Disco de Creed: “Greatest Hits [Digipak]”

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 loved Creed when they first came out and so to find all my greatest hits on one album was a great day for me. This album rocked and now it's forever saved on my ipod where I get to listen to it anytime I want. This is a great album and you will enjoy all the songs, I know I did and still do.

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.

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 *****

Creed were the bridge between the sound of Pearl Jam/STP and the spiritual aims of U2. Scott Stapp played the tortured artist to the hilt on "My Own Prison" and millions of anguished young adults that could identify with Stapps' repression flocked to his charismatic vocal style and live performances. To paraphrase our president, Creed wanted to be uniters, not dividers. The universal message of "One" brought that sentiment home, to the tune of 11 million copies sold of the debut.

The success led to high expectations for "Human Clay," and the call to arms of "Higher" was exactly what most fans probably were looking for. Stapp enticed his followers to join him on his journey and guitarist Mark Tremonti supplied the heroics. There was also the broadening of the world view, via Stapp becoming a father. "With Arms Wide Open" is a beautiful song, both deeply personal and universally themed. Creed was also branching out, providing the "Scream 3" movie use of "What If" as part of the soundtrack (missing from this CD, the cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm 18").

For the next album, Creed had become more world weary and defiant, making "Bullets" their hardest rocking song to that point. "Weathered" took on a tougher stance, but also maintained the band's strongest points in anthems like "My Sacrifice." As "With Arms Wide Open" pointed out before, there's nothing like a newborn to bring out the emotional heart in any songwriter, and "Don't Stop Dancing" followed in that vein.

Creed may have only held together for 3 albums, but they made solid records. The 13 songs here pull the most essential of the band's singles into one disc, and if you aren't already among the millions of listeners that bought the albums, this is as good a collection as you will likely find.

The Bonus DVD is, unfortunately, not a recommendable addition. While a few of the videos are above average (Scott and the band as video heroes in "Bullets" and racing around with David Arquette on the set of "Scream 3" - "What If" - are my two favorites), the DVD is poorly thought out. There is no way to hit a "play all" feature, which means you can only play one song at a time, and the menu is difficult to negotiate. And like with most promo videos, cliches abound. There are only so many times you can watch Scott Stapp strike a Jesus Christ pose, as charismatic a performer as he may be. Also, what's up with the editing of the word "God" from "What's This Life For"? You either said it or you didn't....for a band that spent most of its time encouraging conviction, dropping an objectionable phrase seems out of character.

Be that as it may, I still recommend this collection. Creed were one of the few bands in the late 90's that took back rock from that clones.