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But in some cases, a worthy occasion, like the mainstream crossover success of MercyMe's hit "I Can Only Imagine" can only go so far. In addition to the original release of Almost There, there's also been the dual disc release, which truthfully was pretty cool—especially for techies—as it was re-tooled with 5.1 Surround sound. In addition, they also provided a behind-the-scenes look at the "Imagine" video shoot, told the story behind the song, gave an insightful history of the band and provided plenty of live concert footage.

But all my excitement dwindled quickly when I recently heard there was also a "Platinum Edition" of Almost There  as well with "previously unreleased versions" of "I Can Only Imagine" included. C'mon, folks, how many versions of one song do people really need without it bordering on ridiculous?

Why punish faithful fans?

While the list continues to grow—everyone from Sanctus Real to Steven Curtis Chapman to Skillet has provided slightly enhanced versions of their original projects recently—I have to ask: Why punish fans by offering a "new and improved" version of the album they already bought to support the artist in the first place? Instead, why not reserve such re-releases for special occasions—classic albums—making sure to add plenty of B-sides, videos, and special packaging to justify it?

When I heard that ForeFront was re-releasing dc talk's Jesus Freak in honor of its 10-year anniversary, I was excited because that's a prime example of doing it right. Not only does the re-release include the original disc, but an additional disc chock full of rarities, B-sides and alternate versions that are really "alternate," not merely slightly tweaked or haphazardly remixed.

But for every proper re-release of Jesus Freak, there's something bad to counteract it. After all, when Chris Tomlin's marketing peeps decide that after the success of See the Morning and Arriving that it's time to re-issue his first two studio efforts as a combined, budget-priced set called The Early Years (even though his first project, The Noise We Make, only released five years ago), it's time to say "enough's enough." After all, don't you think we fans deserve more for our money and continued loyalty?

One need look no further than the DVD market for examples of how to do it right.

While there have certainly been a few extraneous releases—like the constantly "improved versions" of the Lord of the Rings trilogy—there is almost always more to offer the viewer, rather than less, making the additional purchase worthwhile rather than disappointing. After seeing a favorite movie in the theaters, it's nice to buy the DVD with its typical plethora of perks and bonus footage—commentaries, deleted scenes, "making of" featurettes, blooper reels, and so on.

If re-released CDs featured as many extras as the average DVD, albums—the actual, tangible discs—would have a distinct advantage over their online counterparts. But until that happens, well, we'll have to settle for less.

And that's unfortunate.

© Christa Banister, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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