Click here for the whole album
This is one of those rare items which remains completely unmentioned on the internet...Until Now. Googling "Lyrical Laurences" turns up zero results, meaning this gem of rural whitebread religious folkiness was probably published in a run of about 150 or so, and all those copies now exist in thrift stores and garages. I picked it up at the Salvation Army in Kirksville, Missouri because of its beautifully dorky cover. (Note to Gary and Donna: Using the Future Shock font for the album title was perfect. It melds nicely with the matching harvest pageant outfits you picked out for the cover photo.)
The album does contain some stellar vibes playing and some remarkable drum machine programming (on "Runaway," "The Prodigal Son," and "Medley"--which has the same beat as "Runaway" except sped up to about 300 bpm). "Runaway" is the only original, and it's the real stand-out. I've listened to it several times and it still remains vaguely upsetting with its lonely vibes and If you only listen to one Lyrical Laurences song in your lifetime, make it "Runaway." "Through It All" contains some slick Al Martino-esque vocal flourishes by daddy Gary, and "Holy, Holy, Holy" is a stirring a capella track.
Overall, this album has that real traveled-the-country-in-an-RV-playing every-podunk-Baptist-ministry-in-the-lower-48 kind of feel.
Liner Notes:
This Is The Record You've Asked For...
GARY and DONNA -- As They Sound In Person
GARY and DONNA -- As They Sound In Person
Gary and Donna, with their two sons, Dustin and Shane, travel in evangelistic work in their bus motor-home almost every day of the year. Dustin, who is five, has completed first grade and made his own record.
