Some artists just don’t need any introductions. They have been in the industry long enough to have a large portfolio of albums and win many awards, their music is played constantly on the radio, and they are essentially a household name. TobyMac, one third of the Christian Music supergroup dc Talk, is one of those artists. Between his journey with dc Talk and his solo career, he has eleven albums, a number of Dove awards, and multiple Grammy Awards under his belt. He also does production work, runs a record label (Gotee Records), and the list can go on to help prove that he is one busy man.

In late 2004, TobyMac released his sophomore solo project, Welcome To Diverse City. It was an extremely solid album that was well received by fans and critics alike. Now, on August 30th, 2005, Toby will do the same thing he did with his debut release; put out a follow-up remix album.

Renovating Diverse City is pretty much what the name implies – various producers and musicians and gone back into the studio with Toby to remix his latest studio album. Names involved in the project include David Wyatt (Diverse City band leader and keyboardist), Tedd T. (Stacie Orrico, Mute Math), Christopher Stevens (Shawn McDonald, TobyMac), Matt Brownleewe (Michael W. Smith), Superchic[k]’s Max Hsu, Mute Math, and Double Dutch. Not too shabby. When listening to the album, there seems to be a general trend with the musical flow and feel through its thirteen tracks. Though it’s labeled as a remix album, don’t expect to see the tracks filled with dance beats and blaring bass as you might expect. While on some tracks those levels may be raised a little higher than the original, the majority of the album is actually much more mellower and atmospheric. It’s quite nice to be honest.

Some of the remixes do sound similar to their original though, but usually just with a different spin to them. On some it’s adding new verses or bridges (Gone (Long Gone Mix), Hey Now (d Dubb ReMix)), others it might be removing verses or bridges (Burn For You (Shortwave Radio Mix)), while the rest is just re-organizing the song in terms of sticking verses together and/or re-recording vocal tracks for a different feel (The Slam (D Dubb ReMix)).

But then there are a couple of tracks that are absolutely gutted and have new life of their own, such as the Atmosphere (Ambiente Mix) by Liquid. Not only is the feel of the song different thanks to some acoustic guitars and horns, the pre-chorus is completely changed and the chorus is sung entirely in Spanish; only to be translated once near the three-quarter of the way through mark.

Another track that stands out is the bonus track, Burn For You (Cat Paw Remix), which is produced by Mute Math. Thanks to some computerized effects, keyboards, and the overall flow of the song, it feels very much like a Mute Math song; only sung by Toby Mac. Thankfully, Renovating Diverse City is not your stereotypical remix album and is a full step forward from Toby’s previous Re:Mix Momentum. It’s pleasantly refreshing and enjoyable, proving that you don’t need the heavy dance beats or bass tracks to create a remix disc. Instead Toby and the various producers went back to re-record and re-cut the songs, giving them a new life instead of just tweaking them with computer programs. If you were a fan of Welcome To Diverse City, then definitely check this one out too.

Our Overall Rating: A