Style: Jesus Music Rating: Cross Rhythms Product Code: 13327 Product Format: CD Catalogue Code: Solid Rock SRD850 Content Type: Album Items: 1 Release Date:
2005 Normal Dispatch Time:1-5 days Price:£11.97RRP £15.99
When this was released on vinyl in 1986 it was like cool water for very thirsty Larry Norman fans. Back then you didn't have the constant flurry of CD re-releases and compilation albums that have swamped us in the last five years. Back in the mid '80s we wondered what had happened to Larry Norman's genius after 'Something New Under The Son'. Finally three or four albums surfaced that featured new material and this was one album that was warmly welcomed despite the fact that it's padded out with some real tosh. We really were desperate back then! There are some great highlights here but sadly also some dross. Highlights include "Why Can't You Be Good" which is the studio version featuring some great Randy Stonehill improvised backing vocals and the fabulous rocker "If You Don't Love The Lord, You'll Fall". There's a studio version of "Woman Of God", a really fun silly song called "Gonna Write A Song About You For The Radio" and the brilliant slow ballad version of "It's Only Today That Counts". But padding it out are poor instrumental tracks like "Zimmy Finds His Father", "Broken Bonds, Fallen Friendship" and "A Dream Come True". All very disappointing! "More Than A Dream" simply isn't very special and then not one but two versions of "Voices In The Night" which seems to be Larry and his brother writing a song. Totally pointless! Bonus cuts feature a studio version of "Messiah" which is suitably dramatic and then some half baked ideas and instrumentals which don't feel like a bonus. Oh dear!
This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms review library. Please note that CD/DVD tracks may vary according to release region or product version. You should not assume that products purchased through Cross Rhythms Direct will necessarily have identical track listings to those shown.
Posted by Dougie at 12:23 on Jun 13 2008
This is the second Cd release of this album from Larry and
once again its mastered from scratchy vinyl! And in the
puiblicity on his website he complains about the original
record company putting out a bad sounding bootleg without
his permission!
Posted by Jeremy Pilgrim in Sweden at 12:48 on Aug 21 2008
I have "Rehearsal 4 Reality" on vinyl and once made my own
CD-R of it with my PC. I was happy when it was released
"properly" on Solid Rock so I ordered it, only to find that
my own homemade CD-R almost sounded better than the Solid
Rock release. (The bonus tracks arenīt really that
interesting either. Only instrumental jams).
The CD has 20 songs and by your reviewer's reckoning only
about 4 of the 20 are really good and worth having. As has
been pointed out this release is also a CDR and a bad
sounding CDR at that where the original master tapes have
not been used and where they have basically recorded a
scratchy LP version and transferred this recording to a CD.
The studio version of Messiah is also largely an
instrumental backing track with bits of singing here and
there. All of which begs the questions - why rate this as
highly as 7 out of 10 and by giving this 7 out of 10 when it
probably deserves only a 4 or 5 out of 10 does this not
demean many other 'pretty good' and 'better than ok' albums
in Larry's huge back catalogue which do genuinely desrve a
rating around 7 out of 10 - eg many of the solo live albums
like Children of Sorrow which are well enough recorded and
have nice performances of old and newish songs?
The Rehearsal 4 Reality CDR re-release sounds horrible
sonically, only has a few worthwhile songs on it and most of
them are available elsewhere, so why not call a spade a
spade and rate it accordingly?!
For more information about Larry Norman,
check the Larry Norman Artist Profile on the main Cross Rhythms website for news stories,
feature articles, interviews and much more.
(Link opens in new window)
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This is the second Cd release of this album from Larry and once again its mastered from scratchy vinyl! And in the puiblicity on his website he complains about the original record company putting out a bad sounding bootleg without his permission!