Reviewed by Dougie Adam

In 1988 Solid Rock put out 'White Blossoms From Black Roots -Volume One'. This 16 song 'best of signalled the beginning of Larry's return to form. 10 years later on this project has been remastered and altered. Hello, 'White Blossoms... Volume 1' - Mark II! The new line up has 12 songs and a second remix of "Soul On Fire". Four slow ballads are dropped from the original release with the result that mark II is more up tempo. On two other songs improved mixes have been selected. Many of the most obvious contenders for the title of Larry's best songs are here, "I Wish We'd All Been Ready", "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music", "The Outlaw", and several good songs from the sadly ignored '80s, "A Woman Of God", "Soul On Fire", and the playful little rocker "The Man From Galilee" all make a case for a reappraisal of Larry's lesser known work. However with no tracks featured from albums of the stature of 'Upon This Rock', 'Street Level', 'Bootleg', 'So Long Ago The Garden', 'Live At Flevo', 'Stranded In Babylon' or 'Totally Unplugged' can 'White Blossoms From Black Roots' really be a fully comprehensive document of Larry's best work? Nonetheless, it is undoubtedly the most pleasing Norman compilation to date and an ideal introduction for those curious to find out what the fuss is about. Let's hope future volumes include the likes of "UFO", "The Great American Novel", "The Tune", "I hope I'll see You In Heaven", and newer material such as "Long Hard Road", "Elvis Has Left The Building", and as-yet-unreleased classics like "Rock The Flock" and "Feed The Poor". Good though  this volume is, the best is, almost certainly, yet to come.

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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