OK, I know a trend when I see one. And this is a trend that needs to stop. In the secular music world, great money is being made by two “series” of greatest hits collections: Gold and Essential. In these collections, classic artists’ hits are repackaged, often again and again, to take advantage of low costs and high returns.
Now comes the CCM industry, aping yet another questionable secular trend. Essential Records did it this year with FFH and Caedmon’s Call and now Forefront is jumping on the bandwagon with an unnecessary and incomplete greatest hits collection that is nothing more than an excuse for the record company to milk fans for easy money. Does that sound harsh? It’s not.
How else to explain releasing a Greatest Hits disc in 2007 from long-defunct dc Talk that is not as complete or essential as the hits disc they already released in 2000, Intermission? This new one has fewer songs and is essentially the same (even in song order) as the earlier disc, but offers nothing new and excludes the classic “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” from that earlier disc.
Again, not a thing wrong with this music from dc Talk. It was trailblazing for its time and still sounds strong and relevant today. The songs are still great.
But what is the reason for this release? There’s no new music on here. The guys aren’t reuniting for a tour or new album. There’s no “anniversary” to commemorate. There can only be one reason: Forefront needs some money and they think dc Talk fans will give it to them.
If you are already a fan of dc Talk, you have all of these songs. There is no need to purchase this disc. If you’re only a casual fan and only have Intermission, you have these songs and there’s no need to purchase.
For the 10-15 people out there who always wanted to know what the big deal about dc Talk was, and who haven’t purchased Intermission, and who are really slow on the uptake — this disc is for you. But really, Intermission is better –– get that instead.
