A screed on Creed

Also from yesterday's New York Times, a lengthy interview with Scott Stapp as Creed get back together for the mo... oh, apparently not for the money:

All of which makes Creed’s reunion — which includes a United States tour that wraps up on Tuesday and a new album, “Full Circle” (Wind-Up), due on Oct. 27 — more than the usual sentimental, cash-generating victory lap. It’s an attempt at rehabilitation.

“I’m asking all those who’ve become disenchanted with the band because of me to allow me to reintroduce myself and, with the other guys, show who we really are,” Mr. Stapp said.

Stapp seems convinced that Creed were a bit more important than bystanders might have considered them:

He admitted that he had grown cocky and defensive back then, but he also pointed out that Creed was an easy target: “We were the biggest band in the United States.”

Thank goodness he got the cockiness out of his system, otherwise he might well be making elaborate claims for his band's greatness that aren't quite borne out by the facts.

But let's not criticise, shall we? Stapp takes it to heart:

The album’s producer, John Kurzweg, who also produced the first three Creed albums, described the sessions as a “mess.” Years of withering criticism had battered Mr. Stapp’s self-confidence.

“If he read a review, I’d be like, ‘Look, you’ve got a fan base. Why worry what these people are saying?’ ” Mr. Kurzweg recalled in a phone interview. “But he took it very seriously, and that had an effect on everything, including his writing.”

There is, surely, a possibility that the criticism stung not because it was unfair, but because it was spot-on? The story the Times runs with - a man struggling to cope with fame and doubt about his talent - is interesting; the one it ignores - a man who knows he's selling snake-oil - is far more fascinating.

And if Stapp has got the gang back together not because of his weak solo career, but because he really wants to try and prove that Creed was something more than a rock act whose popularity was built on a parent-pleasing Christian message, how would that be going now?

According to the concert industry publication Pollstar, Creed has been playing to roughly half-full amphitheaters and grossing nearly 60 percent less money per night than on its 2002 tour

You might conclude - once its fan base no longer has to make purchases while on shopping trips with mum and dad, and can buy records without having to say "it's alright, it's about Jesus" - there's not much left for Creed at all.