Sacred Cows: Are We Still Down With dc Talk?

“Free at Last” — The turning point

The boys wouldn’t take on grunge for another three years, but “Free at Last” was CCM’s “Nevermind.” In the same way that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” forever changed the music world, this album rocked contemporary Christian music on its axis. This is what many evangelicals had long hoped was possible — music that was explicitly pro-Christian but also, you know, good.

More than 20 years on, “Free at Last” just plain works. The album explodes out of the gate with “Batman”-inspired shouts of “Bam! Biff! Pow,” followed by a chant of “Are you down with dc Talk.”“Luv is a Verb” is as energetic an album starter as you’re going to have, and even the Proverbs 31-inspired “That Kind of Girl” overcomes its lyrical awkwardness by being a fun jam. Then, after a quick sketch, the album roars to life with an adrenalized, club-ready rendition of the Doobie Bros. “Jesus is Just Alright.” As on-the-nose as the lyrics might be, the song is a blast, a Jesus freak anthem you can dance to.

“Nu Thang” made attempts to keep the album from becoming “The Toby Show,” but Kevin and Michael’s showcases often felt awkwardly integrated. “Free at Last” is a true collaboration, with the hip-hop complimenting the rock, and the soul and gospel weaving through it all. McKeehan is content to be on the sidelines on several songs, coming in for a bridge or verse when the album slows down on “Say the Words” and “The Hardway.” The album moves at a quick pace, veering from dance jam to ballad to all-out rocker; it’s great fun to drive to.

The energy propels the album through its clumsier lyrical moments. “That Kind of Girl” hasn’t aged well; Toby’s attempts to talk about “the garden where I guess they grow the olives” is a groaner and, let’s just face it, Christians talking about dating is never going to be sexy. “Socially Acceptable” has a nice, soulful sound that carries you through on-the-nose lines like “Something’s missing, and if you’re asking me, I think that something is the G-O-D” (but it still can’t rescue the more problematic, “human rights have made the wrongs okay”). I don’t know that all the “Star Wars” references in the world could make the abstinence anthem “I Don’t Want It” work, but even that track’s fast pace couples with its ham-fisted lyrics to give it some camp value.

Listen: Part of dc Talk’s appeal was that the trio never watered down its evangelicalism. For better or worse, they knew that their job was to keep the “Christian” in “Decent Christian Talk.” So look elsewhere for subtlety. That’s to the group’s credit. These three could have found much more mainstream success had they dialed back on the doctrine. Instead, they went all in on the God stuff and married it to quality music. “Word 2 the Father” is worship jam as party tune, “Time Is” is a rock anthem about using spiritual gifts, “Free at Last” doubles down on the gospel-tinged raucousness of “Can I Get a Witness” and when you hear it, I defy you not to want to get up and dance (unless you’re Baptist, in which case you might be able to clap…maybe). The musical stylings shift, but it never feels awkward — it feels like a group of artists experimenting as they go along. There’s a vibrancy that still crackles.

And those lyrics? They’re still blunt, but more introspective and (a little) less preachy. “The Hardway” is a quiet meditation on failure.”Jesus is Alright” prefigures “Jesus Freak’s” self-awareness about the weirdness of being a believer. “Lean on Me” seems to have been written expressly to give youth group kids something to sing together. In many ways, this is the pinnacle of what Christian music could be: quality music, youth pastor-approved.

This was when dc Talk emerged as the biggest thing in Christian music since Johnny Cash. They sold out arenas and played on MTV. Toby, Kevin and Michael were on their way to becoming artists. And their next album would cement their legacy.

The artists

The “Jesus Freak” single was released in summer 1995. I picked it up, looking for some more rap, rock and soul. I wasn’t prepared for the group’s radical change.

“Jesus Freak” is a weird, loud song. It leaned hard into grunge, with shredding guitar solos, bombastic drum beats, and rhymes that weren’t so much rapped as yelled. To sheltered youth group kids, it sounded real and edgy, and it urged us to embrace an uncomfortable, dangerous faith. The song’s music video, helmed by Simon Maxwell, who directed the Nine Inch Nails video for “Hurt,” was like nothing we’d ever seen. This wasn’t fun-loving, let’s party dc Talk. This was a band that was saying that being a Christian was edgy and weird.

With two decades of hindsight, I can see that what was happening was likely more strategic branding than creative experimentation. Alternative music was popular and rap was thought to be on its way out, and the album, released in November 1995, leans hard into a grunge aesthetic. The album cover is a dull, dingy brown. The boys sport longer hair, ratty goatees and dreadlocks. The tour made room for acoustic sets and favored rock over hip-hop. As an adult, I laugh at how hard they tried to mimic mainstream styles; as a kid, I thought it was awesome.

Despite the over-calculated marketing, “Jesus Freak” is, as the kids today say, tight, even if its production is more polished than a true alternative band would sound.The group fully gels as an ensemble, with Toby dialing way back on the rap, and Tait and Max coming in hard on the vocals. Everything sounds cohesive and of a piece. There are slight variations between something like “So Help Me God,” “Jesus Freak,” “Day by Day” and “Like It, Love It, Need It,” but overall this is the band settling on a sound and then nailing it. I might prefer the diverse personalities that bounce around on “Free at Last,” but “Jesus Freak” is a supremely well-executed piece of craftsmanship, highlighting just how well the three work together. If dc Talk was really The Beatles of CCM, “Jesus Freak” was their “Abbey Road,” an album that showcases the artistry of collaboration.

Lyrically, it’s the highlight of dc Talk, burrowing into the fears and insecurities of being a Christian in the spotlight. “So Help Me God’s” theme is self-evident, and “Colored People” is a beautiful ode to the joys of diversity. “What if I Stumble” is a vulnerable meditation on the dangers of being Christian role models. “In the Light” is an infectious earworm and acoustic worship jam. “What Have We Become” is a mournful cry of lament, and “Mind’s Eye” is an arena-rock album closer. Despite the more serious tone, dc Talk still has fun, with the toss-off “Mrs. Morgan” and Tait’s lounge lizard-inspired “Jesus Freak Reprise” lightening things up.

Many would argue that “Jesus Freak” is not just peak dc Talk, but peak CCM, and I would definitely entertain that argument. It occupied rarefied air for the industry, garnering mainstream respect. Through it all, dc Talk continued to resist urges to water down the music and go the dreaded “secular” route. Next up was a live album, “Welcome to the Freak Show,” which is a lot of fun. But it would be three years before dc Talk’s next — and, as of this point, final — album.

“Supernatural,” released in 1998, is another twist. Looking back, it’s also probably indicative that the trio was looking to move on to more fulfilling creative ventures. A shift from grunge, it’s a mix of influences that owes quite a bit to R.E.M. or U2.

In a nod to being deigned “CCM’s Beatles,” Kevin Max starts the first track “It’s Killing Me” with a cheeky “Hello goodbye” before belting into a song about how hard it is to be a Christian around non-believers. By now, the rap has been completely abandoned, aside from some background rhymes on “We All Want to Be Loved” and “I’m Into Jesus.” It’s a polished album, and the trio has always been skilled at creating catchy hooks. The driving chorus of “It’s Killing Me” kicks things off with energy and “Consume Me” is a poetic ode to the Holy Spirit. The latter is also about as close as the group gets to ambiguity; squint hard enough and you could mistake it as a love song.

Throughout, however, you can hear the three getting restless. The album is a bit too calculated, safe and, honestly, a bit dull. “Fearless” is fine, but sounds like at least three other tracks on the album, including “Consume Me” and the band’s one venture into love songs, “Godsend.” Where the cohesiveness of “Jesus Freak” was a benefit, here it feels less like top-notch artistry and more like laziness. Lyrically, the songs are fine, but they lack vitality. “Into Jesus” is another attempt at “Jesus Freak”-level outsider status, but the lyrics are trite, the sound monotonous. “The Truth” is just flat-out bad, a belabored and blatant attempt to cash in on the popularity of “The X-Files.” The experimentation of “Free at Last” and craftsmanship of “Jesus Freak” are replaced by what appears to be an attempt to create pop singles. The trailblazers of Christian culture have, instead, become part of the industry. Maybe they always were, but here it feels less fun and more like selling out.

When the three let their hair down, the results are much better. “My Friend (So Long)” might be subtweet as song. A poke at a Christian musician who’s sold out to the secular world — some rumored it’s a dig at Amy Grant, but they trio has denied it — the song risks preachiness, but a catchy chorus and cheeky lyrics keep it light. “We All Wanna Be Loved” lets Kevin lean into some soul music, but its bouncy stylings also hint at the solo path Toby would take. The pop-punk “Since I Met You” is a fun, fast-paced jam. While the title track never reaches the heights of “Jesus Freak,” it still boasts a killer chorus. The final track, “Red Letters,” is an ambitious worship song that suffers from overproduction.

“Supernatural” is not bad, but it’s a step back from “Jesus Freak.” It feels like the ambition to be accepted by Christian and mainstream worlds overshadowed the goal of making good music. At its best, it’s fun and energetic; at its worst, it feels too neatly packaged. The cohesion that made “Jesus Freak” so memorable begins to fray. I’m glad to see Max and Tait getting the spotlight here, but there’s also a sense that they’re itching to go off and do their own things.

So it’s probably inevitable that a break was coming. But I don’t think anyone expected that it would be pretty much the end of Christian music’s biggest success story.

Solo and beyond

The year 2000 saw the release of a greatest hits album titled “Intermission.” If that wasn’t enough of a hint that Toby, Michael and Kevin were ready to branch out, their next album made it explicit. Titled “Solo,” the seven-track EP is composed of two tracks apiece from each of the band members’ upcoming solo albums, preceded by a live cover of U2’s “40”. The group’s tour leaned heavily into idea that dc Talk’s days an ensemble were coming to an end, opening with individual sets from each artist and then segueing into a greatest hits celebration. There was never another album or tour.

Each has crafted individual careers that have lasted longer than dc Talk did. McKeehan, now Toby Mac, is one of the Christian world’s most popular showmen and a successful producer. Kevin Max has had a healthy career as an independent artist — his Christmas album is fantastic — and was briefly the lead singer for a revamped Audio Adrenaline. Michael Tait did two strong albums under a band of his own name, starred as Jesus in a modern-day rock opera about the life of Christ, and since 2010 has been the frontman of one of CCM’s other major acts, The Newsboys, most famously belting out the title track for the film “God’s Not Dead.”

What the three have not done? Reunite, at least for anything longform. They’ve cameoed on each other’s projects and sometimes turn up at each other’s shows. A 2016 cruise was the closest thing to a reunion. While they sometimes hint at something coming along, it appears that a reunion might just be a pipe dream for nostalgic youth group kids.

And I’m fine with that. Some bands can reunite and that old spark is still there. Some can shift the lineup and keep going. But sometimes, the spotlight just can’t be shared. Yeah, I love my memories of dc Talk, but I’ve had a blast at Toby Mac concerts. I’ve loved watching how the freedom afforded Kevin Max has allowed him to flourish. I may not be a fan of recent Newsboys stuff, but I know it’s been a blessing to others. The show might be over, but I’m glad each member still lets their freak flag fly.

Sacred Cows is an occasional column where I revisit some of the best and worst of Christian culture and ask whether it holds up.