Jeremy Camp

Imagine if you will, a jam session with Coldplay, Five Iron Frenzy, Michael W. Smith, The Benjamin Gate and Jeremy Camp. And out of this session, a new album is born. Speaking Louder Than Before is that album. And with such disparate influences, it lacks a much-needed cohesiveness. The album swings randomly between excellent, instantly catchy songs and easily forgettable ones. Speaking focuses on sharing God with the world around us, choosing to zero in on his grace, peace and redemption. While every one of these is vital to us, the unevenness of the album is so entirely distracting that the message can easily be lost.

The album opens with “Slow Down Time,” an ironically-titled song layered over a fast, driving beat. It is an odd beginning to an album, but the following song quickly redeems it. “Capture Me” is classic Jeremy Camp, a worship anthem celebrating the beauty of God’s redemption. Unfortunately, this song is a brief shining moment on the album,

Musically, “Speaking Louder Than Before,” is one of the stronger songs on the album, but the lyrics leave something to be desired. “We are the light to reach this world / We are the salt preserving these souls / Let’s show them the love we’ve received now… We are speaking louder than before.” While the goal of serving and loving the people around us is absolutely necessary, how much difference will it make if we merely speak louder? Words spoken louder aren’t different, merely louder. What would happen if we shared our hearts and spoke the words people needed to hear? What if instead of just repeating the same words that didn’t work before, we served and loved those around us, showing God’s heart to them? The heart behind the song gets lost in these questions, unfortunately.

Jeremy Camp launches into full Michael W. Smith-in-a-stadium mode with “There Will Be a Day, a strong ballad that highlights Camp’s excellent vocals. But the full choir backing him in the chorus is distracting, and doesn’t seem to fit in with his musical direction. But keep an ear out for this one to show up in church services across the country – it will be making an appearance soon! He also takes a new musical direction on “Fortress,” pulling in gospel influences for a new adventure. This gospel avenue is a direction that Camp could easily go in on future albums, a surprising turn for someone who’s made a career of hard-hitting rock anthems. But he pulls it off wonderfully.

“You Will Be There,” a Coldplay-esque song, poetically searches for God, and finds Him everywhere. Jeremy Camp’s voice has never sounded as fresh and vulnerable as it does here. The song unfolds into a loud celebration, complete with electric guitars, strings, drums and joy. It’s a beautiful point in the album. This is the kind of joy we want to share with the world around us, and it is captured perfectly. Camp’s wife, Adie, (formerly of The Benjamin Gate) also makes an always welcome appearance on two songs, “Healing Hand of God,” and “Surrender,” adding her distinctive voice to the mix. Both songs are quieter, more introspective numbers that find the Camps in awe of God’s hand in their lives, celebrating what He’s done for them.

Overall, Speaking Louder Than Before is a mishmash of some excellent songs with some that could easily be set aside. It was disappointing to see, as Jeremy Camp is such a talented artist. Cliches abound on many of the songs, but are entirely absent from a choice few. It would be wonderful to see him follow the direction set out songs like “You Will Be There” and “Capture Me” on future albums. We will wait and see.

Tagged as: Jeremy Camp, Speaking Louder Than Before

↓ 4 comments

#1 Stuart Lowe on November 24th, 2008 at 1:09 pm

Not what i was expecting from such a high calibur artist such as Jeremy Camp. Still, i’ll see what i prefer. As long as theres six standout tracks on the album then i’m in.

Great review Lynn! Can’t wait to see more from you.

#2 John Wofford on November 24th, 2008 at 7:26 pm

Fantastic review, Lynn! We need more great work like this. Keep up the standard.

#3 Lynn Renee Maxcy on November 26th, 2008 at 8:31 am

Thanks, guys!

#4 Andrew Greenhalgh on November 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm

I’ve been wanting to jump in here all week and sign off my agreement on this review, Lynn. You pretty much hit this one spot on. I like Jeremy Camp and the potential that he consistently reminds me that he has yet, since “Stay,” he just doesn’t seem to have found that keen niche for himself. Yet, through it all, he’s clearly talented as well.

Nice job all around…

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