Scott Stapp, front man for the Florida band Creed, sounds like Eddie Vedder, front man for the Seattle band Pearl Jam, reincarnated. Which would be fine except that Vedder isn't dead, so Stapp's vocal style comes across as a sort of ripoff. Still, Creed has its fans: the band's first album, My Own Prison, sold nearly 4 million copies. Its new CD, like Prison, features pile-driving hard rock and lyrics about spiritual longing. A few songs are agreeable in a middle-of-the-road sort of way. But that road is about as well traveled as I-95.
--By Christopher John Farley