Camp's debut lacks depth

Jeremy Camp is carrying on the broad tradition of his Christian-rock predecessors. Bands like Third Day and Audio Adrenaline have navigated this spiritual ocean for years, and they have done a much better job than Camp at avoiding religious clichés. The bottom line is that if you buy this album and listen to the first three tracks, you'll have heard all that Stay has to offer.\nIt may be a trend in popular Christian music -- it seems that if you can draw a crowd and claim religious insights, you'll have a hit record. The opening track on Stay is called "Understand," and by the end, it goes from a solid rocker to a lame, repetitive mess of incomprehensible lyrics. At one point Camp repeats several times, "Will you hear me when I call / Were you there when I call …," but at the beginning of the track he sings, "Every time I fall down on my face / I see the one who bore all my shame / You're my ever present help in time of need." It seems he's a bit confused about his own lyrics as well as the meaning of "ever present." Still, this will probably become Camp's first No. 1, which is shameful.\nThe lyrics digress further if you dare to listen to the full album. "One Day At A Time" perhaps features the worst lyrical chorus: "I have been shut up, shut down … I can feel your fullness in my life / I've been burnt out, broken, torn out, torn down … I can feel your fullness in my life." Am I the only one who thinks this makes no sense at all?\nCamp seems to mistakenly believe that stutter-speaking, trite, pseudo-religious content makes him a spiritual artist. What he's created here is weak, uninspiring and downright insulting to anyone who considers themselves a Christian musician. He has music that sounds all right in itself, but coupled with the terrible lyrics, this album is destined for the wastebin.