Customer Reviews

Intermission: The Greatest Hits

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After ten years full of growth, tours, awards, records, and conflict, dc Talk is at an intermission in their recording career. Appropriately, they have released a greatest hits project entitled INTERMISSION: THE GREATEST HITS. This 19 track album consists of 13 classic hits, two remixes, two new tracks, and two interludes (that bring back the infamous/beloved Mrs. Morgan).

The previously released hits were selected with the help of dc Talk fans online. It's a solid collection, featuring classic songs like "In the Light," "Jesus Freak," "Jesus Is Just Alright," and "Supernatural." The songs cover the period from FREE AT LAST forward, leaving off the group's self-titled debut and NU THANG. There's not much to complain about with the track selection and, though anyone could point to an omission or two, the songs that were selected are worthy of inclusion. The two remixes, "Say the Words (Now)" and "Hardway (remix)" are interesting. I particularly enjoy the new "Say the Words" mix, which adds a lot of ambiance and energy to a song that I previously didn't enjoy so much.

There are two new songs which close out the album. "Chance" is a cool mid-tempo acoustic-based cut with a solid hook and message. Next, "Sugar Coat It" turns it up a notch. Production-wise it could fit nicely on the SUPERNATURAL album. The lyric confronts our modern society's tendancy to "sugar coat" sin, and offers the Christian response. In a nice surprise the bridge finds Toby rapping again in his trademark (ultra-cool) style.

INTERMISSION is a solid collection that any new fan of dc Talk should pick up. It offers a great retrospective of the group's main years of popularity and growth. Older fans will have a harder decision to make, but with the inclusion of the new tracks, the remixes, and a few songs from non-dcT albums ("My Will" and "I Wish We'd All Been Ready"), the pain of spending the extra $ shouldn't be quite as harsh. INTERMISSION ranks up there with the better best-of albums and is a great bridge into the next ten years of dc Talk's career. Four and a half stars.

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.

I have been a die-hard Talk fan for several years now. One thing I admire about the band is that they don't feel that it is necessary to release an album a year, but rather wait until they feel they have enough quality material to make a killer album. To keep us happy though, the boys do release a package every couple of years, such as their numerous videos, live cd, and now the greatest hits.

Not much to say about the songs here, if you're a long time fan, then this will all be familiar. Unlike other bands the Talk have no need to repackage all of their "hits" (*read*, the singles that they worked on really hard but surrounded with not-so-great material). The new songs include a nice little light pop ditty w/Toby's incredible rap stylings called Sugar Coat It. Change is another medium rock/ballad emphasized by Kevin's incredible chops. And Say the Words (now) is a dance/techno remix of what is probably my favorite pre-Jesus Freak song, (well either it's that or it's "Heavenbound" :).

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.

You get all the great songs by dc talk in one great cd. I enjoyed the remix of "Say the Words" and the inclusion of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan as the next-door neighbors (from the "Jesus Freak" album). While the new songs included don't reach out and grab you, they do grow on you (so listen to them a few times before you decide if you like them or not). My only complaint with this album is they claim to celebrate 10 years of dc talk, but only cover seven with the selected music. While the first two records weren't smash hits like Free at Last - Supernatural, they could have at least included one song from the first two, say "Heaven Bound" and "Walls". I think by including early material you can fully appreciate the rest of the body of work. Other than the oversight of "DC TALK" and "Nu Thang", this album transitions smoothly between songs. Put this on your wish list.

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?

This is dc Talk at its best (all hits CDs are). This CD includes the hits like "What If I Stumble","Supernatural", "My Will", "Jesus Freak", "Consume Me", "Jesus Is Just Alright", ect. It also includes 2 remixes of old songs from the Free At Last record: "Say The Words (Now)" is and awsome remix of the original song. The original has hardly any music in it (it is mostly just drums and the electric guitar), but the remix has alot more music that express the message of the song; and the remix of "Hardway" (I can't realy tell why it is is called a remix, as it sounds JUST like the original, but it is a bit shorter than the original). The CD also includes two brand new songs, "Chance" and "SugarCoat It". "Chance" is a nice Ballad that tells how every "Chance" we get to do somthing nice for someone, we should use; "SugarCoat It" Is a kinda techno/rock/pop/rap song...????!!!???? i guess it is dc Talks whole style sumed up in one song...:) The only bad things about this CD is that it dosn't include "Since I Met You" and "My Friend (So Long)", Two AWSOME hits from the Supernatural record and that it has no song/s from the CDs Nu Thang and DC Talk. Other than that, this is a Great CD that every Christian music fan NEEDS to own...buy it...today...You won't regret it.

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.

Unquestionably an outstanding collection of music, though it barely scratches the surface of dc Talk's musical resume. Essentially an appetizer of "Free at Last," a main course of "Jesus Freak" and small side dishes of "Supernatural," songs from other projects, and new material. The omission of "Dive," their best song, is tantamount to high crime, while "Into Jesus" and "My Friend (So Long)" from "Supernatural" should be here as well. Superior newer material was sacrificed in the spirit of representing more "Old School" dcT, which I understand. New songs hold their own, particularly "Chance," which could become a classic. Highly recommended.

I could type for an hour and never be able to explain how good this CD is...so save me the trouble and just check it out! You won't be sorry...I promise.

God Bless!

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