My Own Prison

My Own Prison
Studio album by Creed
Released	August 26, 1997
Recorded	The Kitchen Studio, Tallahassee, Florida and Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida, 1995
Genre	Post-grunge, hard rock[1]
Length	49:10
Label	Wind-up
Producer	John Kurzweg
Creed chronology
My Own Prison (1997) Human Clay (1999)
Singles from My Own Prison
"My Own Prison" Released: January 10, 1998 "Torn" Released: May 23, 1998 "What's This Life For" Released: June 9, 1998 "One" Released: January 1999

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Music Critic	[2]
Rock Hard	[3]

My Own Prison is the debut studio album by American post-grunge band Creed, released on August 26, 1997. It has been certified six times platinum and is one of the top 200 selling albums of all time in the United States. The person 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.^[4] It has spent over 150 weeks on the catalog albums chart and over 110 weeks on the Billboard 200.^[5] The album received generally positive reviews from critics.^[6][7]

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 song writer and multi-instrumentalist, he felt was a great fit.^[8] Together the album was recorded for $6,000, which was funded by Hanson. My Own Prison was released independently in 1997 on their own Blue Collar Records. 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.^[8]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Torn"	6:25
2.	"Ode"	4:58
3.	"My Own Prison"	5:00
4.	"Pity for a Dime"	5:29
5.	"In America"	5:00
6.	"Illusion"	4:37
7.	"Unforgiven"	3:38
8.	"Sister"	4:56
9.	"What's This Life For"	4:08
10.	"One"	5:03
Total length:		49:10

^[9]

Japanese, Australian, and German bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Bound and Tied"	5:35
Total length:		54:45

acoustic alternate take & Japan bonus track
No.	Title	Length
12.	"What's This Life For"	4:22
Total length:		53:32

Success and accomplishments

Over the course of Creed's career, the album has gone on to sell 6 million copies in the United States alone, being certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA in 2002.^[10]

Personnel

Credits adopted from album liner notes^[9]

Creed Scott Stapp - lead vocals Mark Tremonti - guitar, vocals Brian Marshall - bass guitar Scott Phillips – drums Additional musician John Kurzweg - keyboards Artwork Art direction by Mark Droescher and Creed Design by Mark Droescher Cover by Daniel Tremonti and Mark Droescher Cover photography by Justin Brown and Daniel Tremonti Additional photography by Cece Wren and Judd Allison

Production Executive produced by Jeff Hansen Produced and recorded by John Kurzweg Assisted by Chris Carrol Digital engineering by Andrew Roshberg Assistant mix engineers - Fran Flannery & Ron Saint Germain Mastered by Howie Weinberg

Charts

Album Chart (1997-2000) Peak position Canadian Albums Chart 13 New Zealand Albums Chart 1 Switzerland Albums Chart 49 US Billboard Top Heatseekers 1 US Billboard 200[11] 22 US Billboard Catalog Albums 1 Singles Year Single Chart Position 1997 "My Own Prison" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 2 US Modern Rock Tracks 7 1998 "One" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 2 US Modern Rock Tracks 2 "Torn" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 3 "What's This Life For" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 1 US Modern Rock Tracks 10 1999 "One" US Billboard Hot 100 70

Certifications Country Certification Sales Canada[12] 3x Platinum 300,000+ United States[13] 6x Platinum 6,000,000+

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200[14]	92

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Music Critic review
3. Schnädelbach, Buffo. "Rock Hard". issue 142. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
4. "?". RIAA.com. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
5. "My Own Prison - Creed". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 2012.
6. http://acrnsmellslikethe90s.blogspot.com/2013/10/creed.html?m=1
7. http://www.etypeservices.com/SWF/LocalUser/PIPRESS1/Magazine13992/Full/files/assets/basic-html/page6.html
8. "Interview With Jeff Hanson". HitQuarters. 13 Sep 2010. Retrieved 5 Oct 2010.
9. My Own Prison liner notes. Wind-up Records. 1997. p. 7.
10. "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
11. "Creed Billboard Albums Chart". billboard.com.
12. "Canadian certifications". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
13. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
14. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.