Search - Jeremy Camp :: Beyond Measure

Not his best, not by far

Trevor R. Raichura | Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan | 03/16/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Two things I loved about Jeremy Camp. (1) His lyrics were so "real", so easy to relate to, and so encouraging. Even challenging at times. (2) He had cool guitar parts. While not overly complicated, they were pleasant to listen to.



Beyond Measure is fairly bland, sad to say. The lyrics seem somewhat uninspired (sounds blasphemous, but let me explain), and the songs themselves are not very original. There are a few good tunes, but this one doesn't find its way to my CD player nearly as much as his previous releases.



About the lyrics: for the most part, they do not strike a chord with me the way his two other major releases (Stay and Restored) did. There are many platitudes about taking up one's cross, living a life of sacrifice, giving God control, and on and on. I know these are all good things, but I just don't "feel" his heart (or God's) in these songs. Maybe that will change in time. The worst song lyrically on the album is probably "Give You Glory" which throws out all the standard phrases. The best song is probably "I Am Nothing". Of course "Give Me Jesus" is awesome too, but it's a cover of a hymn so I can't credit him with lyrical genius here.



Of course it's Jeremy Camp, which means that fans of his music will likely gobble this one up too (as many already have, as evidenced by the reviews). But I guess maybe I am looking at this album critically. Which is good, because Christian artists need to be held to high standards, too! While his voice and songwriting don't come into question, his passion does. I recommend listening to audio clips before purchasing this one."

Disappointed

Acoustic Philosopher | Booneville, AR USA | 01/03/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"When Jeremy Camp came onto the CCM music scene with his stellar debut album "Stay", he was like a breath of fresh air to a stagnant industry. His sound was a good mix of crunchy rock songs and reflective ballads. What made that disc special was, moreso than the music, was the lyrics. Lyrics in songs such as "I Still Believe" and "Understand" almost had me convinced that someone in the CCM industry could in fact relate to the struggles I was having with my own faith as I moved away from the safety of youth group to the "real world" of college and work and making my faith my own. Sadly, both on Restored and now on Beyond Measure, the lyrics that folks who dare to ask the difficult questions of our faith can relate to are no longer present. I feel that Mr. Camp has resorted to cliches or Christian catch phrases (see the lead single "Tonight"), or the near-constant references to struggles with pride to the point of bordering on whining about it. The point is this, we as consumers need to start demanding something more of the artists in this industry: 1) because they fly under the banner of "Christianity" and as an artistic person in my own right I resent being painted with the same brush by the rest of humanity as many in this industry who produce bland, cliche-ridden music and 2) because God is creative, and I think we could stand to do a better job of reflecting His creative nature than the sort of music that's been on Mr. Camp's last 2 albums. This is not an attack on Jeremy Camp, nor his testimony, nor his theology. This is purely an art issue that is fueled by my own personal beliefs. I hope this helps some consumer to think through their purchase before financially feeding an industry that is in need of change."

An Okay Album From A Great Artist

Michael Harmon | davis california | 11/20/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album is okay. I'd say their are about 5 good songs on this album. The others seemed like filler or close to it. I knew this cd would be different from his earlier releases because he said it would be at the concert I went to. This album was mostly contemporary with a few rock and worship songs. Unless this album is a one time thing it looks like Camp is going contemporary to which it seems he's been moving to over the albums. Restored was not as rock as Stay, but close. The move from Restored to Beyond Measure is more apparent. If Camp wants to make this move however he has to come up with better songs though. The other big difference on this cd is his high notes. I think it works. I also think he doesnt need to hit those notes and Im surprised no one has commented on it. Track 1 Tonight is an amazing song to start off the album and it would have been nice to have more of that style. Camp seems to have a knack for start off songs (Understand and Restored are amazing) sadly the following 3 songs after Tonight didnt run the relay as in previous albums.I rarely skipped and tracks on his previous cds, sadly I will keep this cd only to burn 4 or 5 songs to a Camp mixed cd. Favorite songs: Tonight, Feels Like, When You Are Near, No matter What, Everything, and Give me Jesus. Those songs run the gambit of what makes Jeremy Camp great. They are songs that best showcase his rock, soft rock, contemporary, and worship influences."