Louder Than The Music

Jeremy Camp - Live

Artist:

Jeremy Camp

Title:

Live

Type:

Album

Released:

17 Nov 2009

LTTM Rating:

Your Rating:

Review

Wow, big gig! I mean everything about this live album is huge. The crowd was enormous (apparently about 18,000) and they sound it - but are mixed perfectly to keep you aware of their presence while never detracting from the music. The sound of the band is very big: it sounds like there could have been twenty people on stage with the size of the production. The songs are big: Jeremy Camp's writing seems to have a sort of grandeur to it that I hadn't anticipated - as I listen to the album, I'm imagining a...
Read More Wow, big gig! I mean everything about this live album is huge. The crowd was enormous (apparently about 18,000) and they sound it - but are mixed perfectly to keep you aware of their presence while never detracting from the music. The sound of the band is very big: it sounds like there could have been twenty people on stage with the size of the production. The songs are big: Jeremy Camp's writing seems to have a sort of grandeur to it that I hadn't anticipated - as I listen to the album, I'm imagining a large arena, but this could comfortably be a stadium gig. Most of all, Camp's force is seriously hefty.

At first, I thought the voice was like a 'jock' on an American high school movie, but that would imply a mediocre, immature quality that would not be accurate. Instead, it sounds like, more than singing from the roof of the back of his mouth, Camp manages to reach about six inches behind him, grabbing the words and throwing them - kicking and screaming - at the mic. I like this, but I tried it and nearly asphyxiated myself. I assume there's a special method.

Camp's voice is the major seller on this record and, considering he's a solo artist, that's hardly a surprise. The sheer size of this tool could easily prove to dominate the whole thing, like a giant articulated lorry, driving too fast on a small road. Camp seems to have a great, deft ability here though. On Take You Back, the big voice is used in a great way to delicately dance across the picked acoustic guitar. This was a very impressive aspect of the album for me.

It is Camp's use of his voice that also lends his music integrity. It is a constant source of irritation to me that so many Christian singers seem to lack the ability to connect with a song. It seems that there are endless artists who can't weigh the emotional depths of a song as they sing. But Camp manages to avoid this perfectly - rendering lyrics like those in There Will Be A Day in an honest way, full of sentiment, but avoiding sentimentality. Well, until the needless choir joins in anyway...

In some ways, it is a surprise that Camp proves so clearly in touch with the songs, because while his voice is great, his lyric writing seems a touch clich�d. He conjures numerous ways of portraying the gospel (his seems to be quite an evangelistic style), but so many of these seem to carry the same style or phrases as endless other Christian artists. There are certainly glimpses of genius there - particularly when he explores suffering - but they can be so easily drowned by another lyric about 'raising this generation' or similar.

Overall, this is a great collection of songs that range through rocky moments and more intimate times. They are sung by a great singer and played by a great, very tight and imaginative band (by the way - is it me or does the lead guitar part near the start of Speaking Louder Than Before sound remarkably like a speeded up version of Stu G on Delirious?'s Rain Down - excellent move). The length feels a bit excessive to me, not helped by Camp's small sermon in the middle (it encompasses the whole of track 8 and can be skipped) and I lost interest near the end of the album. But I'm certainly sold on this guy and will be playing this for a while to come.

Review by Jon Piper

LTTM Rating 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
There Will Be A Day
Take You Back
Tonight

Articles

News

Jeremy Camp To Release New Live CD

Jeremy Camp will release a new live album titled 'Jeremy Camp Live' on 17th November. The 14 songs included on the album were recorded in Dallas and Los Angeles during Spring 2009. The recording captures some of the biggest hits…