Scott Stapp, The Great Divide

(Albums the World Forgot #1, 2010)


Scott Stapp, The Great Divide (2005, Wind-up records)

History, they say, is written by the winners, and this is no less true in the world of popular music. Albums by million-selling artists like Michael Jackson and U2 stick in the popular consciousness like thorns, while others who aren't so lucky are tossed away like yesterday's newspaper. But why are some albums idolised while others are relegated to clearance bins, second-hand record sales or abandoned in the street? Why are some truly pioneering, meaningful records forgotten, while the Radioheads of this world are heaped with undeserved critical praise? I have taken it upon myself to undo this great injustice and take a look at these ignored gems: the albums the world forgot.

No album embodies the fickle nature of public taste more than Scott Stapp's lone solo album The Great Divide, a daring work from a much-loved artist that was perhaps too complex for its own good. The title alone has multiple interpretations: is it a reference to the shocking break-up of Stapp’s former band (seminal hard-rock act Creed), or the divide between this earthly world and the next? Could it even be alluding to the metaphorical distance between the performer and his audience? Clearly, this is a multi-layered work.

Freed from the constraints of his former band, The Great Divide is the perfect medium for Stapp’s undeniably charismatic vocal style. Stapp is in fine form throughout, his powerful delivery perfecting the uneven angst of early grunge artist Kurt Cobain. "This is my fight song!" he declares on aggressive rocker Fight Song, and you can’t help but believe that it’s true. There are lighter moments to be found on the album too: "Keep hoping and dreaming and you… will soar!" he sings on moving ballad You Will Soar. One could almost imagine that Stapp is singing to himself, convincing himself that yes, he can make it without his talented former band-mates.

Ultimately, though, it seems that ‘the great divide’ was one between Stapp's unconventional vision and the public's expectations. Creed fans were not prepared for Stapp's confrontational style and The Great Divide was left to languish in The Warehouse's bargain bin, “priced to clear” at $2.97. "Do you know what it feels like to be broken and used?" Stapp sings on album closer Broken. No, Scott, but I imagine that it doesn’t feel so great.