Description
Street Level is the sophomore solo album by the American singer and songwriter Larry Norman, independently released on One Way Records in 1970. (Actually released in two versions with the second version featuring a completely different B-side than the original version.) Written, arranged, and produced by Larry Norman. Featuring “First Day In Church”, a poem written by Gordon Bailey and originally performed by Nigel Goodwin on Alive!, a multi-artist album released on the British gospel label Key Records in 1969.
Street Level was one of two albums self-released by Larry Norman on his custom label One-Way Records while between contracts to major labels (Capitol Records and MGM Records). Randy Stonehill’s debut album Born Twice follows the same format as Larry Norman’s Street Level, with one side recorded live and the other in the studio. Both albums (and much of Bootleg) were recorded during the same sessions and using the same musicians – Fred Bova, Glenn Selwitz and Hilly Michaels. Larry dubbed the band ‘White Light’. (The session band referred to as White Light actually was known as Joy, a band that released two singles in the late 60s/early 70s featuring a young Michael Bolotin – later better known as Michael Bolton – as lead singer.)
At about face from the major-label production values of Upon This Rock, Street Level took off in the opposite direction with a sparse rugged homemade style (or as Larry later described it on the In Another Land insert: ‘choppy and gritty and under-produced’). And with very successful results I might add. As with Randy Stonehill’s Born Twice on the same label, Street Level has a live acoustic side and an in-the-studio-with-band side. Taken from a performance in Hollywood, side one opens with «Poem»/«First Day In Church»: a spoken word routine in fake cockney accent borrowed oversees from England’s Alive! compilation where it was recorded by Nigel Goodwin. It’s an enlightening pointed jab at how the un-churched youth might react when attending a traditional service. Next up are «Peace Pollution Revolution», the convicting «Right Here In America», and «I Wish We’d all Been Ready». Side two of the original and scarcest press contains what the label states are selections from the rock musical ‘Lion’s Breath’. Kicks off with a powerful sting fuzz-rocking cover of «The Six O’Clock News». Next is the mysterious acoustic «She’s A Dancer» from the second People album, followed by «I Don’t Wanna Lose You», the piano-accompanied «The Price Of Living», and another fine rocker «Sigrid Jane». Side two of the more common second version contains a competely different set of songs. Randy Stonehill is on second guitar and harmony, while a group identified as White Light fills in the remaining instruments. «Baby Out Of Wedlock», «Blue Shoes White», «I’ve Searched All Around The World» and «Jim Ware’s Blues» (aka «Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus») are all plugged-in cuts with the band, while «One Way» and «No More LSD For Me» feature Larry solo at the piano. Several of these songs would appear in fuller form on Only Visiting This Planet, So Long Ago The Garden and In Another Land, though I find the more seminal versions here equally satisfying. Numerous variations exist in the label and cover details. Whether you’re talking version one or version two, Street Level is an underground classic if ever there was one. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]
In the interim between his recordings for Capitol and being signed to MGM, Larry Norman had two independent releases and this was the first. This and Randy Stonehill’s parallel recording ‘Born Twice‘ were funded by a loan from Pat Boone and followed a simple pattern. Side one was live recordings and side two was studio songs. Like many of Norman’s albums, there have already been two versions of this album and if you’re buying for nostalgia, you’d better make sure it’s the same album you want! Both have the same line up of live songs «Peacepolutionrevolution», a lengthy «Right Here In America» and «I Wish We’d All Been Ready» all recorded when Larry was at the height of his powers. The album kicks off with a witty poem «First Day In Church» which Larry reads in a strange, strangled mockney accent. The studio half of the album features a brilliant raw underground version of «I Am The Six O’Clock News» which in 1970 was probably the most far out music being released by a Christian anywhere. There are also early versions of «She’s A Dancer» and «I Don’t Wanna Lose You». There’s a short piano song «The Price Of Living» and the better known groovy «Sigrid Jane». At only 35 minutes in length, there would have been plenty of room for Larry to include the alternative studio songs from the original release of this album including «No More LSD For Me» and «Baby Out Of Wedlock» but sadly they’re not here. Still, it’s a classic Jesus music album. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, September 2005]
> Larry Norman – Street Level, One Way Records (JC-7397), 1970
Larry’s comments: “‘Street Level’ and ‘Bootleg’ were made under the poorest of circumstances. I was working on a series of seven albums, but I was also writing musicals and using some of my album songs for cast music. I had planned to do ‘Street Level’ and ‘Bootleg’ with Capitol Records but they dropped me because they couldn’t locate a market for my kind of music, which is why they leased ‘Upon This Rock‘ to Benson for the Impact label. So I had no money for the studio and ended up using bits of pieces of cast demos, live performances and after-hour studio favours to cobble together a vague semblance of what my original concepts were. I met Fred Bova in a health food restaurant. He was barefoot playing his guitar at the lunch table where he was sitting and eating. So that’s how I found a lead guitarist. The whole two years of sessions was like that. Trying to create a message despite the situation and making cassettes so I could give them to people I was witnessing to because most street people and hippies thought ‘Upon This Rock’ was “plastic”, which was anathema to the hipsters who were begging for spare change and scrounging for drugs. ‘Street Level’ opened a lot of doors into those people’s heads so I could keep talking to them about Jesus.”
Side one has some songs from a 1969 concert in Hollywood and opens with the excellent poem «First Day In Church» which proved to be a good early example of Larry using humour to help make his audience take note of an unpalatable strong social comment. Norman then plays two songs which look forward to the persecution of Christians in America («Peace Pollution Revolution» and «Right Here In America») before delivering a beautiful and haunting performance of «I Wish We’d All Been Ready». Side two features studio demos of some of the songs from the musical Lion’s Breath: «I Am The Six O’clock News», «She’s A Dancer», «I Don’t Wanna Lose You», «The Price Of Living» and «Sigrid Jane».
> Larry Norman & White Light – Street Level (second version), One Way Records (JC-3973), 1971
Side one survives unchanged from the first version, but side two is completely different after being changed so that Christians could understand it more easily! Larry is joined by Randy Stonehill and White Light for some raucous studio versions of «Baby Out Of Wedlock» (later renamed twice as «You Knew What You Were Doing» and «When You Sent Your Son»), «Blue Shoes White», «I’ve Searched All Around» (later to grace ‘In Another Land‘) and «Jim Ware’s Blues» (also better known as «Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus»!). Two cuts from ‘Bootleg’ reappear here, the long simple piano vocal version of «One Way» and the aforementioned «I’ve Searched All Around». Larry accompanies himself on piano for the Jesus Music favourite «No More LSD For Me» the only track from both versions which has so far not been re-issued on either the ‘Rough Street Love Letter‘ or ‘Cottage Tapes‘ CDs. [Dougie Adam, Cross Rhythms, May 2001]
LP tracklist (Original Version, 1970):
Side One (Live concert produced by Doug Oliver)
A1. Poem
A2. “Peace Pollution Revolution”
A3. “Right Here In America”
A4. “I Wish We’d All Been Ready”
Side Two (All songs on side two from the musical Lion’s Breath)
B1. “The Six O’clock News”
B2. “She’s A Dancer”
B3. “I Don’t Wanna Lose You”
B4. “The Price Of Living”
B5. “Sigrid Jane”
The second version of Street Level, released in 1971, features a completely different set of songs on side two (as well as “Poem” on side one retitled “First Day In Church”):
LP tracklist (2nd Version, 1971):
Side One
A1. First Day In Church
A2. “Peace Pollution Revolution”
A3. “Right Here In America” (or titled “First Day I Went To Church”)
A4. “I Wish We’d All Been Ready”
Side Two
B1. “Baby Out Of Wedlock”
B2. “One Way”
B3. “Blue Shoes White”
B4. “I’ve Searched All Around The World”
B5. “No More L.S.D. For Me”
B6. “Jim Ware’s Blues” (or titled “Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus”)
Note: The first version of Street Level came with a different B-side than the second version (which was released in 1971, and re-issued again in 1972). It is usually referred to as the gold label version. There’s a limited edition (issued in 1970 with no song titles or any other additional information on the back) and an underground edition and some of the front covers were inverted. All these original versions (probably 400 in total) came with gold labels and had “Poem” listed instead of “First Day In Church” or “First Day I Went To Church” (apart from the title, there are no differences). The first version of Street Level was also re-issued as part of Phydeaux Records’ 3LP box bARCHAEOLOGY in 1984, and was as well re-issued on CD by Solid Rock Records in 1999 as a part of the 2CD compilation Rough Street Love Letter.
The second version of Street Level was pressed with a completely different B-side featuring “Baby Out Of Wedlock”, “One Way”, “Blue Shoes White”, “I’ve Searched All Around The World”, “No More L.S.D. For Me”, and “Jim Ware’s Blues”. There are many variations of the second version; like numbers, label colors. (The first edition of the second version released in 1971 has baby blue labels.) It was issued on both 8-track tape and 12-inch vinyl LP, distributed by Sonrise Mercantile.
Available at Bandcamp: https://larrynorman.bandcamp.com/album/street-level
After ‘Upon This Rock‘ came out sounding so overproduced I thought I should do a more earthy sounding album which I could hand out to the street people I talked to on Hollywood Boulevard. Cassettes had just been invented and I loaded up my pockets with them whenever I went out witnessing. I was supposed to sign with Elektra but that fell through when the president of the label was confronted by someone who gave him a copy of the Hollywood Free Paper. He feared that I was part of an abrasive subculture and he took back his offer. So ‘Street Level’ ended up being made with my own money. I edited side one from a live concert I had done in 1969 and Pat Boone let me work at night in his 8-track room at Sun West Studios, where I re-recorded «The Price Of Living». Roger [Dollarhide], the engineer, used to talk for hours and I sat there listening, knowing that I was paying by the hour but too young to ask him to stop, so my late night discount was pretty much nullified – but I had fun anyway. I was sowing in the field of Salvation and was glad for it. (Later I recorded the songs for the second version of ‘Street Level’ at Sun West, and bits and pieces of ‘Bootleg‘.) «Sigrid Jane» was recorded in Ray Charles’ studio, for free, and his bass player made the recording sound so full that I never recut the song. «I Am The Six O’Clock News» was cut on the tail end of a union, for free, with Toxie French on drums and Butch Parker on organ, at the end of someone else’s session. I knew a lot of session people in those days. Even though they would never play for free, they would do favors for me, if the clock was still under three hours. If it had gone one minute overtime, I would have had to pay for an additional three hour block of time. We only had time for one take and as the song was fading, the clock ran out of time.
The version of ‘Street Level’ you have here is one that seemed so confusing to the Christians that, after pressing 400 copies of this, I later created a second version for the church kids. By then I had already put out the ‘Bootleg‘ double album, again with my own money, and signed with MGM to record my first single, «Righteous Rocker».
[Excerpt from Larry Norman’s liner notes featured in the 2CD compilation ‘Rough Street Love Letter’ released on Solid Rock Records in 1999]
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.