Only Visiting This Planet is a Christian rock album recorded by Larry Norman in 1972. The album was selected as the second-best album in CCM Magazine's The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. In April 2014, it was announced as one of 25 sound recordings inducted for 2013 into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, which preserves "cultural, artistic, and/or historical treasures representing the richness and diversity of the American soundscape," making it the first Christian rock album chosen for the registry.

History: On September 8, 1972, Norman began recording his second studio album, Only Visiting This Planet, the first album in a projected trilogy, at AIR Studios in London. Often ranked as Norman's best album, it mixed his Christian message with strong political themes and was meant to reach the flower children disillusioned by the government and the church with its abrasive, urban reality of the gospel.

In a 1980 interview, Norman explained its purpose: "Only Visiting This Planet is the first part of the trilogy, and represents the present. On the front cover I find myself standing in the middle of New York City, with buildings and traffic pressed around me and my hand on my head kind of saying, 'What is going on in this life? Is this really Earth?' And the back cover is me visiting the site of a previous civilization with its own monoliths—not skyscrapers, but amazing, architecturally sound structures just the same." The Druids apparently constructed Stonehenge to help them observe or worship the sun; their civilization is now gone, as New York will be someday. I'm just standing there, looking around, wondering what happened to kill off this culture and reduce its entire recorded history to a few standing structures.

On January 6, 1973, Norman was one of three named Best New Male Artist of the Year by Cashbox. By February 1973, songs from Only Visiting This Planet had been recommended by Billboard for "heavy Top 40 airplay" and were being played on WVVS-FM, KSHE-FM, and WKTK-FM. In 1990, CCM Magazine voted it "the greatest Christian album ever recorded." Only Visiting This Planet was one of 25 sound recordings inducted in 2013 into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, which preserves recordings as "cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures, representing the richness and diversity of the American soundscape." A statement by the Library of Congress called the album "the key work in the early history of Christian rock," describing Norman as someone who "commented on the world as he saw it from his position as a passionate, idiosyncratic outsider to mainstream churches." After touring South Africa in June and the UK in July, he released in July the songbook "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?", which featured some of his songs from both Upon This Rock and Only Visiting This Planet. In the song "Reader's Digest," Norman sings the verse: "Dear John, who's more popular now? I've been listening to Paul's records. I think he really is dead." The line "Who's more popular now?" references John Lennon's claim that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus" (see the "Paul Is Dead" rumor).

The album features bassist John Wetton—then a member of the progressive rock band Family—who later played with King Crimson and fronted Asia.

A three-LP box set containing the entire trilogy in their originally intended forms, titled The Compleat Trilogy (as mentioned on the insert of the Street Level reissue of Only Visiting This Planet), has never been released. Solid Rock Records has issued multiple re-releases.

All tracks were composed by Larry Norman. The original LP release order was as on the Verve album. On the Street Level vinyl reissue in 1977, Norman claimed he had always wanted the album to open with "I've Got to Learn to Live Without You"; subsequent re-releases placed that track first and "Why Don't You Look Into Jesus" third. Side 1:
"Why Don't You Look into Jesus" – 4:03
"The Outlaw" – 3:52
"I've Got to Learn to Live Without You" – 3:35
"Righteous Rocker #1" – 3:32
"I Wish We'd All Been Ready" – 4:31

Side 2:
"I Am Six O'Clock News" – 6:04
"The Great American Novel" – 4:30
"Pardon Me" – 3:36
"Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music" – 2:37
"Reader's Digest" – 2:43
"Oh, How I Love You" – 0:42 (brief song snippet – not listed on label or album sleeve)

Additional tracks on some subsequent releases:
"Peace Pollution Revolution" (1971 single)
"Righteous Rocker" (rough mix / Hard Rock Version / Delta Swamp Version)
"The Outlaw" (demo / Rock Remake / Peace Mix Remake)
"Digest" (rock version) / "Reader's Digest" (Hard Rock Remake / Solid Rock Studio Remake)

Maximum Planet (The Anthology Series):
"I've Got to Learn to Live Without You" – basic master track
"Why Don't You Look into Jesus" – master track
"I Wish We'd All Been Ready" – basic master track
"I Am the Six O'Clock News" – basic master track
"Six O'Clock News" – jet fade-in with stewardess
"Six O'Clock News" – jet fade-out jam
"The Great American Novel" – demo "Pardon Me" – faint vocals; with vocals and no orchestra
"Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music" – vocals 2.0
"Uncredited, Unidentified Song" – spiral out-groove
"The Great American Novel" – warm-up demo
"I've Got to Learn to Live Without You" – basic track
"The Outlaw" – with electric guitars and guide vocal
"I Am the Six O'Clock News" – basic track with guitars and guide vocal
"I Wish We'd All Been Ready" – with orchestra and no vocals
"Why Should the Devil" – with guide vocal
"Why Don't You Look into Jesus" – on stage

Personnel
Larry Norman – vocals, piano
John Wetton – bass
Keith Smart – drums
Mickey Keen – guitar
Rod Edwards – piano and backing vocals
Roger Hand – backing vocals
Gordon Giltrap – guitar
Bob Brady – piano
Bill Price – engineer

See also
Larry Norman discography

External links
Library of Congress essay on album

Categories
1972 albums
Larry Norman albums
United States National Recording Registry recordings
United States National Recording Registry albums