Great Light of the World: The Best of Bebo Norman

Album Review

This greatest-hits package marked the influential singer/songwriter's departure from Essential Records. The collection culls heavily from Bebo Norman's breakthrough 2002 album, Myself When I Am Real, as well as 2006's Between the Dreaming and the Coming True. At only ten tracks, you might question the reason for not including more from the three albums that are underrepresented (just four tracks total from Ten Thousand Days [1999], Big Blue Sky [2001], and Try [2004], plus a track from the WOW Worship: Aqua compilation). Still, the grandeur of Norman's understated vocals and penetrating lyrics is clearly manifested. Strung together between his newer contemporary pop numbers are the worship standards "Nothing Without You," "I Will Lift My Eyes," and the ubiquitous title track. New listeners might be surprised at how these familiar songs seem to resonate. Unlike some "best-of" collections that are so exhaustive that they leave you no reason to explore an artist's catalog, Great Light of the World leaves listeners desperately in need of more.