alivingdog.com
| Music |
alivingdog.com
|
|
| A
Beginner's Guide to Larry Norman |
by Gord
Wilson
|
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This was originally
written for
the SaNmagazine online 'zine designed by Michael Redmond of Nuclear Web
Design. If you wonder why the last page looks so good, it's because
it's taken from the original SaN, surely one of the most beautiful web
'zines ever made, while the rest of the article is low-tech living dog.
We hope to unearth more SaN stuff in the future as well as dig up more
Norman stuff from the past. Most of the currently available Norman
CDs can be ordered at LarryNorman.com, and a few are available
through RadRockers.com. To visit Norman's official site, click on the
link below.
SaN |
 |
 MP3  |
I didn't know how out
of the loop
I was until I ran into a guy at Promise Keepers wearing a shirt that
showed the electrocardiograms of Larry's seven heart attacks, and the
wearer turned out to be my now good friend, Greg Knott, a long-time
Normaniac who turned me on to Larry's great recent albums. This is the
first of a series of profiles of Larry Norman's albums
Upon
This Rock
Upon This Rock (1968)
was Larry's
debut solo album after leaving the band People. Originally released by
Capitol Records, it was later sold to Impact, and recently returned as
a Solid Rock CD. Capitol billed it as "The Sgt. Pepper
of Christianity" to capitalize on the Beatles' enormously popular
album."It's
a message, it's a rock," began the compelling back jacket invitation,
and
in some ways this intriguing musical phantasmagoria has never been
equalled. Woven together in a musical tapestry, this album introduced
some of Norman's strongest songs, among them "Sweet Sweet Song of
Salvation" and "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," which instantly became
staples of youth groups. "Hineni," as the Jewish saying goes, "it would
have been
enough," but Norman's prodigious musical output was just beginning.
Hear
MP3 Songs
Street Level |
|
The unofficial calling
card of
the Jesus Movement, Street Level was Norman at his stripped-down,
radical, thoughtful, and to some, annoying, best. Everyone anyone likes
(or doesn't like) about Norman's music is here. This is the album
waiting to be discovered by the grunge rockers. Street Level existed in
two
versions. The first side of both albums was the same, but tthe flip
side
of the first version contained songs from an unreleased rock opera
called "Lion's Breath," some of which found their way onto later albums.
Some listeners couldn't understand the musical out of context, however, and Street Level was rereleased in a more popular version with gospel rock songs on side 'B'. The ideal CD would feature side 'A' along with both 'B' sides on one disc. The album spawned such little-heard classics as "No More LSD for Me" and "Baby Out of Wedlock," along with "First Day in Church," a spoken poem with Norman feigning a British accent. |
 Bootleg
|
Click below to go to
Larrynorman.com 
|
The original "unplugged" album, this perfectly legal record was a unique two disc collection of songs, interviews, and humorous monologues, mostly collected by Norman's sister. Intimate and unpretentious, it was rereleased a few times with monor changes and mistakes: the front cover photo backwards, the title printed variously in red or white, sometimes with inserts of pictures or liner notes. Along with little-heard full-length songs, Bootleg fades in and out of evocative little snatches of music and lyrics, capturing something of the intimacy of Norman's solo concerts. |