DC Talk Album: “Intermission: The Greatest Hits”

DC Talk is back again with a collection of their best work over their last three albums, encompassing 11 years of evolution into the most dynamic and talented Christian group today. This album is a must for any serious Christian music collection, but because of the quality of the songs, would be a great buy for someone who wants to know what Christian music is all about. The CD includes two remixes, the first of which is a mainstream-ready dance mix version of "Say the Words," and two new songs: "Chance" and "SugarCoat It," which continue with DC Talk's 'pull no punches' theme of upfront, honest commentary on life. Also included on the album is "Jesus Freak", one of the best Christian songs ever written, and "Between You and Me", which had success in the mainstream market. The album is a unique blend of rock 'n roll and pop, with a little soul, harmony, and hip-hop mixed in. From the heavy rock of "Supernatural" to the heart-felt ballads of "What if I Stumble?", "I Wish We'd All Been Ready", and "My Will," this album contains a wide range of music that shows why DC Talk has been so successful: diversity. DC Talk refuses to shy away from social issues, such as racism, with pop hits like "Colored People," and DC Talk refuses to shy away from God with pop ballads like "In the Light" and "Consume Me." All in all, this album contains 17 songs, which are certain to give younger Christian music fans a taste and appreciation for the older music of DC Talk, and music fans in general a chance to see what Christian music is all about.

If someone made a list of Top 100 Most Influential Christian Artists, dc Talk would be at or near the top. They continually reinvent what's expected in the CCM Industry and write top-of-the-line music with smart, intelligent lyrics that address the major issues of this day and age amazingly well. These three college boys, who started out selling cassettes of "DC Talk and the One Way Crew" door-to-door at Liberty University, now are 10 years later putting out a greatest hits record, in their 30's, yet still at it.

"Intermission" is, from its beginning opening with the old Jesus Freak Intro guitar riff, a wonderful trip down the ol' memory lane of the 11-year-so-far career of dc Talk. Many of the songs have been remastered, and each track transitions faultlessly to the next, giving for a nice show and an exceptional Greatest Hits package. The two new Mr. and Mrs. Morgan tracks are a trip, and new takes Chance and SugarCoat It give you a nice long-awaited fresh dose of the lax dc Talk. In fact, if you listen completely to the lyrics in SugarCoat It (and can understand Toby's funky-smart rap parts), it is, in itself, summing up their musical career in a nutshell.

Smart, enjoyable, and leaving us waiting for more, the dc Talk Intermission package is a great tribute to the first 10 years of dc Talk (though the ol' skool is not seen, it has been said that an ol' skool record will come out later), and as its title insignifies, it's not at all the end of dc Talk: just an Intermission.

dc Talk is the best rock band ever! They are the original and the ones that paved the way for bands like Kutless and Seven Places. This compilation summarizes the facsinating career that TobyMac, Max and Michael Tait have. They utilize many genres in this powerful album, from hard rock to rap lyrics and guitar riffs. They rap because they started out as a hip hop act.

They have great songs, probably the most popular song is "Jesus Freak", a hard and edgy song that is powerful, and it will make you go whoa! Another one is "I'm Into Jesus", a slower and mellow song, still powerful and moving. Despite their separation, they still achieved success as solo artists and bands, TobyMac and Tait. Now when will dc Talk come back and take the world by storm?

As with any DC Talk album, Intermission features 5-star quality songs. Songs like Jesus Freak, Supernatural, and Jesus Is Just Alright rank among the top songs in Christian music over the past decade. However, even though this album is really good, it could easily have been much better because its song selection leaves something to be desired. Take a look at how each of DC Talk's 5 albums are represented on Intermission: 1. Self-titled debut - 0 songs, 2. Nu Thang - 0 songs, 3. Free At Last - 5 songs (note: Socially Acceptable is from Free At Last, not Jesus Freak as listed by Amazon), 4. Jesus Freak - 6 songs, 5. Supernatural - 2 songs

So only 2 albums are adequately represented here. Now I know DC Talk's first 2 albums lag behind their newer releases in quality, but both albums should have at least a token representation of 1 song each. And Supernatural only gets 2 songs??? Am I the only one who loves songs like My Friend, Into Jesus, Dive (which just won a Dove award), and Since I Met You? Also, even some of the songs from the Jesus Freak and Free At Last albums are questionable. I'd pick songs like That Kinda Girl, Like It Love It Need It, and Time Is... over What If I Stumble and Socially Acceptable any day.

Newer fans of DC Talk would be better off buying their individual albums. If you just buy Intermission, you're missing out on too much great music.

After a few weeks of hints so obvious as to be impossible to miss, I received this as a birthday present last week. I had heard some of their stuff on KLOVE radio, but not very much. I knew that I liked "Just Between You and Me" enough to justify the entire CD. I was and still am very pleasantly surprised.

I think I now understand why KLOVE doesn't play more of dc Talk:, KLOVE is way too easy-listening for most of this band's music. Another possible problem is the band's willingness to work in less than orthodox Christian genres (read: Nashville). I swear that some songs sound like the guys said to each other, so what if Cobain had written for Jesus, and out popped "Jesus Freak". Another time someone might have said, I love Seal's sound, what can we do with that? "Consume Me" was the result. I have been told that this use of secular influences is blasphemy, but I emphatically disagree. God knows our hearts, and I have to believe that he has many fewer restrictions on how we acknowledge His love and grace towards us than we place upon ourselves.

Like Delerious?, another band I enjoy, dc Talk encourages us to be bold in our Christianity, which is only advice as old as the Apostle Paul and just a valid today and next year as it was when he wrote it down. This is good, solid and challenging. I reccomend it to you all.