Reviewed by Dougie Adam

Heavy hints dropped by Larry Norman indicate Y2K could prove worth celebrating since it has been suggested that all the old Solid Rock albums could be released on CD with some sur­prises thrown in for good mea­sure. 'The Cottage Tapes' is one of those pleasant surprises. These recordings actually date from 1970 and from Larry's pre­vious independent label One Way Records. Four of the 16 tracks are taken from Randy Stonehill's debut 'Born Twice' LP, while the Norman songs are mostly taken from the sec­ond version of 'Street Level' and 'Bootleg', both from 1971. A couple of previously unreleased outtakes from the ses­sions have been thrown into the mix too. We're talking vintage stuff here as the earliest demo versions of "Righteous Rocker", "I've Searched All Around", "Why Don't You Look Into Jesus" are wheeled out for the first time. A couple of the other songs from this era provide some of Larry's most fondly remembered tracks from his extensive back catalogue, with "Baby Out Of Wedlock", and a band performance of "Blue Shoes White". Stonehill's com­positions also sparkle. Alongside the joyous "Alright Now", we have the original ver­sion of "1 Love You", Randy's zany re-write of "Christmas Time" and the wonderful account of Uncle Rand's con­version in "Norman's Kitchen". There is a great spirit about this edgy collection. CCM has rarely been so upfront in its proclamation, nor as cavalier, succinct, crazy, or fresh sounding in its execution. Oh, and the sound quality's surprisingly good and the 16 page booklet by Larry is both interesting and informative.

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