Larry Norman - Christmastime: The Day That A Child Appeared

Thursday 1st January 2004
Larry Norman - Christmastime: The Day That A Child Appeared
Larry Norman - Christmastime: The Day That A Child Appeared

STYLE: Jesus Music
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 9280-8996
LABEL: Solid Rock SRD203
FORMAT: CD Album
RRP: £15.99

Reviewed by Dougie Adam

When I learned that the secret new studio album was in fact a Christmas one some of my excitement dipped to say the least! But once I heard it I was quietly pleased with the overall results. As with any Christmas album there are a few tracks which maybe don't work well but on the whole the carols and Christmas songs manage to sound quite fresh and the fun treatment of "Jingle Bell Rock" and polished pop versions of "O Holy Night" and "The First Noel" plus a tender "Christmastime Is Here" all sound as good as almost anything on any other Christmas album or anything Larry has released in the last few years (which have been quite productive). Younger brother Charles has done a good job producing and engineering and his latest band Softcore provide some inventive and contemporary backing to Larry's heartfelt singing. Two older recordings of Larry's own Christmas songs ("Christmastime" and "The Day That A Child Appeared") accompany the 10 new recordings. Surprisingly listenable for a Christmas album and Normaniacs are advised that this album sounds most like 'Copper Wires' from the back catalogue.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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Sample Track Listing:
1. Christmastime [Listen]
2. The First Noel [Listen]
3. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem [Listen]

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.

Reader Comments

Posted by june williamson in stoke on trent @ 19:19 on Dec 19 2006

ive just heard the first noel on cross rhythms . its great got to get the album



Posted by brian jewkes in dudley @ 13:54 on Dec 4 2005

i just love this album,, sure some moments are better than others as on most christmas albums,but this album is full of faith not just sentiment. Absolute stonking versions of angels we have heard on high,and do you see what i see conjouring up eastern melodies on the later. Jingle bell rock could easily be a single.and auld lang syne played on the saw,where else could you find that. absolute magic. if you dont like this, you probably dont like Christmas. bah, humbug.



Posted by Dan Smart in Smethwick @ 20:03 on Aug 7 2005

Dougie Adam seems to have lost his sense of judgement when it comes to Larry Norman. There's no way I would give this an 8! It sounds horrible in places, really cheesy and there are only a couple of tracks that are anywhere near decent. Isn't it time that Larry Norman's recent albums were reviewed and recognised to be substandard a lot of the time. Dougie mate, you're too sycophantic!


Reply by Dougie Adam in Bridge of Weir @ 21:11 on Aug 22 2006

when i re-read the review i was happy to stand by what i wrote... the tracks i mentioned liking are still tracks which i like a few years on from the release, and i do say in the review that its not a perfect album... As for your comments on my reviews of other new projects by Larry again i'm happy to stand by the reviews i've written on Larry's new recordings in the last decade have shared in my reviews my misgivings about the amount of re-releases, compilations and live albums coming out... Larry's dire health situation is a massive contributing factor in this.

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