My Own Prison
My Own Prison is the debut studio album by American rock band Creed, released on August 26, 1997. It has been certified six times platinum in the United States alone. The man kneeling on the album's cover is Justin Brown, a friend of the band. The picture was taken by guitarist Mark Tremonti's brother, Daniel, for a photography class. It has spent over 150 weeks on the catalog albums chart and over 110 weeks on the Billboard 200. The album received generally positive reviews from critics. The album generated five music videos: "My Own Prison" in 1997, followed by "Torn" and "What's This Life For" in 1998.
Background
For the band's debut release, manager Jeff Hanson matched them up with John Kurzweg, a producer friend who, with his unobtrusive production style and talents as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he felt was a great fit. Together, the album was recorded for $6,000, which was funded by Hanson. My Own Prison was originally released independently on their own record label, Blue Collar Records, in 1997. The album was distributed to Florida radio stations, and their enthusiasm for the record helped it sell 6,000 copies in the first two months in Florida alone.Commercial performance
Over the course of Creed's career, the album has gone on to sell six million copies in the United States alone, being certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA in 2002.Track listing
1. "Illusion" misspelled as "Allusion" on the Blue Collar Release.Personnel
Credits adapted from album liner notes.;Creed
- Scott Stapp - lead vocals
- Mark Tremonti - guitar, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "My Own Prison"
- Brian Marshall - bass
- Scott Phillips – drums
- John Kurzweg - keyboards
- Mark Droescher - art direction, art design, cover
- Creed - art direction
- Daniel Tremonti - cover, cover photography
- Justin Brown - cover photography
- Cece Wren, Judd Allison - additional photography
- Jeff Hanson - executive producer
- John Kurzweg - producer, engineer
- Chris Carrol - assistant
- Andrew Roshberg - digital engineering
- Ron Saint-Germain - mixer
- Fran Flannery - assistant mix engineer
- Jessie Henderson - assistant mix engineer
- Howie Weinberg - mastering
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 13 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
| Switzerland Albums Chart | 49 |
| US Billboard Top Heatseekers | 1 |
| Billboard 200 | 22 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
| 1997 | "My Own Prison" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1997 | "My Own Prison" | US Modern Rock Tracks | 7 |
| 1998 | "Torn" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| 1998 | "What's This Life For" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1998 | "What's This Life For" | US Modern Rock Tracks | 10 |
| 1998 | "One" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1998 | "One" | US Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1999 | "One" | US Billboard Hot 100 | 70 |
Certifications
Year-end charts
Appearances
- The song "My Own Prison" was featured on the WXSR-FM Locals Only compilation album in 1997, in the movies Wings of the Crow in 2000 and Bang Bang You're Dead in 2002, and as downloadable content for the video game Rocksmith 2014 in 2014.
- The song "Ode" was featured in the film Can't Hardly Wait in 1998.
- The song "What's This Life For" was featured in the film in 1998.
- The song "Bound and Tied" was featured on the soundtrack to the film Dead Man on Campus in 1998.
- The song "Unforgiven" was featured in the video game Gran Turismo 2 in 1999.
- The song "Torn" was featured in the fifth episode of Roswell in 1999.
- The song "Pity for a Dime" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Jailbait! in 2000.