By Monk
They say that what goes around comes around, and it could be argued that Scott Stapp’s career most certainly has come full circle, from sitting on top of the world with Creed, notching up chart-topping hit after chart-topping hit, before sinking to the depths of despair and virtual anonymity, watching his former bandmates go from strength to strength while he tried to pull himself out of the gutter and rebuild his former career, until finding himself in the situation he is today – once again energizing his ‘Higher Power’… a declarative album that sees him reinvigorated and rejuvenated and, yes, quite possibly at the height of his powers.
It’s title reflecting the long struggle which Stapp experienced since his ignominious dismissal from the band he founded and undoubtedly placed firmly in the rock ‘n’ roll spotlight due both to his distinctive vocal style and his innate visual charisma, ‘Higher Power’ is an album which epitomizes the inner strength of the determined individual to overcome, through the rediscovery of their true self. It is also a roadmap of his return to the deep faith which has helped him tread that path back to self-rediscovery through a powerfully emotive collection of ten impactful and impassioned songs that both come from the heart and soul and delve deep into the same, both in terms of the artist and his audience.
Now, if you’re expecting Stapp to simply rehash Creed standards such as ‘My Sacrifice’ or ‘With Arms Wide Open’, at least in stylistic terms, then you had better look to his aforesaid former bandmates in that regard. Yes, his distinctive vocals are still very much to the forefront, and obviously so, but this is the sound of an artist cognizant of his background, his legacy, extrapolating on it and bringing it forward to match his current situation.
Yes, Stapp still has his trademark introspective and observational lyrical style, looking deep within himself and at the world around him in equal measure, but there is a completely different dynamic going on here, one which delivers a sense of optimism and humility as opposed to the sense of almost decrepit deprecation his former band displayed before deciding the singer’s personal problems were too much to handle.
The singer’s sense of joyous self-retribution is clearly evinced throughout, even if ironically so on the likes of ‘Deadman’s Trigger’, with the likes of ‘What I Deserve’, the stunning duet ‘If These Walls Could Talk’, the acidic ‘Black Butterfly’ (which ironically echoes Alter Bridge’s ‘Blackbird’ in some of its phraseology), the laconically reflective ‘You’re Not Alone’ and the ebullient, empowering ‘Dancing In The Rain’ all reaching deep into the depths that the singer explores with languid yet enervating craftsmanship.
It may have taken Stapp half a lifetime to get this point, to both capture and release the ‘Higher Power’ within and without him, but the road to self-discovery is a long and troublesome one and Scott may finally be nearing its end, producing a possibly career-defining album along the way.
- ‘Higher Power‘ is released tomorrow (Friday 15 March).
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