Back in '82 Larry Norman was top lining a slew of releases into the North American market with "Larry Norman Presents." At the time I had no idea these were merely repackaged releases.
The Gap had come out a couple of years earlier, but in '82 this was the first time I'd seen or heard of Bryn Haworth, and it seemed intriguing. At the time, any association with secular artists was an odd badge of honour and here was Bryn Haworth with the Eric Clapton Band: Dave Markee, Chris Stainton, Henry Pinetti and Bruce Rowland. Well, that must mean something.
I wasn't sure what to expect.
I wasn't expecting what I got.
It was different, but man was it ever good.
At this point
Toto IV was out, and that was constantly on my turntable, along with their earlier release
Turn Back. Resurrection Band had dropped
D.M.Z. and "Military Man" was one of my favourite songs. My goodness Stu Hess was near the top of my favourite guitar players ... a list that was constantly growing, and with this album I was about to add another name. Here was Bryn Haworth and an album full of mid-temp rockers that weren't so much rockers as little pieces of masterfully crafted pop. Bryn was a slide player, and a heck of a guitar player. Nothing was overly flashy, but his playing was impeccable.
This was a decidedly religious album, and I'm okay with that, at the time it was my jam. Listening now, it's a little heavy handed but it was coming out of the late '70s and it was sort of par for the course. It was preaching to the choir for sure, but hey I wasn't complaining then, and I'm not complaining now. A lot of what passed for Christian music seemed to think of the music part as an after thought. Here was an album crafted by musicians and the music mattered. This is so well played, and the band was so tight that you just go along for the ride, and if you don't agree with the philosophy or like the theology that's fine. The songs were good, and some of them so good that it's doesn't matter.
I do have my favourites of course, and there's one song here that is head's and shoulders above the rest and is probably the most accessible. "More of You" is an acoustic driven song, that features an incredible slide and wah-wah solo that still stops me in my tracks. Bryn wasn't just a passable player - he was a master player and I'd later find his name popping up on albums by Cliff Richard and Gerry Rafferty.
The other stellar track is the album's closer "Send Down the Rain" is driven by Dave Markee's bass, and the groove propels the songs and you can't help but bob your head.
It's been a long time since I've sat and cranked this one up and listened all the way through. There are so many good songs here, it's been like catching up with an old friend. It's funny at the time I sort of waited for a follow up that never came - or any that I found for a long time. I would over the years find a couple more albums, but none of them would resonate the way this one did. Sometimes that's all you need, one great album and it fills a hole, or a gap, that needed filling.
The album holds up remarkably well. The musicians were right in the pocket and there are no weird processed effects and strange production tricks that give away the time period. This is a rock record feels as fresh now as it did back in '82.
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