Bebo Norman worries there’s nothing left to say. Fifteen years into a career as a singer/songwriter, the acoustic artist says it’s a familiar feeling that comes with each new recording and even after several turns, the fear surfaces still. Quite the odd statement from such a storied writer with hits like “Great Light of the World” to show for it. “I feel that every time I make a record, I go through this phase where I think it’s the last one I’ll be able to write,” says Norman. “I guess it’s because you don’t know what life is going to look like over the next two years as you gather material. I tend to gather ideas for about a year-and- a-half and then sit down to write a record in one fell swoop. Then I hope the material comes together in that setting.” Fortunately for the artist and the audience, Norman’s latest, Ocean, is aptly titled for the flood of new ideas that came this time around. As Norman explains, “For whatever reason, when it came to writing this record, I brought a lot more to the table than I typically have in the last few years.” BeBo NormaN’s Ocean dives deep into life, love and what’s left 26 CCM