Something New under the Son
Encyclopedia
Something New Under The Son is an album recorded by Larry Norman
in 1977 and released in 1981. It was originally intended to be a three-sided album, however Larry's record company felt it was too negative and the project remained unreleased for four years.
-rock concept album
that some regard as his tour de force, and as "one of the roughest, bluesiest, and best rock and roll albums of his career or the whole industry", that took its title from "an ironic inversion of a phrase in Ecclesiastes
",, namely: "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9b). While Norman explicitly denied this album was autobiographical in the accompanying lyric songbook, many years later some critics challenged this claim, arguing "Norman was struggling through his own divorce and identity crisis at the time". In 1999 Norman responded by arguing that when he completed the album, he was happily married and that several of the songs were written before he had met his wife. Norman indicated that the songs chronicled "Pilgrim's" journey into faith. On this album Norman deliberately "took lots of musical & lyrical parts from old blues songs and from Bob Dylan
songs". Norman acknowledged a deliberate similarity between his Something New Under the Son and Bob Dylan's 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home
, including a deliberate endeavor to replicate Bringing It All Back Homes iconic album cover on the inner sleeve of the original Something New Under the Son LP album. Jesus Music historian David Di Sabatino described the album as "Musically reminiscent of The Rolling Stones
' Exile on Main Street (1972) .... The album's artwork is an excellent attempt to parallel Bob Dylan
's Bringing It All Back Home (1966). "Nightmare #97" makes excellent use of Stagger Lee
intro (cf. "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
"). With the song "Let That Tape Keep Rolling" Norman pays homage to Mick Jagger
and Van Morrison
. Norman explained the philosophy behind this album:
Norman had intended to release this as a double album
with his 1971 song "The Tune" on the second album (and a blank fourth side or a side with a lengthy version of "Watch What You're Doing"). However, Word rejected Norman's wishes as they believed two separate albums would be more profitable, censored some of the songs, and delayed the album's release until 1981. A full length (almost 12 minute) version of "The Tune" was recorded in Hollywood in 1977, but not released until 1983 on the album The Story of the Tune, which is called "the continuation of Something New Under The Son on the back cover".
These bonus tracks appear on the 2003 CD re-issue
Larry Norman
Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
in 1977 and released in 1981. It was originally intended to be a three-sided album, however Larry's record company felt it was too negative and the project remained unreleased for four years.
History
In 1977 Norman recorded Something New under the Son a bluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-rock concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
that some regard as his tour de force, and as "one of the roughest, bluesiest, and best rock and roll albums of his career or the whole industry", that took its title from "an ironic inversion of a phrase in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
",, namely: "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9b). While Norman explicitly denied this album was autobiographical in the accompanying lyric songbook, many years later some critics challenged this claim, arguing "Norman was struggling through his own divorce and identity crisis at the time". In 1999 Norman responded by arguing that when he completed the album, he was happily married and that several of the songs were written before he had met his wife. Norman indicated that the songs chronicled "Pilgrim's" journey into faith. On this album Norman deliberately "took lots of musical & lyrical parts from old blues songs and from Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
songs". Norman acknowledged a deliberate similarity between his Something New Under the Son and Bob Dylan's 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's fifth studio album, released in March 1965 by Columbia Records. The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band - a move that further alienated...
, including a deliberate endeavor to replicate Bringing It All Back Homes iconic album cover on the inner sleeve of the original Something New Under the Son LP album. Jesus Music historian David Di Sabatino described the album as "Musically reminiscent of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' Exile on Main Street (1972) .... The album's artwork is an excellent attempt to parallel Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's Bringing It All Back Home (1966). "Nightmare #97" makes excellent use of Stagger Lee
Stagger Lee (song)
"Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee", "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stack-a-Lee" and several other variants, is a popular folk song based on the murder of William "Billy" Lyons by Stagger Lee Shelton...
intro (cf. "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
"Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home. In 2005, Mojo Magazine rated the song as the #68 greatest Bob Dylan song....
"). With the song "Let That Tape Keep Rolling" Norman pays homage to Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
. Norman explained the philosophy behind this album:
The album is called Something New Under the Son. Well my music is not new. "There's nothing new under the sun", SolomonSolomonSolomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
said and my album is not new. I'm not trying to say that my album is new under the sun but I'm trying to say that we are something new under the Son. When we're born again we're a new creature and old things pass away, so on my album I wanted to put some remnants from the past. There are little bits and pieces in the music that some people might recognise have been on other albums before. Just a word there, a little sentence or some musical riffRIFFThe Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
or lickLick (music)In popular music genres such as rock or jazz music, a lick is "a stock pattern or phrase" consisting of a short series of notes that is used in solos and melodic lines...
and a lot of people have figured out what they are and when you listen to it you say "wait a minute, I think I've heard that before!" Yes, you have, because there's nothing new under the sun - except us. We are new in Christ.
Norman had intended to release this as a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
with his 1971 song "The Tune" on the second album (and a blank fourth side or a side with a lengthy version of "Watch What You're Doing"). However, Word rejected Norman's wishes as they believed two separate albums would be more profitable, censored some of the songs, and delayed the album's release until 1981. A full length (almost 12 minute) version of "The Tune" was recorded in Hollywood in 1977, but not released until 1983 on the album The Story of the Tune, which is called "the continuation of Something New Under The Son on the back cover".
Side 1
- "Hard Luck Bad News"
- "Feeling So Bad"
- "I Feel Like Dying"
- "Born To Be Unlucky"
- "Watch What You're Doing"
Side 2
- "Leaving The Past Behind"
- "Put Your Life Into His Hands"
- "Larry Norman's 97th Nightmare"
- "Let That Tape Keep Rolling"
Bonus tracks
- "Twelve Good Men"
- "It's Only Today That Counts"
- "Watch What You're Doing" (8:36 version - previously unreleased)
These bonus tracks appear on the 2003 CD re-issue
Personnel
- Larry Norman - vocals, guitars, percussion, piano, harmonica, saxophone
- Jon Linn - guitars and flaming fingers
- Alex MacDougallAlex MacDougallAlex MacDougall is an American record producer, and percussionist. MacDougall is best known for being a member of the Christian rock band Daniel Amos in the late 1970s in addition to his production and recording session credits...
- drums - Peter Johnson - drums
- Dave Coy - bass
- Billy Batstone - bass
- Tim Jaquette - bass
- Randy StonehillRandy StonehillRandall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...
and Tom HowardTom Howard (musician)Tom Howard was an American pianist, musical arranger and orchestral conductor.In 1983, Howard helped the rock band Daniel Amos form the Alarma! Records label....
- loose strings and lost paperwork