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Article Title:	Larry Norman: The David Di Sabatino's Fallen Angel documentary
Author of reported comment:	J. Nordstrom
Comment Date:	21:26 on Mar 29 2010
Comment:	Great article, perhaps the most balanced article on the documentary and Larry's life I've seen so far. My impressions of Larry began to fade as I read his liner notes. Often defensive, these liner notes were clearly written to cement his reputation amongst his fanbase. However, when we listen to his oft-defensive songs and read his constantly self-righteous liner notes, we see that he built an image for himself that he certainly couldn't and didn't live up to. It didn't take me much research to discover the trumped-up, equivocal nature of many of Norman's claims. However, Di Sabatino's documentary makes many of the same mistakes: it quotes many people who may have not been an authority; it doesn't tell Larry's family's side of the story (it didn't really get a chance); it links words and images to give the viewer a contrived impression. In short, Di Sabatino's documentary works like a personal piece of art, not a journalistic or historical document. Much like Larry's defensive ramblings, the documentary's tone and bias often come off as unnecessarily abrasive, especially due to editing. The complicated Larry Norman story needs a more balanced view in publication, something much more balanced than Norman's self-made image or Di Sabatino's documentary. Unfortunately for fans and viewers, it seems like a balanced view of Norman's life won't appear until his family stops fighting Norman's image-battle posthumously and participates in the discussion. Until then, we will only have two opposite sides of the picture, both emotionally charged far beyond their use as documents. Di Sabatino documents his own image and ego in the documentary; Larry documented his own image and ego through his songs and writings. You've done your journalistic duty right here, Mr. Rimmer. I hope to see more or check your own "back catalogue" on the subject. Thanks for the balanced, concise article.

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