Human Clay
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''Human Clay'' is the second studio album by American rock band
Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
, released on September 28, 1999, through
Wind-up Records Wind-up Entertainment was an American independent record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling artists worldwide were Creed and Evanescence ...
. Produced by
John Kurzweg John Kurzweg (born September 5, 1960) is an American record producer and musician who first became known for his work with successful post-grunge bands Creed and Puddle of Mudd in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Other artists he has worked with ...
, it was the band's last album to feature
Brian Marshall Brian Aubrey Marshall (born April 24, 1973) is an American musician and songwriter best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. Early life Brian Aubrey Marshall was born April 24, 1973, in Jackson, Missi ...
, who left the band in August 2000, until 2009's '' Full Circle''. The album earned mixed to positive reviews from critics and was a massive commercial success, peaking at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and staying there for two weeks. The album spawned two singles that peaked in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: " Higher", which peaked at number 7, and "
With Arms Wide Open "With Arms Wide Open" is a song by American rock band Creed. It was released on April 18, 2000, as the third single from their second studio album, ''Human Clay''. The song reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 2000, b ...
", their only number one single. The album sold over 11.5 million copies in the US 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.


Overview

''Human Clay'' is the only Creed album to not have a title track. The album had three music videos created for it: " Higher" and "
What If What If may refer to: Film * ''What If'', a 2006 TV film starring Niall Buggy * ''What If...'' (2010 film), an American film * ''What If...'' (2012 film), a Greek film * ''What If'' (2013 film) or ''The F Word'', a Canadian-Irish film Telev ...
" in 1999, and "
With Arms Wide Open "With Arms Wide Open" is a song by American rock band Creed. It was released on April 18, 2000, as the third single from their second studio album, ''Human Clay''. The song reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 2000, b ...
" in 2000. During the summer of 2000, bassist Brian Marshall began a spiral into alcoholism and addiction. While under the influence, Marshall threatened to beat up guitarist
Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
, 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 Virgos Merlot was an American hard rock band formed in 1998. Prior to the formation of Virgos Merlot, many of the band members were in the group The Devine, which later disbanded. After formation, their first album, '' Signs of a Vacant Soul'', ...
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 Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
frontman
Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
in a radio interview with
KNDD KNDD (107.7 FM, "107-7 The End") is a commercial radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs an alternative rock radio format. Its studios are located on Fifth Avenue in Downtown Seattle. The station broadcast ...
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 f 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 bandmates. Marshall was temporarily replaced by touring bassist Brett 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 ''Weathered'' is the third studio album by American rock band Creed, released on November 20, 2001. It was the last Creed album to be released until '' Full Circle'' came out in October 2009, with Creed disbanding in June 2004. It is the only Cr ...
'', while Brett Hestla became their touring bassist. Marshall later reunited with the band in 2009.


Title and artwork

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 cover artwork was designed by Mark Tremonti's brother Daniel, who had previously done the artwork and photography for ''
My Own Prison ''My Own Prison'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Creed, released in 1997. The album was released independently by the band's record label Blue Collar Records on June 24, 1997, but then was released by Wind-up Records on August 2 ...
''. 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."


Release and reception


Commercial performance

The album was the band's first to hit number one in the US, where it debuted with first week sales of 315,000, and stayed on top for two weeks. ''Human Clay'' has been certified 11×
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
and
Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, and is the 54th best-selling album of all time in the United States (as of February 2007). It ranks as the tenth best selling album in the U.S. since the advent of Nielsen SoundScan in 1991, and the ninth best-selling album in the U.S. in the 2000s. It has also been certified 6 times platinum in Canada, 5 times in Australia, 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.


Critical reception

The album received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
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."


Legacy

The album's third single, "With Arms Wide Open", won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best Rock Song in 2001. At the 28th Annual American Music Awards, ''Human Clay'' won the
American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album The American Music Award for Favorite Album – Pop/Rock has been awarded since 1974. Years reflect the year in which the awards were presented, for works released in the previous year (until 2003 onward when awards were handed out on November of t ...
. At the 2002 ''Billboard Music Awards'', the album won the award for Catalog Album of the Year. ''Human Clay'' was ranked number 422 in ''
Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...
'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time'' in 2005. ''Human Clay'' was ranked number 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 number 4 on its "25 Greatest Power Ballads" list.


Track listing


Original release


Deluxe edition


Personnel

Creed *
Scott Stapp Scott Stapp (born Anthony Scott Flippen, August 8, 1973) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed. He has also fronted the band Art of Anarchy and has released three solo albums: '' The Great D ...
– lead vocals *
Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
– guitar, backing vocals *
Brian Marshall Brian Aubrey Marshall (born April 24, 1973) is an American musician and songwriter best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. Early life Brian Aubrey Marshall was born April 24, 1973, in Jackson, Missi ...
– bass * Scott Phillips – drums Additional musicians * John Kurzweg – B-3 organ on "Wrong Way" * Kirk Kelsey – Mandolin on "Wrong Way" Technical personnel * Jeff Hanson – executive producer, management at Jeff Hanson Management & Promotions * John Kurzweg – production, engineering, mixing * Kirk Kelsey – mixing assistant, mixing on "Wrong Way" * Barrett Miller, Mark Kiczula, Steve Bearsley – assistant mix engineering * Dana Cornock – digital editing *
Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...
– mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City * Joel Mark – A&R * Daniel Tremonti (Three Mountain Design) – art direction, design, cover, additional photography * Sacha Waldman – cover photography, additional photography * J. Seward Johnson Jr. – "Crack the Whip" artwork


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Appearances

*The song "Wrong Way" was featured on the
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the film ''End of Days'' in 1999. *The song "What If" was featured in both the movie and on the official soundtrack for ''
Scream 3 ''Scream 3'' is a 2000 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy ...
'' in 2000, while the song "Is This the End?" was only included on the album. *The song "Higher" was featured in the films ''The Skulls'' in 2000, '' 22 Jump Street'' in 2014 and ''
The Beach Bum ''The Beach Bum'' is a 2019 American stoner comedy film written and directed by Harmony Korine and starring Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Jimmy Buffett, with Zac Efron, Martin Lawrence, and Jonah Hill. The plot follows the ad ...
'' in 2019, in trailers for the movie ''
Titan A.E. ''Titan A.E.'' is a 2000 American animated science fiction film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, and starring Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, John Leguizamo, Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo and Drew Barrymore. Its title refers to the spacecraft ...
'' in 2000, and as downloadable content for the video games ''
Rocksmith 2014 ''Rocksmith 2014'' is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 game ''Rocksmith'', but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plug ...
'' in 2014 and '' Rock Band 2'' in 2018. *The song "Young Grow Old" was featured on the album ''
WWF Forceable Entry ''WWF Forceable Entry'' is a soundtrack album by WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation, or WWF). Released on March 26, 2002 by Columbia Records, it features entrance music of WWE wrestlers re-recorded by various hard rock and heavy m ...
'' in 2002. *The song "To Whom It May Concern" was featured on the soundtrack to the film ''
The Scorpion King ''The Scorpion King'' is a 2002 American sword and sorcery action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov and Michael Clarke Duncan. It is both a prequel and spin-off of ''The ...
'' in 2002. *The song "Are You Ready?" was featured on the albums '' NASCAR: Full Throttle'' in 2001 and ''Harley-Davidson: Ride'' in 2005. *The song "With Arms Wide Open" was featured in the movie ''Dark Waters'' in 2019; it was also included as downloadable content for the video games ''Rocksmith 2014'' in 2014 and ''
Rock Band 4 ''Rock Band 4'' is a 2015 music video game developed and published by Harmonix. ''Rock Band 4'' allows players to simulate the playing of music across many different decades and genres using instrument controllers that mimic playing lead and bas ...
'' in 2020.


See also

*
List of best-selling albums in the United States This is a list of the best-selling albums in the United States based on RIAA certification and Nielsen SoundScan sales tracking. The criteria are that the album must have been published (including self-publishing by the artist), and the album mus ...


References

{{Authority control Creed (band) albums 1999 albums Wind-up Records albums