Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The release in 1995 of 'Jesus Freak' was a pivotal moment in the history of CCM. As the Encyclopedia Of Contemporary Christian Music said, "DC Talk reinvented Christian music, almost single-handedly rescuing it from the contrived commercialism and derivative doldrums of the '80s." It took a while for the guys to deliver. After a truly inept debut album they'd steadily improved until they produced a joyfully effervescent fusion of pop and rap in 1992's 'Free At Last'. But nothing quite prepared us for "Jesus Freak". Here was one of the best riffs heard in any kind of music and those searingly savage guitars were only the beginning. The hook seemed to speak to the whole of church-based youth struggling to be cool yet vibrantly Christian and often being sucked into compromise in the process. The compelling rock rap title cut was the jewel in the 'Jesus Freak' crown but there were plenty of other musical delights on the album - a blistering cover of Charlie Peacock's "What If I Stumble", the clever re-working of the Godspell oldie "Day By Day", and the nearest thing dc Talk ever got to a mainstream pop hit, the hooky "Just Between You And Me". 'Jesus Freak' was a classic then and the remastered songs remain marvellously memorable today. Disc 2 is a veritable collectors' feast. It contains seven remixes, an unreleased demo version of "Mind's Eye" featuring Mark Heimermann, four live versions and an instrumental of "In The Light". I suppose there is stuff here which will have hardcore McKeehan, Max and Tait fan salivating though there are only a couple of items which bring new enjoyment to the 'Jesus Freak' listening experience. The opener, the Savadacious Junk Yard Mix of "So Help Me God" works well though by dumping the guitars The Savage Perspective Mix of "Jesus Freak" loses much of its impact. There were other disappointments on the second disc with the live versions seeming to be there to make up the numbers. But that remastered disc 1 is still a timeless gem.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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