Livingloud - The Bowmanblog

Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music / Part Two

The long overdue Part Two of my look back at the music and legacy of Larry Norman.  

Larry Norman - Only Visiting This Planet / this is the first in a trilogy of albums that are undoubtedly the creative high point in Larry’s career.  This record is often heralded as the best Christian Rock album ever recorded.  Such praise is warranted because this album both lyrically & musically is a masterpiece!  Is it Larry’s best?... it just might be... but then again I’d argue any of the Trilogy albums could hold that spot.  It is an impressively articulate & intelligent record.  Uncompromising, confrontational & controversial; it had the perfect blend of socio-political commentary & spiritual truth.  Larry himself commented “The album was about political errancy, racist theology, musical idolatry and corrupted values.  I felt like I was on top of my game and could figure out a compelling way to say anything I thought about.”  He certainly was on top of his game & as good if not better than the best of the best in 1972!  ‘Planet’ is up there with anything by the Stones, Dylan or Neil Young in that era.  Songs like ‘Righteous Rocker’ revealed Larry’s lyrical genius, only Dylan could come close to writing a track like that & he did when almost a decade later he wrote ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’ ...he came close but he didn’t eclipse it.  Yes, the word ‘classic’ is often overused but here is a record that truly deserves it.

 

Larry Norman - So Long Ago The Garden / released in 1973 this was the second album in Larry Norman’s trilogy of albums (which began with 1972’s Only Visiting This Planet and concluded with In Another Land in 1976).
Conceptually ‘Only Visiting This Planet’ focused on the present.  ‘In Another Land’ looked to the future.  ‘So Long Ago the Garden’ looked to the past & the effects of the Fall.  It had the same impeccable production & musicianship as ‘Planet’.  The songs on ‘Garden’ examined the human condition, & the cosmic loneliness that haunts humanity.  Many of them are from the perspective of broken people.  In many ways ‘Garden’ was Larry’s most abstract & sophisticated record.  He had this to say about it: “It is my favourite album, and one of the most banned and misunderstood albums that I've recorded. Christians don't seem to be as aware of, or as sensitive to, the dire state of humanity as they are about the pleasant growth of their Christian walk.  So Long Ago The Garden was as definitive a statement as I could make about the emptiness of our lives without Christ, just how lonely and wretched we truly are. It was all a very premeditated and carefully written album.”  It just might be my favourite Larry Norman record.

 

Larry Norman - In Another Land / Released in 1976 this record is the third part of the Trilogy.  It was his most successful record commercially but like the other two albums of the trilogy it suffered from record company meddling & censorship... they just didn’t get the grand musical & lyrical statement Larry was attempting to make & his complete vision for the record was not fully realised at the time. Nevertheless it is still a masterpiece.
In production terms In Another Land might be his most ambitious project with lush orchestral parts, layers & textures.  Larry was clearly at the height of his creative powers in the mid 70s.  My favourite thing on this record are those snarling guitars from Jon Linn... what a guitar genius that man was!  Eschatological themes abound on In Another Land.  Larry had this to say about the album: “It's about the future, and rather than speculate about what the future might hold, I tried to stick closely to what the Bible says it will hold. I think because the future orientated album was so directly tied to the scriptures, people felt this is Larry's best album, or this is the most Christian album. I think that Only Visiting This Planet or So Long Ago The Garden were much better conceptional statements...”  I do agree with Larry but In Another Land still deserves to be regarded as one of his very best albums.  It is a fan favourite containing some of his most memorable songs & some of his finest vocal performances. The trilogy is quite simply essential listening & three of the best albums to come out of the 70s!

“Come to reason, face the day,
Now's the season, old things pass away.
Stand beside us, take His hand,
He will guide us, in another land.”
- Hymn to the Last Generation

 

Larry Norman - Something New Under The Son / Something New is a gritty & raw rock album and should have followed the Trilogy back in ‘77 but squabbles with the record company meant it didn’t see the light of day until ‘81.  Those were a turbulent few years for Larry that saw the break up of Solid Rock Records as well a lot of interpersonal pain.  Larry said this about the record: “This is a blues album.  A storyline is woven through the songs.  Sure these songs are about my life, just like they're about your life.  I wrote these songs to express how I feel about passing feelings I have about emotions like loneliness, despair, romantic rejection.  If you find yourself unable to identify with these songs, then congratulations... you've led a very privileged existence."  It was music for people on the margins, real music for real people & as far away from the “sanitized & respectable” christian subculture as you could get.  What do I love about this album?  It is a stunning set of songs & then there is Larry’s voice... he never sounded better than on this album.  And Jon Linn’s guitar work... Gregory Alan Thornburry states “Linn’s virtuosity is so striking, it’s hard to think of a better guitar album from the era.” He’s right!
Something New... was influential too; The Pixies first EP was titled ‘Come On Pilgrim’ after a lyric from one of the albums standout tracks ‘Watch What You’re Doing.'  

 

Larry Norman - Stop This Flight / This one dates from 1985, and along with Rehearsal 4 Reality it was my introduction to Larry's music.  Back in 1978 Larry suffered a head injury when the plane he was on experienced a hard landing and the middle section of the ceiling collapsed on his head.  The damage to his brain wasn’t apparent or obvious immediately but throughout the 80’s it did effect his memory & his ability to record in the studio & actually complete a record.  So Larry had the idea of recording a live album of mostly new songs & it became Stop This Flight.  It captures Larry and the Young Lions on the third world tour & was recorded on 15th June 1984 at the Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne, Australia.  It is one of his very best live albums, & his best album during that 12yr period when he struggled to make a proper studio album.  Larry described that period as ‘helpless and dazed’.  He certainly isn’t helpless or dazed on this album; The Young Lions sound fantastic & Larry is in top flight.  In spite of whatever else was going on the genius shines through & demonstrates what he still was capable of as a songwriter and performer.  Stop This Flight remains one of my favourite Larry Norman records.

Elevation 2018 - Fitzroy Youth Weekend

Last weekend we had our Youth ministry residential; a weekend packed with life, community and memory makers.  We call it Elevation and it is our hope that through experiences like this that friendships, faith and personal development are taken to the next level.

We had a terrific time!  Here is a video of some of the highlights.

Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music

It is ten years since we lost Larry Norman. He was a pioneer of what became known as Jesus Rock, combining rock'n'roll with the message of Christianity.  In Larry's hands it was hopeful, spiritual and social.  The gospel hadn't changed but Larry had presented it in a creative, relevant and authentic package.  Billboard called Norman "the most important songwriter since Paul Simon," and his music would go on to inspire members of bands such as U2, The Pixies, and many more.

 With the release of a new biography – Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music – Larry Norman And The Perils Of Christian Rock by Gregory Alan Thornbury - chronicling his life & legacy it seems like the perfect time to revisit his music. He remains one of my musical heroes and one of the best live performers I’ve ever seen & heard.   The photo I’ve posted is from a gig he played in Derry/Londonderry back in ’95.

Larry played Northern Ireland regularly.  I think he once might have joked that his fans in N. Ireland had been to more Larry Norman gigs than he had (after a sudden heart attack in Europe prevented him from playing a concert in Belfast). During the troubles when very few artists were willing or able to come and play concerts here, Larry came.  I think some of the best concerts of his long career may well have been in Belfast; his concert in March 2000 for example.  And he was held in great affection by his Irish fans.    

But I was just being born when Larry was at the height of his genius so I didn’t discover his music until I was 16 years old. It was like a revelation to my young ears and I loved what I heard. His music had a huge and formative influence on my life as a young Christian.

Larry was edgy, controversial, provocative and not afraid to challenge middle-class values and respectability. Here was a Christian musician who was not content to simply drop the J-bomb in his songs. His music was articulate, intelligent, political and demonstrated that Christian artists could and should have something to say about racism, poverty, and what was happening in the culture and the world.  And to me his music was also vulnerable and relatable. His image was striking, more ‘street’ than ‘church’, and I loved that too! But his style and subject matter meant that he was often considered too “worldly” for the church and too “Christian” for the world; Paul McCartney himself once told Larry, "You could be famous if you'd just drop the God stuff."  Larry walked his own path though, even though that often meant he was in the margins.  It is not always easy to be a pioneer.

And yes, Larry was far from perfect; he had his own unique quirks and foibles. He was a flawed human being with weaknesses, and he undoubtedly made many mistakes.  He has been shot down, talked about and scandalised especially since his death in 2008.  But Thornbury’s well researched biography will hopefully challenge and present a more accurate and balanced view of his life than the ‘Fallen Angel’ documentary did a few years ago.

But for all that Larry Norman ‘was and was not’ there is no denying the musical legacy he has left behind. There was nothing like it when he first sang these songs and to be quite honest there is nothing like it now.

On Instagram I’ve started a vinyl series highlighting some of Larry’s albums (the ones I have on vinyl at least).

Larry Norman - Rehearsal 4 Reality. His discography is a long & winding road but I’m starting this series with Rehearsal 4 Reality, because it was the very first Larry Norman record I ever heard. A guy at a youth festival told me I needed some Larry Norman music in my life. I bought this one on cassette right there & then; because I thought the cover photo of Larry & his brother Charles was pretty cool. 
Rehearsal 4 Reality is a collection of demos & rough mixes of songs destined for other official albums, which never saw the light of day. "Why Can't You Be Good", 'Woman Of God" & "It's Only Today That Counts” are all stand out tracks. I loved how it sounded then & I still love it today. 

Larry Norman - Upon This Rock.  His 1969 debut solo album. It was edgy & experimental and together with the quality of the songwriting, & musicianship it is not hard to see why it was the first Christian rock album to gain serious respect in mainstream music circles. On ‘Upon This Rock’ we get a glimpse of his genius and it was a taste of what was yet to come.

Larry Norman - Bootleg.  This is one of his finest records. At the start of the 70’s Larry signed with MGM Records, but before that contract kicked in he put out a couple of albums: ‘Street Legal’ and this this one; both of them are underground classics. ‘Bootleg’ covers the period 1968-1972 & is a collection of songs, monologues & interviews; some have called it “the original unplugged album.” Larry intentionally put it together so that it had a raw, intimate, street vibe to it, hence the title: Bootleg. It also happens to be an insightful documentary about what was happening in the culture at that time. But more than anything it reveals what Larry Norman could do with just an acoustic guitar & a microphone... how striking he was as a singer, songwriter & communicator. And he was just getting started! 

Next up... I'll look at the Trilogy of albums that is arguably his creative highpoint.  Check it out on Instagram.  

Larry Norman live in concert could be an extraordinary experience.  This is a video from that concert I mentioned in Derry/Londonderry back in '95.  I remember it well.  Larry was in fine form that evening and this video captures how funny and playful he could be with an audience.   

Resurrection Songs / Andrew Peterson - His Heart Beats

Resurrection Letters Vol. 1 is the new record from Andrew Peterson.  It is the soundtrack for Resurrection Day, and what a splendid soundtrack it is.  

Andrew Peterson writes: "We don’t know exactly how it all went down, but we do know this: Jesus was dead, and then he wasn’t. A battered corpse was stretched out on a slab, and then the heart in the ribcage started beating again. Jesus inhaled and at once the heavy air in the tomb became more than air; it became breath."

And with that breath everything changed forever.  If Matthew had ended at chapter 27, Mark at chapter 15, Luke at chapter 23 and John at chapter 19 that would have been the tragic end to the story... but they had more chapters to write!  The story wasn't and isn't over.  His heart beats is our Resurrection Song for Easter Sunday.    

He took one breath

And put death to death

Where is your sting, O grave?

How grave is your defeat

I know, I know His heart beats

  

In The Silence - Holy Saturday

It is Holy Saturday... black Saturday... silent Saturday... The truth is we can never fully comprehend or begin to imagine what that first silent Saturday felt like... you see we know the end of the story.  We know the good news, we know the joy, the clarity and the light and hope of Sunday!  Jesus' disciples knew only the numbness of loss, the confusion of crushed dreams and dashed hopes.  And perhaps all this was mingled with the fear that they might be next.  It was Saturday and it must have felt like Sunday would never come, and if it did it would only bring deeper despair.     

John Ortberg wrote in 'Who Is This Man?' about the silence and sorrow of Saturday..."This isn't Sunday.  This isn't Friday.  This is Saturday.  The day after this but the day before that.  The day after a prayer gets prayed but there is no answer on the way.  The day after a soul gets crushed way down but there's no promise of ever getting up off the mat.  It's a strange day, this in-between day.  In between despair and joy.  In between confusion and clarity.  In between bad news and good news.  In between darkness and light." 

It is good to take time to reflect on what that must have felt like for Christ's first followers and how the blazing light of the Easter Rising on Sunday must have seemed compared to the darkness of Saturday.  

But it is also good to reflect on the fact that Jesus meets us in those dark silent Saturday's of our lives, those strange days, moments, seasons, when nothing makes sense and despair looms very near indeed.  As Ortberg reminds us: "If you can find Jesus in a grave, if you can find him in death, if you can find him in hell, where can you not find him?  Where will he not turn up?"   I believe we all need to hear that yesterday... and today... and tomorrow.  Let's turn to the solace of Sunday and let hope stir in our hearts because God is here and very near.  As we do this with confidence because as Pete Greig writes in God Mute, “Living as we do with the hindsight of Easter Sunday, we can endure our Holy Saturdays with a certain optimism not afforded the disciples that day.  God may be silent, but we know that He will speak soon.  Many of our prayers will go unanswered, but not for long!  We may even be dying, but on our Holy Saturday, we have reason – good reason – to believe in the resurrection awaiting us on Sunday.” 

One Year On...

I have to be honest I hate this photo! A year ago this week... this was me in the ICU of the Military Hospital in Prague. If you’ve been following my story (and I sincerely appreciate it if you have) you’ll know that I collapsed on Charles Bridge & was unconscious.

When this photo was taken I was trying to get my injured head around what had just happened to me. I think it was Keith Richards who once said “I’m glad to be here, I’m glad to be anywhere.” And as it began to dawn on me just where I was and what had happened, yes I was glad, very glad indeed, to still be here! I had just come around after being unconscious for about twelve hours. I had been intubated and I felt like I’d been hit by a bus as I’d suffered a head injury when I’d blacked out and my head hit the cobblestones.  At the time I remember thinking …okay, whatever happened is all over now. I did not have a heart attack so maybe it was just some weird blackout phenomena, a one off. I’ll get out of this hospital and I’ll be grand.

Little did I know that when this photo was taken it would signify the beginning... of a year of further such episodes (they happen about once every few weeks now) ...a year of medical investigations and an awful lot of waiting ...a year of uncertainty, questions, worry and in those darker moments fear. For the first time in my life I had the breaks seriously slammed on my life, my abilities and my plans.

The truth is we are confronted each day with disappointments and challenges that test our faith, our trust, and our view of God’s divine sovereignty and goodness. I think one of the most challenging things for me this past year has been trying to find a way to cope and live with whatever this is that is happening to me while at the same time endeavouring to continue serving, learning and leading. The frustration is that sometimes I’m not able to serve or lead the way I would want to.

I can see in ways that I could never have understood before how that struggle can leave a person emotionally fatigued and unable to carry on. Learning to lead and cope with an illness like this has been a challenge. It is a humbling experience, but if I’m open to learning from this and through this it will also be transformative.      

There is comfort in knowing such a struggle is not a new phenomena; Elijah was the prophet of God and a man of courageous faith, yet in 1 Kings Chapter 18 and 19 he appears to be riding a rollercoaster of emotions and dealing with disappointment and burnout in a major way. 

In these two chapters he quite literally goes from a mountain top experience (facing down eight hundred and fifty prophets of Baal on mount Carmel), to the depths of despair. In chapter 19 v4 he declares that he has had enough and even asks God to take his life away. Elijah was not immune from the stresses, strains and struggles of life and ministry and neither are any of us.

Yes, this has been a tough, unexpected and challenging year, but it has also been a year in which I have experienced a lot of comfort & hope. I recently watched an interview with Pete Greig and one of the things he said really resonated with me: "We want God to airlift us out of our problems, but more often than not, He parachutes in and joins us in the midst of them." 

I’ve often taught this idea to my young people but this year it has been much more than a concept or a comforting thought, it has been a lived and experienced reality. In the midst of confusion, frustration and uncertainty, when life hurts God comes and fills our pain with his presence. I am convinced that our struggles matter to God because we matter to God. Remember that when Jesus stood at the grave of his friend Lazarus he wept. Yes, Jesus knew that a resurrection was coming; a word from Him would shortly change everything for Lazarus! But in those moments when it looked bleakest and everyone was feeling the finality of death and the missingness of a brother and a friend, Jesus wept. He felt the loss, and he identified with Lazarus’ family and friends in their loss. He cared. He loved. He joined them in the midst of their pain, and that makes all the difference in the world.

I’m doing okay at present, tests are ongoing & I’m endeavouring to work, serve & be effective as I can be. For sure my confidence has taken a hammering but I’ll make it through this, whatever this is.  I have more appointments with specialists in the next couple of months and I'm hopeful that we will get to the bottom of this. 

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has reached out, helped & prayed for my family and me during the past year.

Much Love, Grace & Courage

A Starting Place Not A Stopping Place

Today is Transfiguration Sunday, and I was speaking to the kids in our morning service about this amazing event.  Jesus took Peter, James and John up to a mountain.  Luke tells us in his gospel that they went up the mountain to pray, but as Jesus was praying something spectacular and very strange happened.  In an instant Jesus looked substantively different.  His face began to change and his clothing became as bright as lightning.  Now, the disciples had witnessed some astounding things before this mountaintop experience; they had heard Jesus teach, they had seen miracles.  But here on this mountainside they saw Jesus in a whole new light.  Jesus isn't changing from one thing into another, but rather the disciples are catching a glimpse of who he truly is.  It is really their understanding of him that is being changed and transformed.  But it doesn't stop with the dazzling light; Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus, and the three disciples hear God's voice saying "This is my son whom I love.  Listen to him!"  Peter, James, and John were understandably terrified and excited all at the same time by everything they had seen and heard.  And it seems that Peter wants to stay there for a while and build three shelters; for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.  

There is so much we could dig into and learn from this event but I simply talked to the kids about how there those times in our lives that are so wonderful that we wish they could last forever.  We often refer to them as mountaintop experiences. Maybe it is a great kids ministry event, or a youth event, a weekend away/retreat or camp, or a mission trip.  It is a mountaintop experience for us, and we see Jesus in a whole new light.  If we're honest we'd often love to stay in that moment and we find ourselves wishing that it could be like this all time.  It is just like Peter at the transfiguration, we want to build shelters and stay there on the mountaintop.  But like Peter we have to realise that the mountaintop experience is not a stopping place, it is a starting place!   

Jesus brought his three disciples back down the mountain because his face was set towards Jerusalem and all that would unfold there.  The mountaintop was not a place to stop it was a place to start, a place where they received strength and encouragement for the challenging days that were ahead of them.  

We love mountaintop experiences, and yes we do need them, but we can't stay there.  And the same is true when it comes to church every Sunday or our various groups and activities throughout the week; they are not stopping places, they are starting places.  We gather there for worship, and to do exactly what God commanded the disciples to do on the mountaintop when they saw Jesus in a whole new light... "Listen to him!"   And they are places where we also receive strength and encouragement as we scatter across the city to continue listening to Him and making Him known to others.  

I love being in the mountains, I miss it.  It is refreshing to be up there, and you can see things that you just can't see when you're down in the lowlands.  So enjoy your next mountaintop experience, breathe deep and enjoy the view, but remember it is not a stopping place it is a starting place.            

Into The New Year

2017... what a year that was!  I won't be sad to put it in the rearview, but we made it through and all is grace.  So here's to 2018, all will be well.  Happy new year from all of us!  Thanks to everyone who has helped keep the wind in our sails this past year (and the last nine months in particular).

Some wisdom from Wendell Berry as we set out on our journey through 2018: "Laugh.  Be joyful though you have considered all the facts... Practice resurrection.' 

 

Carry The Candle Against The Wind

A poem/prayer from Wendell Berry as we set forth on our journey through the new year.  

Leavings (2012) Wendell Berry 

New Year's Day / Searching for a Better King

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  Matthew 2:1-2

My Christmas meditations bring me today on New Year's Day to these verses from Matthews Gospel.  As Walter Wangerin reminds us in his book 'Preparing For Jesus', these two verses tell the story of Herod the Great and Greatness.  What kind of a man, what kind of a king was he?  He is not simply the pantomime villain of the nativity story...  he was so much worse! "It is related that Caesar often said that the dominion of Herod were too little for the greatness of his soul; for that he deserved to have both all the kingdom of Syria and that of Egypt" (Josephus, The Antiquities, Book 16, Chapter 5)

He built grand buildings and great cities.  He remodelled Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple.  He was Herod the builder!  A man of great ambitions, great power, great ego and great cruelty.  So what must have gone through his mind when he heard that these stargazers from the East had come to pay homage to the king... but that it was not him... they had come searching for a newborn king.  

Walter Wangerin writes: "On that day when planets were passing in such close conjunction that their light was brighter than any star - on that same day King Herod the Great was himself passing close to a greatness greater than his.  Together they might have made a most miraculous light, wherein one king did homage to another, while that other died for the first.  But you cannot see what you can't define.  

Herod neither met nor understood the Newborn King, because that one's kingship was not of the world, but Herod defined greatness ever in terms of the world.  Greater greatness than his own must mean greater splendour, greater armies, greater power - and a will to kill his enemies.  What else could he do, then, but fear and hate the Newborn? - of whom the angel said, "His kingdom will have no end."  

What a sorry end Herod came to, suffering physical misery and paranoia right up until his final breath. 

Well, here we are the beginning of a New Year.  G.K. Chesterton said: "The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes."  It's a new beginning so let's start out as we mean to go on.  Let us not pay homage to the Herod's of this world.  Let us not run after power, splendour, and prestige.  But let us bend the knee to the Kingliest of Kings. Let us choose the right King for the rest of the year and our whole lives through.  Happy New Year!