dc Talk Jesus Freak: 10th Anniv. Special Edition (2 CDs) Forefront Records Rock 12-26-2006

SCORE 91%

When John the Baptist was born, his purpose in life was pretty clear. He was called to be the predecessor to Jesus Christ and with that came the call to be different - even strange - in the eyes of others. He was set apart as a Nazarite and eventually became "the voice in the wilderness" calling others to prepare for the coming Lord. His entire life was spent announcing to any who would listen that the world needed redemption, that Christ was going to come, and that things would never be the same. It's fitting then, that the title track to Jesus Freak references John, since the album, in its heyday, served a similar purpose to the music world.

At the time of its release, the implications were largely understated or simply overlooked, but as time progressed, many have looked back and attributed the rise of popular Christian "rock" music to Jesus Freak. Now that eleven years have passed since the initial release of the album, it seems as good a time as any to reflect on the album's influence, celebrate the achievement, and explore the possibility that it may be an album with timeless appeal. And with Jesus Freak: 10th Anniversary Special Edition we have the opportunity to do just that.

Most fans of the Christian music scene are already quite familiar with the Jesus Freak album, so the merit of the songs on the album, which appear remastered, but otherwise entirely intact on disc one of this release, need not be addressed other than to acknowledge that they still seem to hold the original sense of creativity and expression listeners enjoyed over a decade ago. The real treat - the return on investment of spending new money on an older album that you may already have - is found on the second disc. While it may not appeal to every fan, the second disc features a handful of remix versions of the original songs unveiled and released together alongside an early demo version of Mind's Eye, a select representation of live recordings captured during The Freak Show tour, and an instrumental version of In the Light for mellowing out or for karaoke night. Consider it the audio version of a DVD's special features and behind the scenes footage.

Though releasing a ten year anniversary edition as the eleventh anniversary year closes seems a little odd and perhaps perpetuates the claim that CCM is at least a year behind the mainstream, the 10th Anniversary Special Edition of Jesus Freak allows listeners and fans to take a step back and assess the true value of one of Christian music's modern crossover classics. Again, it may not be for everyone, but if you don't already have Jesus Freak in their collection and/or if you enjoy extra features, this is one special edition re-release that will not let you down.