Page "Larry Norman" Paragraph 49

On August 7, 1973 Norman entered AIR studios in London to record his favorite album, the second album in his Trilogy, So Long Ago the Garden, which was produced again by Edwards, Hand, and Miller.

According to John J. Thompson, " lyrically, as the title suggests, the album reflects on the nature of the human condition.

The songs deal with characters ... knee deep in the madness of life without God ".

By October 1, 1973 these recording sessions were completed and the recordings were submitted to MGM.

However, financial problems at MGM, which would result in its collapse within fifteen months, " couldn't adequately promote or advertise the album.

The corporate attention was focused on more pressing things like survival and solvency ".

According to Norman, the record company dropped several Christian songs, including " Butterfly ," " If God Is My Father ," " Kulderachna ", and " I Hope I'll See You In Heaven ", in favor of more lightweight love songs like " Fly, Fly, Fly ," the album's opening track ", and " Christmastime ', both previously released as singles.

Believing that MGM was interfering with the subject matter of his records, by 1974 Norman left MGM due to " a squabble with MGM over song choices for his next album, ...

So Long Ago the Garden ".

Not long after this decision, MGM Records folded due to economic difficulties.