Search - Various :: ONE WAY

Wowie Zowie, The Cat's Got Soul

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com | Glen Ellyn, IL USA | 09/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most of the people interested in this album are Larry Norman fans and couldn't find his albums online. They are in for a treat. More than a best-of album, or an honorary collection of cover songs, "One Way-Songs" serves as a lesson in how to write a rock song without losing faith. This is the good stuff, done by some good bands.



LN fans might know about bluesman Larry Howard, and have already heard a Geoff Moore cover of "Why Should the Devil." They'll know dc Talk, but the other musicians may be new to them. Michael Anderson came and went, and Dana Key fans aren't usually looking to buy Holy Soldier songs. Rebecca St. James is still out there, bigger now than when this now obscure CD first came out. Norman is often called the grandfather of Christian rock, and these are his grandchildren.



The album title "One Way-Songs" refers to Norman's famous index finger pointed skyward toward Heaven, which became a symbol of a generation of young Christians. It also refers to an ethereal song from "In Another Land," based on the same same theme.



Larry Norman's history, from his days with People! has been amazing. Remember their 1967 cover of the Zombie's tune, "I Love You (and I Don't Know What to Say)" and the satiric "What We Need Is a Lot More Jesus and a Lot Less Rock & Roll"? No one since Martin Luther has brought more contemporary music into the Church. While his days with People! aren't many, his prodigious work in the 1970s and early 1980s forged the way for each of the bands playing on this CD. That's why metal, rock and pop are all here, doing homage as best they can.



"I Wish We'd All Been Ready" is Norman's signature song, but the others are not toss-offs, but poignant in their own right. "Sweet, Sweet Song of Salvation" is still in many camp hymn books, sung just as it was in the height of the Jesus Movement days.



For a Larry Norman-sounding album, look elsewhere. These aren't sung in that high rock-folk nasal California/Texas Dylan style that Norman is famous for. This isn't "In Another Land," "Only Visiting This Planet" or "Something New Under The Son." The words are the same, but that's it. Find those anywhere you can, but in the meantime, check this one out. It'll hit you in a new way.



Anthony Trendl

editor, HungarianBookstore.com"

EXCELLENT

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com | 04/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"IF you thought this was great or if you are truely a Larry Norman Fan, check out his web site larrynorman.com. Tons more stuff to collect and every album possible, some that have been out of print and made available again for limited runs. Total inspiration."

Excellent

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com | 07/24/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Larry Norman's songs will always be rellevant regradless of when these songs were originally recorded. It's great to hear these songs done by some of the more contemporary artist of the day. These songs are as powerful and convicting as the day the they were originally recorded. This is a must album/CD to have in ones collection."