Reviewed by Tony Cummings

As lead singer of one of the best selling rock bands of modern times the Creed frontman was always likely to receive the disdain of the cooler-than-cool hipster critics particularly when Creed's output was as unremittingly radio-friendly as it was. So it's not entirely surprising that critics have also rubbished his first solo album, 2005's 'The Great Divide', and this one. The truth is that 'Proof Of Life' proves that Stapp still has a great pop rock voice and, since his re-emergence from the excess of sex, drugs and alcohol years which almost devoured him, it is a much more thoughtful and thought-provoking songwriter who has emerged. The album opens with some Creed-style rockers like "Slow Suicide" and "Who I Am" before getting to the standout title track. Clearly Scott's own experiences and mistakes, chronicled so bravely in his autobiography Sinner's Creed, have inspired this stirring song. Scott sings, "No excuses for your sickness/It's your choices that got you here/Are you caught in the headlight standing still?/Don't you wish you could run away/Have you lost your desire for someone to come and save you?/I will give everything to justify the reason I'm alive." Equally powerful is "Only One" which over an enticing rhythm points to "the one reaching out to you" while "Jesus Was A Rock Star" after listing the Lord's miraculous doings contains the telling hook "He was your party that you'd been looking for/Maybe, just maybe, Jesus was a rock star." All in all, 'Proof Of Life' is a solid pop rock album. . .regardless of what the hipsters say.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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