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Whilst Europe and the UK never quite gave Creed the success they would taste at home, it has to be said that between the years of 1997 and 2002 Creed were one of the biggest rock bands releasing albums and touring in the US. Having gone through a very public split after the 2002 tour to support the previous year's "Weathered" album, it was a bit of a surprise when rumours started to surface that Mark Tremonti (guitars), Brain Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums) were putting their successful post Creed band Altered Bridge on hold to get back with their former band mate and vocalist Scott Stapp to record a new album "Full Circle". That album picked up where Weathered left off landing at number 2 on the Billboard Chart and the subsequent reformation tour of the States also sold at a terrific rate. "Creed Live" is the band's first live DVD release and documents the Houston date of the tour in front of 18,000 enthusiastic fans. The venue itself, The Wodlands-Cynthia Woods Pavillion, comes across extremely well on film and with the phenomenal direction of Daniel L. Catullo III, who's previous credits include Rush, Nickleback and Smashing Pumpkins, this is genuinely a visual feast. Musically it's hard to pick fault either, all four members of the band give excellent performances and whilst they are not the most eye catching on stage, the pyro and fantastic huge screens are used well throughout the show to keep the interest levels up. More importantly the excellent camera work, there was a record amount of cameras used to film the show, and swift shot changes make this a dynamic watch. Personally I'm not really a fan of Stapp's very low register vocals, however it's impossible not to be impressed with his delivery, as it's easy to see he's putting everything he can into every word. His shirt is drenched with sweat almost from the off and when he tells the audience about the journey that brought the band back together he is genuinely moved by their response. The only real complaint I have regarding the quality of the DVD is that on the few occasions second guitarist Eric Friedman, who was brought into the band especially to help them out on this tour, gets to take centre stage his guitar, whether it be electric, acoustic, or mandolin is very, very low in the mix. So much so that when Friedman and Tremonti are trading licks during a solo, I went back to the main men to check my audio settings, however whichever one I chose, and I tried them all, I was left cupping my ears to hear what looked like some tasty guitar work from Friedman and then I was blown away by the volume of Tremonti's playing. Especially considering that the rest of the sound is spot on and like the recent Rolling Stones live show, the on camera instrument seems to be higher in the mix, I found this odd and off putting. Set wise there's everything a Creed fan could hope for, the favourites "Higher", "My Sacrifice", "With My Arms Wide Open", and "Bullets", are all present and correct and it's also good to see that new tracks from the "Full Circle" album are also included with "Overcome" and "A Thousand Faces" both fitting into the set well and being received by the audience as future classics. The extras on the disc are pretty standard fare, although the behind the scenes documentary of the making of the DVD is more interesting and insightful than many I've watched, even if it could be a little longer. Also included are the music video for single "Overcome" and a high quality photo gallery. If you are already a Creed fan then this DVD is a must and for those like myself who had not really bought into the band before there is much to admire and it serves as an excellent introduction to them. |
