On the first of August in 1995, dc Talk released the first glimpse of something huge to come from the band. The Jesus Freak Single featured the title cut from the band's forthcoming album, to follow up to their wildly successful hip hop album Free At Last. dc Talk was a force to be reckoned with in Christian music and the stylistic shift from the pop/rap stylings of their early work to their more grunge rock approach with "Jesus Freak" was a shock to the system. dc Talk had a near complete reinvention on their hands.

Now, over eleven years later, "Jesus Freak" needs no introduction, but it's a song that offered a deceiving acoustic introduction that exploded into an edgy electric-guitar driven rock anthem with attitude and passion. "Jesus Freaks" (by definition - ardent enthusiasts of Jesus Christ) everywhere had a theme song that was cool and aggressive, making no bones about their faith, "What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus Freak? / What will people do when they find that it's true? / I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak / There ain't no disguising the truth."

The Jesus Freak Single was a gem in and of itself as it contained an exclusive remix of the title track that wouldn't be available anywhere else until 2006's Jesus Freak 10th Anniversary Special Edition release. The "Gotee Bros. Freaked Out Remix" was more in the same vibe as classic dc Talk, feeling much like a remix, but also more like it was the same band that had made a record like Free At Last. This remix also included a new rap verse from Toby McKeehan exclusive to this version, solidifying it as a real fan treat. In addition to the remix, a live version of "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," the band's contribution to One Way: The Songs Of Larry Norman, is also included, preceding another single exclusive - a fantastic live version of "Jesus Is Just Alright" that is labeled simply as "Live Bonus Cut" on the back cover.

To round out the CD's features, a CD-Rom includes a preview from the Free At Last movie that eventually was scrapped and finally released to DVD in its unfinished form in 2002. The CD-Rom also includes interviews from the guys talking about the pending Jesus Freak album and its stylistic evolution, as well as a music video for the live version of "Jesus Is Just Alright." Other goodies were also included in the CD-Rom portion of the disc, but there's a good chance, now eleven years later, that most newer PCs won't be able to read it (some of the videos are available for viewing in Real Audio format in the JFH music videos section).

All in all, they don't make singles like this anymore -- let alone, records like Jesus Freak. If you can hunt down this disc, it's a great collector's item and now a great little piece of CCM history.

- Review date: 11/1/06, written by John DiBiase of Jesusfreakhideout.com