Description
Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels: The Belfast Bootlegs is a four disc Box Set featuring live recordings by the American singer and songwriter Larry Norman, independently released on Romanian Relief Records in 2001. This 4 CDr release was produced, compiled, and edited by Paul Shaw and Trevor King. Most of the songs are live recordings, all from Irish concerts (1981-2000). The last three tracks on Disc 4 (called bonus tracks: “The Troubles”, “Lugoj”, and “Centre Of My Heart”) are studio recordings donated by Larry Norman for this release and were recorded in 2001. The title of this release refers not only to Larry’s songs and performances but also to the Romanian orphans to which all proceeds of the sale of this CD set went.
In the seventies, Larry Norman was twenty years ahead of his time in how he was able to create artistic masterpieces of rock records out of the truth of Christian faith. His work, especially what became known as the Trilogy , Only Visiting This Planet, So Long Ago The Garden, and In Another Land – was strong enough to sit with anything in the “real” world. The songwriting, the production, the playing, the very artwork were unequalled in Christian subculture for many a long year. He was the inspiration and benchmark that everyone had to reach. By the end of the decade Norman had retreated from releasing albums and live recording but at the beginning of ‘81 he returned with a British tour and at last the release of another great piece of work Something New Under the Son.
That May he walked out on the Assembly Buildings stage in Belfast the night Ballymena United won the Irish Cup for the first time in aeons and the whole country was waiting for the imminent death of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands. His charisma from the moment he appeared until he left was mesmerizing. With the band he rocked, like Jagger could rock, his trademark blonde hair flying around like some special effect. His solo acoustic stuff was intimate, powerfully insightful and as humorous as any stand up comedian.
These were radical sound bites of faith in the twentieth century and the evidence of the generation gap between a rocker and the established Church. I remember thinking that if Jesus were alive in 1981 he would look just like this and during «UFO» I looked up at the roof expecting to find out if I was right. Norman had been to Belfast before and for the next two decades it was the scene of regular nights of Norman eccentricism and the sale of an abundance of LP’s and CD’s only available at gigs.
Without doubt, us in Belfast have had the privilege of watching the history of Larry Norman. We have seen him rock, seen him go solo acoustic, we have seen him suffer from physical demons of his mind and been to Larry Norman concerts that even Larry Norman could not make it to because of a heart attack. We have seen him recover his health and we have seen him look very vulnerable during songs and prayed he’d make it through and then watched him rock it in the second half. If there was to be a box set of Norman’s greatest live moments then there was no better place for its documentation than on the stages of this troubled city. That is what Trevor King and Paul Shaw have been doing these past fifteen concerts and at the beginning without any CD release in mind. But do not be fooled by the word “Rough” in the title or the by-line Belfast Bootlegs. This is Norman in many cases without fancy equipment but the recordings are far from poor in quality and the performances are strong.
Rough Diamonds * Precious Jewels is the history of Larry Norman live and has just about every song that he has performed live anywhere in these last twenty years. We also get a huge dollop of his humorous poignancy in improvised yarns. The four CDs are crammed full of songs familiar and a good smattering of the very rare. Whether you are looking for the old faithfuls like «The Rock That Doesn’t Roll», «I Wish We’d All Been Ready», and «Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music» or for those like «Near», «I Am Is», or «If I Were a Singer», or his versions of the old Gospel songs «If I Got My Ticket» and «Swing Low Swing Chariot» improvised in his explanation of how rock ‘n roll is not of the devil but had its roots in the faith that inspired old Negro spirituals, then you have it here under the one roof. What the historical nature of the work reveals is that though Norman’s songwriting, and particularly his lyric writing, lost its originality in later years, his performance and delivery was able to carry the shortfall. Songs like «The Long Hard Road» or «Elvis Has Left the Building» may have sounded trite and twee in any other hands or lips. At the same time what it reveals more than anything else is what a solid back catalogue the man has.
That, like Dylan, he has kept his songs alive, growing, moving, changing with time means that this is far more satisfying than a box set of the old recordings. That it is released to raise money for Romanian orphans and that Larry has paid for the pressing so that all of your money goes to that project makes it even more a necessity. It is simply the essential Larry Norman whether you have everything else or nothing at all. Not that rough but very precious; and not only if, like me, you’d been there! Gloat!!!!! [Steve Stockman, The Phantom Tollbooth, 11/4/2001]
Some fans of Larry feel there are already too many live albums and compilations around and not enough original studio work available. So how does this 4 CD stack up? First the facts, ‘Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels’ contains a whopping 98 tracks (including jokes, audience interaction and monologues) and has a running time in excess of four and a half hours. It chronicles Larry’s Belfast concerts from 1981 to last year’s performance. Belfast just happens to be the European city which Larry has played most often over the years, a place where a special rapport exists between the performer and the audience. In Belfast, he feels free to try out new unreleased material, rarities and speak on a very personal level. Some of his appearances have gone down in legend, like the 1981 concert where Larry was backed by the Alwyn Wall Band featuring Norman Barratt. In the middle of their Friends On Tour schedule the Belfast concert fell on the same night as IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands died in prison. The show went on despite the tension and danger. In addition to his usual solo spot the audience were treated to band performances of some of his hits and new material from Larry’s recently released ‘Something New Under The Son’ LP. 20 years later some Larry fans speak about that night in May 1981 and the power and impact of the concert. The 1987 concert at the Ulster Hall also stands out as another vintage performance, this time Larry held the stage himself and delivered definitive versions of classics from his back catalogue with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. A year later and the concert highlights were broadcast on the Ulster TV concert special Righteous Rocker, Holy Roller. Larry’s regular visits continued throughout the ’90s despite his problems with his heart condition, ending up on television once more in 1995 and turning in impressive performances in 1998 and again in 2000. Nearly all of the concerts were recorded from the mixing desk and Trevor King and Paul Shaw sat through hours of tapes and carefully selected the highlights from each concert. The strength of the compilation is such that it is almost impossible to pick out highlights from the 4 CD set. The truth is that there isn’t a weak track here. On one or two occasions Larry comes in at the wrong point during instrumentals on cracking band performances of “Be Careful What You Sign” and “Why Should The Devil Have All The Music” and temporarily throws his fellow musicians, but these few mistakes aside, what we have is one of Christian music’s greatest songwriters operating at the peak of his well documented performing powers for four and a half hours. There is plenty on offer here to satisfy both the first time buyer (if indeed a first time buyer spends £35 on their first album by an artist) as nearly all of the songs which sealed Larry’s reputation as a top notch songwriter are featured, often with some great bands backing him well. Enthusiasts too can revel in the amount of rarities on offer with a number of charming songs from Larry’s early songwriting efforts featuring and major new songs like “Near” and the poem “I Am Is”. Then there are stunning band versions of “Watch What You’re Doing” and “Feeling So Bad” which may even surpass the album versions on ‘Something New Under The Son’. The icing on the cake has to be the three bonus tracks from the studio which conclude the set. “The Troubles” is one of those songs which Larry keeps coming out with once in a while which shows the gift for songwriting is still intact. And you can hear the small acoustic band getting really into the song as it progresses. The following track “Lugoj” ranks among the most beautiful studio recordings produced by Larry with subtle and tender instrumentation bringing out another fine vocal, but best of all are the lyrics. The wonderful “Centre Of My Heart” brings the project to its conclusion augmented by Celtic sounding strings, mandolins, banjos and all. Other comments: The subtitle “Belfast Bootlegs” is a bit misleading. When you think of bootlegs you associate them with illegal, dodgy releases and poor sound quality of limited interest to anyone but hardcore fans and collectors. Not so here. This boxed set was made with Larry’s painstaking involvement and full commitment. ‘RDPJ’ is the first LN compilation which excels itself for the degree of care taken to ensure pristine sound quality. After much eq-ing and editing the tracks from the old hissy 1981 tape sound as clear and bright and detailed as the 2000 digital soundboard. Perhaps even more remarkably Larry’s vocals have not deteriorated over this 20 year period. For three reasons ‘RDPJ’ is recommended to even the casual fan who might balk at spending £35 on any album: 1) Its the kind of compilation which does justice to Larry’s status. All 98 tracks highlight the calibre and variety of his songwriting and showcase his abilities as a charismatic, daring and charming “performer” and meaningful communicator. 2) The sumptuous packaging flags up the importance of the project. Two top quality 16 page booklets accompany the four CDs. Great photos abound alongside well written pieces on Larry and his Belfast concerts, while a second booklet focuses on the work in Romanian orphanages. And for only the third time in his career Larry has even penned a hard hitting “As I See It ” column to accompany an album release. 3) Since Larry himself met the costs of editing the project, mastering and manufacturing the CDs as his own donation to the project every penny of the £35 goes to support the work in the Romanian orphanages. If you only plan to buy one Larry Norman album this year you really can’t go wrong with this one. And, if you weren’t planning on buying any LN albums this year… its time to think again! A great introduction to a seminal artist and a fantastic treat for any long-standing fan. Hopefully this will set the standard for future Larry compilations and raise a significant amount of money for vital work in Romania. [Dougie Adam, Cross Rhythms, July 2001]
4CD tracklist:
Disc One – Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels: Part One
1-01. TV Ad
1-02. Intro From Trevor King
1-03. God Save The Queen
1-04. Song For A Small Circle
1-05. Twelve Good Men (Backing by Barratt Band)
1-06. Be Careful What You Sign (Backing by Barratt Band)
1-07. Everybody Work (Backing by Barratt Band)
1-08. Twist And Shout (Backing by Barratt Band)
1-09. Shout (Backing by Barratt Band)
1-10. Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus (Backing by Barratt Band)
1-11. I Wish We’d All Been Ready (Backing by Barry Bynum Band)
1-12. The Rock That Doesn’t Roll (Backing by Barry Bynum Band)
1-13. Why Should The Devil (Backing by Alwyn Wall Band)
1-14. Watch What You’re Doing (Backing by Alwyn Wall Band)
1-15. Feeling So Bad (Backing by Alwyn Wall Band)
1-16. A Note From Mr. God (Backing by Alwyn Wall Band)
1-17. Leaving The Past Behind
1-18. Bishop Of Norway
1-19. Rumors #1
1-20. Coy Boy
1-21. Sweet Song Of Salvation
1-22. I Am A Servant (Duet with Marian Lisland)
1-23. One Way
Disc Two
2-01. God Part III
2-02. Euro / EC / Maggie
2-03. Six Sixty Six / PeacePollutionRevolution
2-04. Riverdance #1
2-05. Great American Novel
2-06. Reader’s Digest
2-07. Near
2-08. I Am Is
2-09. Strong Love, Strange Peace
2-10. Riverdance #2
2-11. The Outlaw
2-12. The Pastor Said
2-13. My Feet Are On The Rock
2-14. Forget Your Hexagram
2-15. Riverdance #3
2-16. Nightmare #49
2-17. U.F.O.
2-18. A Woman Of God
2-19. If The Bombs Fall
2-20. Walking Backwards
2-21. If You’ll Be My Woman
2-22. Marvin, David, Walter, Lincoln Jones
2-23. Rachael And Me
2-24. Quit Kicking My Dog
2-25. It’s Getting So You Can’t Trust Nobody
2-26. Parson Brown
2-27. Elvis Has Left The Building
2-28. Shot Down
2-29. I’ve Searched All Around
Disc Three – Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels: Part Two
3-01. Maeari
3-02. Any Requests #1
3-03. Shake It Up Baby
3-04. Unlucky Blues
3-05. Watch What You’re Doing
3-06. Haight Ashbury
3-07. Baby Out Of Wedlock
3-08. No More L.S.D.
3-09. A Note From Mr. God
3-10. Weight Of The World
3-11. Let The Rain Fall Down
3-12. All The Way Home
3-13. If I Were A Singer
3-14. Bombs
3-15. Diamonds
3-16. And We Sing ‘The Tune’
3-17. The Tune
3-18. Sins
3-19. Under His Love
3-20. Without Him
3-21. I Wish We’d All Been Ready
3-22. Messiah
3-23. At The Circus
3-24. Rumors #2
3-25. The Troubles
Disc Four
4-01. Sound Check
4-02. Any Requests #2 / Moses (Rap)
4-03. Pardon Me
4-04. Leida, Harjo
4-05. Irish Love Affair
4-06. Van The Man
4-07. God Can Restore Us
4-08. I Hope I’ll See You In Heaven
4-09. The Man From Galilee
4-10. Rock & Roll Is From The Devil
4-11. Backward Masking
4-12. Rock & Roll Is From The Church
4-13. If I Got My Ticket
4-14. Swing Low Sweet Chariot
4-15. The Long Hard Road
4-16. Slow Fast
4-17. Sermonette
4-18. Goodbye Farewell
4-19. The Troubles (studio)
4-20. Lugoj (studio)
4-21. The Centre Of My Heart (studio)
Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://larrynorman.bandcamp.com/album/rough-diamonds-precious-jewels
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