Human Clay is the second studio album by American rock band Creed, released on September 28, 1999 through Wind-Up Records. This was the final album to feature Brian Marshall, who had left the band in 2000, until 2009's Full Circle. The album has sold over 11.5 million copies in the United States alone and over 20 million worldwide, making it the best selling album of Creed's career and one of the best-selling albums in the United States. At approximately 56 minutes long, it is the longest studio album by Creed.
Overview
Human Clay is the only Creed album without a title track. According to Mark Tremonti, the album cover represents a crossroad which every man finds himself at in his life and the man of clay represented "our actions, that what we are is up to us, that we lead our own path and make our own destiny." The title of the album comes from a lyric in "Say I" ("The dust has finally settled on the field of human clay"), a song which carries the same message. The album had three videos created for it: "Higher", "What If," and "With Arms Wide Open."
During the summer of 2000, bassist Brian Marshall began a spiral into alcoholism and addiction. While under the influence, Marshall threatened to beat up Tremonti, began missing band obligations, and attacking Stapp both verbally and online. The band had a meeting with management to discuss Marshall's future. Stapp and Tremonti supported Marshall going to rehab and attempted to talk Marshall into going, but at that point, Marshall was too far gone to recognize he needed help. Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot was initially contacted to "fill in" while Marshall went to rehab, but that never happened. Initially, the public thought Marshall was let go because he criticized Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder in a radio interview with KNDD in June 2000, claiming that Scott Stapp is a better songwriter, and criticized Pearl Jam's recent albums for "having songs without hooks." Stapp later distanced the rest of the band from Marshall's comments and stated, "Yes, we get tired of the PJ question, but there is no excuse for the arrogance and stupidity [of Marshall]. I ask you all not to judge Creed as a band, because the statements made were not the band's feelings, they were Brian's. I'm sorry if Brian offended anyone, and he has already apologized for his comments." Although it was reported Marshall left Creed "on friendly terms," he didn't. Tremonti and Stapp were concerned for Marshall and their collective friendships, but soon after the controversy, Marshall formed a new band called Grand Luxx with his old Mattox Creed band mates. Marshall was temporarily replaced by touring bassist Hestla. Stapp stated Marshall's leaving was his choice and was unrelated to the Pearl Jam comments. Mark Tremonti filled as the bassist on their third album, Weathered, while Brett Hestla became their touring bassist. However, the band has since reunited with Marshall.
Critical reception
Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 4 stars out of 5, concluding that "it may not be the kind of thing that knocks out critics or grunge purists, but it does deliver for anyone looking for direct, grunge-flavored hard rock."
Commercial performance
The album was the band's first to hit #1 in the U.S., where it debuted with first week sales of 315,000, and stayed on top for two weeks. Human Clay has been certified 11x platinum and Diamond by the RIAA, and is the 54th best-selling album of all time in the United States (as of February 2007). It ranks as the eighth best selling album in the U.S. since the advent of Nielsen SoundScan in 1991. It has also been certified 6 times platinum in Canada, 5 times in Australia and 7 times in New Zealand and 4 times in Switzerland among others, selling an estimated 20 million copies worldwide. The album has spent a record 104 weeks on the Billboard chart survey. As of October 2014, it has sold 11,690,000 copies in the United States alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Legacy
In 2001, the fourth single "With Arms Wide Open" won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. In 2005, Human Clay was ranked number 422 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. Human Clay was ranked #5 on Billboard's 200 Albums of the Decade in 2009. VH1 listed "Higher" as one of the greatest hard rock songs of all time in 2009. The music video for "With Arms Wide Open" was voted the 92nd best music video of all-time by VH1 who also ranked it #4 on its "25 Greatest Power Ballads" list.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Scott Stapp; all music composed by Mark Tremonti.
Personnel
- Scott Stapp - lead vocals
- Mark Tremonti - guitar, backing vocals
- Brian Marshall - bass
- Scott Phillips - drums
- Travis McGehee - Engineer, Mixing Assistant
Additional musicians
- John Kurzweg - B-3 organ on "Wrong Way"
- Kirk Kelsey - Mandolin on "Wrong Way"
Charts and certifications
Singles
See also
- List of best-selling albums in the United States