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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Surprisingly Strong Album, June 29, 2004
This CD has held up reasonably well over the decade-plus since its release. It is an all-too-rare occasion when Brother Norman releases an album that is composed entirely of new material, and much of this is quite well written. The production (and probably most if not all of the arrangement work) can be attributed to the musical maturing of Norman's little brother Charly, whose "signature" feels heavily present throughout the album. But that, thankfully, is a good thing -- because, in all honesty (and this from an admirer of Larry Norman's music), big brother Larry's fount of inspiration appears to have been barely trickling for a good three decades now.It is difficult to speculate precisely regarding the sudden cessation of the kind of music that Norman proved capable of writing and performing in the late 60s and early 70s. He has not been hesitant to offer his own (often quite varied -- and hackneyed) explanations over the years, in print, for his dramatic falloff in the mid-70s after "Upon This Rock" (still a very fun late 60s "period piece"), "Only Visiting This Planet" (oh my goodness -- classic, truly classic early 70s "Jesus Rock" that addresses the gamut of social issues with sanctified-but-cynical wit), and "So Long Ago the Garden" (crafty songwriting and some great blues). In fact, Norman has offered more "spins" on his tailspin than one could possibly keep straight: often it's those nasty music companies who keep screwing him over one way or another(i.e., "The Man"); or else he spent so many long and thankless years selflessly producing other people's albums (i.e., "my so-called 'friends' stabbed me in the back"); or else he was emotionally spent by a ruined marriage (though in fact much of his best work appears to have been animated by lost love); or else it was that really serious head injury in a plane accident . . . and many more. Come on, Larry -- you were just getting old! (I should know; I'm creakin' along not far behind.) I know I've strayed from the issue, which is to review "Stranded in Babylon." Forgive the venting . . . and suffice it to say that this album certainly stands up reasonably well alongside Norman's finest work. His lyrics can still be biting and prophetic (especially in the excellent rant "Step into the Madness," where he warns against "a kinder, gentler World War Three" and proclaims America to be the "land of the free [where] everyone gets liberty -- if you've got the money"). For the most part, though, the kind of truly wicked (in the best sense of the word) humor that once characterized Norman's writing has almost entirely vanished, at least on this album. (I have yet to hear his most recent, and possibly his final, studio album, "Tourniquet," but I have heard good things about it.) And "Stranded" also provides evidence aplenty that his capacity for crafting a tune that is actually attractive and catchy has diminished considerably. If I could, I'd probably have actually given this 3 and 1/2 stars, rather than 4. (I'd have reserved 4 stars for "So Long Ago the Garden" and, I suppose, "In Another Land.") Nonetheless, the album is / was a solid effort by the single most important figure in the history of Christian rock music -- at a time when few could really have expected something so fresh and alive from an aging-before-his-time, apparently burned-out musician.
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by Larry Norman 
