Speaking Louder than Before is not Jeremy Camp's best 'day'
Posted November 26, 2008
By Nathan,
Ever since Stay came out in 2002 Jeremy camp has been regarded as one of the top Christian artists as Camp has even received back-to-back Dove awards Male Vocalist. So it should come as no surprise that Speaking Louder than Before be among the year’s most anticipated releases as Jeremy Camp continues his worship/rock blend that appeals to a verity of listeners.
Jeremy Camp has a wonderful talent, similar to tobyMac, in the way that he can sparkle in many ways. Camp’s vocals are impressive as always especially on “capture me” where they sound passionate. The only problem with the song is the riffs and the light tune create a rough mix that could have been fixed by either speeding up the tune or slowing it down. Alas if minor problems like those were the only problems on the album Speaking Louder than Before would have been a hit. As it stands the first song “slow down time” which is an upbeat light rock tune is very underwhelming like “I know who I am” which is not notable except for the bells after the chorus. The praise and worship song, “my fortress” is rather basic and undemanding along with “you will be there” which has some aggressive vocals by Camp along with it’s inspirational tune but it’s very average.
Also counteracting the worship and light rock adult contemporary songs both on his albums and the radio charts have been Camps often electric rock songs. Speaking Louder than Before is no different, however his latest rock efforts fall short when compared to “breathe”, “Lay down my Pride”, “tonight”, “take my life”. The title track is upbeat, and the tune moves into very up tempo medium rock/pop, leaving it too light to be considered a real rock song and too fast to appeal to hard core praise and worship fans. Although “I’m alive” is an intense rock tune it feels like the song was forced into being a rock song instead of letting it flow. The result is a so-so song with a dreadful bridge that has absolutely no place in the song. The same forced feeling shows up again on “give you all control” which just doesn’t have enough drive to make it a smooth hard song even with its riffs and Jeremy’s attempt to make the song with his vocals.
The first hit single “there will be a day” is tremendous with the way the soft emotional music meets Jeremy’s voice and is probably the strongest track on that album. While some songs unfortunately lacked the fire that had been consistent with previous Jeremy Camp albums, one song that is flowing with it is “healing hand of God”. The hooks and riffs really shine on a pretty heavy ballad that makes it one of the memorable tracks. Musically the album doesn’t end on a terrific note but there were not very complaints made on the emotionally charged finally of Beyond Measure (“give me Jesus). The theme is continued with “surrender”, a simple ballad that ends up being a nice way to end the album.
The lyrics are definitely one of the biggest acts for Jeremy Camp because songs like “this man”, “take you back”, and “stay” didn’t become big hits just because they sounded good. The title track sets the tone for the message of the album with its call to believers to reach out with our light (‘Let's show them the love that we've received now’) and it’s followed perfectly by “there will be a day” which reflects on heaven at the end of the believers mission on earth. Sacrifice and redemption have always been common themes for Camp; the former is displayed on “surrender” and “give you all control” while the latter “I’m alive” contemplates the change in the singers life (‘I’m alive I’m alive like i’ve never been/Been revived from the lies that were deep within’). The Biblical “fortress” is a sound song while “I know who I am” briefly compares God to man in a battle that is over as we ‘fall down’ before him.
However there are moments on Speaking Louder than Before where Camps lyrics sound rather basic and shallow. The title of “Slow down time” doesn’t really fit with the chorus well and while the lyrics (‘the fullness of your glory is beyond my comprehension, there’s no greater joy than being with you my king’) are true that doesn’t change the simplicity of them. There isn’t much which reflects maturity in the song writing on “So in love” except that the song is realistic with ‘I’ll always try to bring I’ll try to bring you everything’ (note the ‘try’ part). “Capture me” rates a little above your run-of-the-mill praise and worship track, and “you will be there” isn’t all that complex.
Overall Speaking Louder than before is a solid album; a few rock tunes, several inspirational songs and many worship songs with dependable lyrics. However fans who was enjoyed Jeremy Camp for his rock song may be listening to older songs instead of the forced hard tunes. And with the exception of “There will be a day” little is absolutely jaw dropping leaving Speaking Louder than Before a great pick for fans.
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