Search - dc Talk :: Greatest Hits (W/Dvd) (Spec)

Great overview of one of the most influential Christian grou

Joshua Banker | Clovis, CA | 07/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"NOTE: Below is a copy of the review I wrote for the standard version of "dc talk: greatest hits". This version comes with a bonus DVD that features a few of dc talk's music videos. The video resolution is standard tv resolution which just looks okay. This is forgivable because that is really what these videos were recorded for.



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My original review:



DC Talk in the 90s was one of my favorite groups. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop was the thing and if you were into hip hop music and you were a Christian you loved dc talk. In 1992 they come out with the mega hit album "Free At Last". It seemed like everyone loved this album... it was catchy and the lyrics actually discussed life issues and it wasn't "cheesy" like their previous albums. I was actually proud to be a dc talk fan.



As the 90s progressed there was this movement that started with groups like Pearl Jam and Nirvana called "alternative music". Most "alternative music" in the 90s was a shift to a rock format and even though it was billed as the "new" thing it really was a return of 70s classic rock. The public was subjected to drum machines, keyboards, pop, and dance music throught the 80s and people were getting bored of it. The shift had hurt many bands who tried to continue using the formula that had worked for them for nearly a decade. So now you have dc talk that made it big with hip hop. How were they going to survive this shift in the public's taste... they went alternative too!



At first I was a little suspicious... how could dc talk, a hip hop/dance group, go alternative. Well they did it! and they created probably their best album in 1995 "Jesus Freak". With "Jesus Freak" they created an album that really didn't sound like much anything else in christian music at the time and were probably a huge influence to other up-n-coming Christian artists that followed. Many Christian artists would replicated note for note the styles of their secular counterparts... dc talk, within the alternative genre, created their own sound. I remember back in 1995 driving home from youth group listening to "secular" alternative radio and hearing them play dc talk's "Jesus Freak" and people who weren't even Christian were digging it. They crossed over but never compromised. Very cool.



Three years passed with no new output from the group. With such a huge success they had with "Jesus Freak" people were hoping that the next album would be even bigger. Regretfully in 1998 the album "Supernatural" never lived up to the hype. Don't get me wrong, It was a very good album but it was no "Jesus Freak". There were a few good songs like "Supernatural" and "Consume Me" that are featured on this compilation are great.



2 years later dc talk announced that they were going to take a break... they would still get together from time to time but not to record an album. They released a greatest hits album title "Intermission"... as the title suggests they were only taking a short break. It is now 2007 and they are still not together. TobyMac has become a superstar in Christian music on his own and can call his own shots on what goes on his albums. I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to get back together with dc talk and go back to having to clear it with two other guys what goes on an album.



This brings us to today. Dc talk releases another greatest hits album featuring music form their three most successful albums. There is so much variety on here it keeps this album from getting boring. You can also see on this compilation that within a short time they covered so many genres and one thing that remained consistent is the wonderful socially conscience lyrics that speaks to our hearts and will continue to inspire for generations to come. Another thing I notice is some of this music is 15 years old here but it still sounds fresh.



Some are going to wonder, why would dc talk release a new best of with a good one out there already? I don't have the answer to that but I have some ideas...



(1) Having the greatest hits album out there titled "Intermission" is a reminder of the promise that was never fulfilled so maybe the record label felt it was time to replace it.



(2) An opportunity to profit on a population who would love to see and buy anything "new" with the dc talk name on it.



(3) Introduce a new audience to this great music.



(4) Refresh the sound quality by taking advantage of the new remasters made of their albums.



I think all the above is most likely the case and I don't have a problem with that. One thing that this collection does is remove the "new" at the time teaser songs to get completest to buy the collection and replaced it with some true classic dc talk songs from "Supernatural".



RECOMMENDATION: If you don't have ANY dc talk albums this is an great place to start your collection and if you are a casual fan this will be all you need. This represents THE BEST of dc talk. If you like the hip hop side of dc talk also check out "Free at Last" (remastered), If you like the "alternative" side check out the new 10th anniversary edition of "Jesus Freak"."