Jesusfreakhideout.com: dc Talk, "Free At Last Extended Play Remixes" Review

dc Talk
Free At Last Extended Play Remixes

Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 4 tracks: 22 minutes, 3 seconds
Street Date: 1994

READER RATING: FreeAtLastRemixes

� / 5.0 (0 votes)

On a hot, balmy, June day, I asked my mom to take me to the local entertainment superstore (no, I wasn't old enough to drive, yet) to save me from dying of boredom. When I entered the store, I decided to browse the Christian music section. As I searched for something interesting, I came upon a used copy of Free at Last Extended Play Remixes. I looked around some more and finally checked out. As I handed the cashier the CD, she informed me that it would be 8 dollars. "Wow!" I thought, "8 bucks for a used CD with four songs on it." I decided to purchase it, as it made my dc Talk CD collection even more extensive (I claim to own every album, but I'm sure there's something I don't own).

One day, a month or so later, I was looking through my CDs trying to find something to listen to when I came across this disc. The album kicks off with the Techno Mix of "Jesus is Just Alright." It takes almost a full minute and a half to hear the first verse, and the second verse is nearly another minute and a half away. Interestingly enough, the third verse is completely omitted. For the last two minutes of the song, all you hear is the beat, virtually no vocals. The next song, the Retro Mix of "Jesus is Just Alright" is essentially the same as the first. The verses are spread apart and the choruses are somewhat inaudible. Again, the third verse is completely omitted. The only variance in this remix is there is a bit of a salsa feel at times. The Gotee Mix of "Luv is a Verb" follows. This remix is slightly better than the previous two, but this version doesn't have the explosiveness of the original. Last on the album is the Video Mix of "The Hardway" from the remarkable music video. The Video Mix is almost identical to the original cut, however the vocals are a bit more polished and the beat is a little lighter. Nonetheless, Video Mix or original, "The Hardway" is an incredible song.

Although not the best remix project I've heard, this album is still fun for a spin or two. If you are a dc Talk fan and can find this album, go ahead and pick it up, even if it's used and you have to pay 8 dollars for it.

JFH Reader Review:

Review date: 7/13/08, written by Micah Melling for Jesusfreakhideout.com

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JFH Staff's Additional 2 Cents

This was actually the first DC Talk record I purchased back in 1994. Extremely backwards, yes, but it was new at the time - and cheaper, so it had fit into my young teenage little budget. I believe I had purchased the Audio Adrenaline "Extended Play Remixes" first and had been disappointed in how the remix treatments virtually ruined each song that had been redone. The "Jesus Is Just Alright" remixes here are just okay, but still rise considerably higher above the mixes on Audio A's treatment. All of the DC Talk tracks at least somewhat resemble songs in their own right while the Audio A one did not. The stand out track here - besides the barely-a-remix video mix of "The Hardway" - is a chunky and funky remix of "Luv Is A Verb" that serves as less of a techno desolation of the original but as a stand alone new version of the song. Perhaps if these Extended Play Remix releases had approached the songs more like this, they could have been some serious must-have collector's items. Instead, they're mostly so-so at best with the occasional highlights. Serious DC Talk fans should check this one out just for the fun and nostalgia of it.

- 7/13/08, John DiBiase

Record Label: Forefront Records
Album length: 4 tracks: 22 minutes, 3 seconds
Street Date: 1994
Buy It: Discogs.com (CD)