Eye'm Lovin' It
Posted October 30, 2014
By ChristopherThiessen_NRT, Staff Reviewer
When it comes to Christian pop music, there are not many names (if any) more iconic than TobyMac. Over the past 25 years or so, TobyMac has been the face of CCM, constantly pushing its limits both with DC Talk and his solo work. He has shown no signs of stopping either, with the 2012 release Eye On It peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 (only the third Christian album ever to do so). This record-setting album spawned huge CCM hits like "Me Without You," "Steal My Show" and "Speak Life." Some might say that if you have such mega-hits as these, you shouldn't mess with them at all. They would be sorely mistaken. Enter Toby's newest release: Eye'm All Mixed Up.
Let me first relay a few of my thoughts on Eye On It to set this up. I thought it was okay. It was a fun album full of good messages, and thus it was a solid release from Toby. I just didn't find the tracks particularly inspiring musically. So when I first turned on Eye'm All Mixed Up, my first thought was "these are the tracks that the first album should have been!" It's incredibly fresh, incredibly energetic, and a great return for Mr. TobyMac.
Starting off the album is a killer remix of "Eye On It" by none other than Soul Glow Activatur of Family Force 5 fame. This quirky mix is not as rambunctious as the original track, and Soul Glow seems to have received some influence from will.i.am's mix of the mainstream pop hit "Scream & Shout." The title track received another makeover on the Kaveman Remix. This one is a chill house-y remix of the song that happens to be one of my favorites from the album.
Neon Feather, who has previously done remixes for such acts as Switchfoot, Capital Kings and Mandisa, makes his mark with a remix of "Forgiveness" which truly intensifies the emotional impact of the song. Big name DJ Telemitry also adds his flavor to three songs: "Speak Life," "Mac Daddy" and "Me Without You." These tracks just ooze professionalism in production, and are some of the most infectious tracks on the album (the dubstep drop on "Mac Daddy" is especially sick).
Speaking of "Me Without You" and dubstep drops, Capital Kings made a contribution to this song in a huge way. This is by far my favorite track on the album, and the thick stack of synths is absolutely earth-shattering. The duo's remix of "Lose Myself" is another crowd-friendly highlight featuring chant vocals and anthemic beats.
Soul Glow Acivatur makes a return on the album with a wild trap remix of "Unstoppable (feat. Blanca)." The veteran's presence on the album is definitely welcome, and listeners will get rowdy to his beats.
For me the weakest tracks of the album are the Jack Shocklee remix of "Steal My Show" and the Thunderbird remix of "Thankful For You." The former, reimagined as a synth fronted dance track, feels distracted from its originally simple arrangement and worshipful lyrics. And while I do like the remix of "Thankful for You," I really missed the funky gospel fun of the original track on this one.
Closing Thoughts:
It's been two years since the release of Eye On It, and even though no new songs are being presented to TobyMac fans, I think they will be satisfied with the tracks on Eye'm All Mixed Up. The only downer of this release is that, of the eleven tracks on the album, four of them (including my personal favorite) were already released on the Deluxe Edition a couple years ago. But even so, TobyMac fans will love the new energy breathed into these songs by an elite group of producers. This album should be an essential for every dance party across the nation.
Song To Download Now:
"Forgiveness (feat. Lecrae) (Neon Feather Remix)" (Get it on iTunes here.)
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