Jeremy Thomas Camp was born on January 12, 1978 in
Lafayette, Indiana. He is a pastor’s
kid. RESTORED was his third major label
release (2004, BEC). It was nominated
for a Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year.
‘Restored’ is one of ten tracks that Jeremy wrote alone and
one of three on which his wife Adrienne sings background vocals. On this title track, Jeremy testifies: “And I
feel it/My heart is being mended by Your touch/And I hear it/Your voice that’s
shown my purpose in this world/You have restored me from my feeble and broken
soul/You have restored me”. ‘Take You
Back’ was the album’s first radio single and was a #1 hit. It is an adult contemporary ballad that
speaks of God’s faithfulness to us: “When I fall I bring Your Name down/But I
have found in You a heart that bleeds forgiveness/Replacing all these thoughts
of painful memories/But I know Your response will always be/I’ll take you back
always/Even when the fight is over now (2X)/I’ll take you back always/Even when
the pain is coming through (2X)/ I’ll take you back”.
‘Even When’ features strings arranged and conducted by
Brandon Roberts and is another testimonial: “You took this fading heart and
softened every part/I’ll rest in light of what You’ve promised to me/Even when
I wrote my life away, You still receive me (2X)”. Camp co-wrote ‘Lay Down My Pride’ with
Jean-Luc Lajoie of Canadian band The Kry.
It was nominated for ‘Rock Recorded Song of the Year’ at the Dove
Awards. Aaron Sprinkle plays electric
guitar on this song about submitting to Jesus Christ: “The cross, the blood You
shed for me/Your back was ripped and bruised so I can know Your love/I kneel, I
bow to You my King/I lay down my pride, my desires, my demise/I’m ready now to
see it Your way/I’m done, I’m through ignoring You/Now it’s true/I’m kneeling
at the cross of Your grace/Lay down my pride”.
‘My Desire’ is a song that offers one’s life completely to
Christ: “All my life I have seen where You’ve taken me/Beyond all I have hoped
and there’s more left unseen/There’s not much I can do to repay all You’ve
done/So I give my hands to use/This is my desire, this is my return/This is my
desire to be used by You”. Zach Hodges
plays piano on ‘Be the One’, a song about waiting for God’s timing: “And all
these dreams I’ve made/I take them all and lay them down in light of reasons I
have found now/And I can rest in knowing You will open every door instead of
forcing my own world now/I’d rather wait on You/You’ll be the One to call me
out/I have found that it’s the only way/You’ll be the One to call me out/I have
found that it’s the only way”.
Andy Dodd plays electric guitar on the adult rock song
‘Everytime’. It confirms God is always
ready to help us: “Everytime I’m on my knees pleading for Your strength/I will
find You there, find You there/Everytime I’m on my knees reaching for Your
strength/I will find You there, find You there”. ‘Letting Go’ is about full commitment to
Christ: “I have been brought to a place/Where I want to give up everything/Where
all I can do is seek Your face/And my brokenness I will bring/Letting go of the
things I hold so dear/Letting go of all my pain and all my fears/Letting go of
the things I hold so dear/Letting go of all my pain and all my fears”.
‘Breathe’ is a good rock song co-written with Adam
Watts. It contains these words we would
all do well to utter: “I won’t hesitate to call when I’m empty from within and
I know the only source of life are the very words You give/You formed me before
I was known and I was made Your own now/Breathe in me/Breathe the breath of
life/It’s more than I can see/Breathe in me/Breathe the breath of life/It’s
more than I can see”. ‘This Man’ is a
lovely adult contemporary ballad and was a #1 hit. It is certainly thought provoking: “The blood
and water flowed/And in it all He showed just how much He cared.../Would you
take the place of this Man?/Would you take the nails from His hands?”
‘Innocence’ finds Jeremy conversing with the Lord: “Lord, I
feel You drawing my heart into Your love/I can hear Your Voice is pleading/I
can see You molding the shape of purity/I am what You’ve laid before me/Here my
soul is yielding/As I fall down/I give all these weak hands have forsaken/As I
fall down before You I know I’ve been broken”.
Cameron Stone plays cello and Nic Rodriguez bass on the adult
contemporary ballad ‘Nothing Else I Need’, which speaks of how God truly meets
our needs: “When I think of all I’ve seen/Nothing compares to what You give/And
to drink of what You bring/You quench the thirst for me to live/I am satisfied
by what tenderness You’ve shown to me/And I empty all that I am/And You fill my
life/You’re everything to me”.
The lyrical theme of RESTORED is that of completely
surrendering one’s life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, this is a noble goal, which one
can spend a lifetime pursuing. This is
not one of the stronger albums in Jeremy’s catalogue though. Why?
First of all, the central theme is repeated so much that it’s hard to
distinguish one song from another. He
should have thrown in a couple of love songs to his wife or something with a
different subject matter. Secondly, this
is a mainly adult contemporary record that lacks the energy and drive of some
of his other works. I`m rating RESTORED
80%. The CD includes some nice photos of
Mr. Camp. For more info visit:
www.jeremycamp.com.