm. To his credit, Camp stretches his voice more this time, launching into a Rob Thomas styled falsetto in some songs. The strings-coated rock ballad "This Man" is sure to be a hit single with its powerful image of the cross, and "My Desire" is an affecting worship anthem. But "Even Where" comes too close to mimicking the soaring ¾ time feel of "I Still Believe" and "Walk by Faith," and "Be the One" likewise borrows the same upbeat shuffle of "Right Here."
Not to say that