Reviewed by Trevor Raggatt

When the original vinyl pressing of 'Home At Last' appeared on Christian bookshop shelves in the mid-'80s it was the welcome end of a drought of new material from the Jesus music veteran. That LP came in double-album format with three sides of ostensibly new material (although it seemed fairly clear that this derived from a trawl through the vaults - several of the tracks being little more than demo song fragments). The final side was a selection of live cuts. The CD reissue presents just the studio performances. Overall, the songs are representative of the way Norman's music was heading at the end of the 1970s - a mainstream rock approach interspersed with more bluesy numbers. While the album never reaches the glories of his classic 1970s output there are several creditable songs. These make the most of his writing skills and his always tremulous vocals. "Country Church" is an endearingly sentimental look of faith in a rural, small-town setting and serves up a verse of "Amazing Grace" in a country-gospel sandwich. "My Feet Are On The Rock" is a fairly standard blues workout, reminiscent of some of his earlier tunes. The song-snippet "Queen Of The Rodeo" and full track, "He Really Loves You" form a couplet of tunes on the need to find faith in Jesus; others muse on parenthood and family life. Overall, 'Home At Last' is more than a curiosity but less than a complete work. That said, it will be a welcome addition to any Larry Norman fan's collection.

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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