Retro Album 33 - In Another Land

In Another Land is an album recorded by Larry Norman and released in 1976. It is apparently the third album in a "trilogy". It contains some of the most well-known work by the controversial American artist. Norman claimed it was censored by the "mother company" which insisted on removing any music they felt was "too negative" or "too controversial." Commercial pressure forced him to remove four songs as they believed that Norman had included too many songs, and that the deleted songs could be released on his next album.

One of the songs on the album is The Sun Began to Rain. "Knocked out ... in just over a minute" it involved the British comedian Dudley Moore on piano. Righteous Rocker #3 is a reprise of a song which originally appeared on Only Visiting This Planet. The album also contains a souped-up version of Why Don't You Look Into Jesus, another song which made its first appearance on Only Visiting This Planet. In the later version the controversial second verse from the original ("Gonorrhea on Valentine's Day/You're still looking for the perfect lay," etc.) is conspicuously absent. Song For A Small Circle Of Friends is a piece written for Norman's famous friends in the music industry. The song includes allusions to Randy Stonehill, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney. He only knew Stonehill.