September 28, 1999.
I was about a month into my sophomore year of high school. The girls wore crop tops and chokers and the guys wore tracksuits and baggy jeans. The music we listened to was mixed; most gals were still into the Backstreet Boys, the farm kids listened to Tim McGraw, and the metalheads rocked to bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot. Whether they admitted it or not, the album and band that overlapped every teenager’s musical taste was “Human Clay” by Creed.
Since the post-grunge quartet emerged on the scene with their debut, “My Own Prison,” they were the band everyone loved to hate. The lyrics were spiritual, but not religious, the vocals were outstanding but sounded too much like certain grunge vocalists, and the music was heavy, but not heavy enough. To top it off, the band sold millions of albums and played arenas, making them an easy target for people who tried to look cool. But the fact is, everyone owned this album. It’s now nearing September 2024 and it’s time to cut the crap. The album is celebrating its 25th anniversary and we must look at “Human Clay” for the legendary album it is.
Listening to the remastered album brought back a lot of nostalgia as I have not listened to “Human Clay” in many years. I don’t feel the need to review every song on an album released two and a half decades ago, but I will offer some general feedback. Overall, the sound sounds much crisper. It seems like this new mix focuses more on the treble, which is great because you can hear Tremonti’s playing even better than the original. I’m a huge fan of Mark. I think he’s incredibly underrated and I love hearing how he picks so intricately. It also sounds like the emphasis on the treble brings out Scott Phillps’ snare and hi-hat a bit more. As I mentioned, this reissue’s sound quality is impressive and worth checking out. Some of the tracks have noticeable changes. Brian Marshall’s bass lines were emphasized on “With Arms Wide Open” and “Higher” was lengthed to add controlled guitar feedback. The remastering is well done.
If you purchase the deluxe album, you can enjoy the remastered version of the original release, bonus versions of “Human Clay” songs, bonus tracks, and live versions of the band’s 1999 set at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio. The first bonus track is “Young Grow Old.” This song was originally a bonus track from the European edition of the album. To be honest, I had never heard this song, nor did I even know it existed so I was happy to hear a new (to me) song. The other bonus tracks are “To Whom It May Concern,” which appeared on “The Scorpion King” soundtrack, and “Is This The End” which appeared on the “Scream 3” soundtrack. I was very familiar with “Roadhouse Blues” featuring Robbie Krieger because I used to own the Woodstock 99 compilation CD and always loved that song. Lastly is a remastered cover of “I’m Eighteen,” by Alice Cooper. To my knowledge, this song was only released on “The Faculty” soundtrack.
All in all, this remastered issue is one of the better re-releases I’ve heard from any band. If you factor in how successful Tremonti, Phillips, and Marshall have been in their other bands over the past twenty years, and forgive Stapp for some of his earlier rockstar antics, we should all be able to respect this band and appreciate “Human Clay” for the masterpiece it is. Not many bands can celebrate a Grammy win, three Grammy nominations, and an album that has gone 11x Platinum. This remastered version is a powerful reminder of Creed’s impact on rock music in general and the timeless quality of an album that resonates a quarter-century after its original release.
