Classic Petra - The Upcoming New Album.

[bakersfieldpethead]

First of all, none of Petra's albums have ever been remixed or remasterd that I'm aware of. So if you listen to the secular Rock bands from that time period today, chances are the money was spent from the label to remix it or remaster it.

In my opinion the E-brothers drums sounded pretty empty, and it didn't help that most of the distortion back then with all bands ran a little flat, but that was the sound of the day back then. We have a wider range of sounds today that were not available or just wasn't the style back then. And didn't Ronny play with a pick? That will sure enough take away from the low end of the Bass Guitar.

[brent]

The drum samples and sequencers back then were lower bit. Heck, some of the earliest were barely 12-bit. Those early 16-bit converters gave away 2.5 bits (or so) to noise. They sounded like dookie. Aaaaanyway....

Some of the reissues did not come from the original masters, but were from copies and copies of copies? How do I know? I asked. Some of those original 1630 tapes were lost. There were DAT (which sucked) safeties around.

[bakersfieldpethead]

The problem with the Christian market back then is they kept shooting themselves in the foot with mis-management of masters. As soon as a Grammy Award winning artist left a label that artist's stock would be put out of print, so it didn't make since as to what they were doing back then. Of course they are doing that still today, Word has just about put every Petra album on their label out of print and just sells it in Digital format on ITunes.

[Mountain Man]

I don't really like WUC but it doesn't sound cheap or second rate in the slightest. I listen to the early albums and it sounds kinda weak. I recently purchased some Rez from the same time (early 80's) and was surprised to hear what, IMO, sounded like a much better produced album.

If you say so. I don't think early Petra sounds "cheap" at all.

[executioner]

I don't really like WUC but it doesn't sound cheap or second rate in the slightest. I listen to the early albums and it sounds kinda weak. I recently purchased some Rez from the same time (early 80's) and was surprised to hear what, IMO, sounded like a much better produced album.

If you say so. I don't think early Petra sounds "cheap" at all.

Compared to Rez in the same era it does.

[Mountain Man]

I don't really like WUC but it doesn't sound cheap or second rate in the slightest. I listen to the early albums and it sounds kinda weak. I recently purchased some Rez from the same time (early 80's) and was surprised to hear what, IMO, sounded like a much better produced album.

If you say so. I don't think early Petra sounds "cheap" at all.

Compared to Rez in the same era it does.

Again, I disagree. There are stylistic differences, but I don't feel that one is inferior to the other. Maybe it's because I grew up on Petra, so to me, that's what good music sounds like.

[executioner]

I don't really like WUC but it doesn't sound cheap or second rate in the slightest. I listen to the early albums and it sounds kinda weak. I recently purchased some Rez from the same time (early 80's) and was surprised to hear what, IMO, sounded like a much better produced album.

If you say so. I don't think early Petra sounds "cheap" at all.

Compared to Rez in the same era it does.

Again, I disagree. There are stylistic differences, but I don't feel that one is inferior to the other. Maybe it's because I grew up on Petra, so to me, that's what good music sounds like.

I'm not saying Rez music is better, because overall Petra is my favorite what I am saying is the production quality is a lot better coming from Rez than Petra.

[Mountain Man]

I don't really like WUC but it doesn't sound cheap or second rate in the slightest. I listen to the early albums and it sounds kinda weak. I recently purchased some Rez from the same time (early 80's) and was surprised to hear what, IMO, sounded like a much better produced album.

If you say so. I don't think early Petra sounds "cheap" at all.

Compared to Rez in the same era it does.

Again, I disagree. There are stylistic differences, but I don't feel that one is inferior to the other. Maybe it's because I grew up on Petra, so to me, that's what good music sounds like.

I'm not saying Rez music is better, because overall Petra is my favorite what I am saying is the production quality is a lot better coming from Rez than Petra.

And I'm saying I disagree because, to my ears, the differences are stylistic rather than qualitative.

[executioner]

Agree to disagree.

[rexreed]

Agree to disagree.

Poor quality= stylistic choice

Ok, I guess you can make that argument.

[Mountain Man]

Perhaps you could explain exactly why you think it's poor quality.

When I listen to classic Petra, I hear a clean, clear recording with wonderful definition of the instruments and vocals and a nice, wide sound stage with depth and presence and a beautifully balanced mix that blends together perfectly while still allowing you to pick out individual instruments and singers.

So what am I missing? Where's the poor quality?

[brent]

As far as sonics are concerned, these albums are on par with Fleetwood Mac and other critically acclaimed records. I have been mindfully listening to classic rock radio, trying to hear disappearing differences. I really cannot fault the recordings. They are dry, which I like, and common to that ear of small, dead studios in that era. Everything was dead acoustically. When I listen to the old records, all the way back to the first, I can hear what was going on back then on radio. I do not like all of that, mind you. But, it was consistent.

Re: Rez Band. I have never liked any of their production and owned only two records, because they were given to me. I was not a fan of the Chicago biker music or gruff female vocals. I thought they sounded terrible live. They were ugly, loud and brash. Big deal. But, they reached that rough crowd that needed an alternative. Good for them. So, I would not begin to compare The Resurrection Band to Petra. I would look at early Styx, Journey, Kansas, etc. In that context, Petra was there. When the E-brothers came, think Def Leppard, poppy Foreigner, etc.

[rexreed]

"I would look at early Styx, Journey, Kansas, etc. In that context, Petra was there. When the E-brothers came, think Def Leppard, poppy Foreigner, etc."

I do not hear the same quality in Petra recording from the same time. In arrangement or in the production. 1977's Rumours album sounds a lot better to me than Petra albums like More Power to Ya that were recorded five years later. Sam goes for 1978's Infinity album. Compare that to Washes Whiter Than. With the exception of Keith Green I do not think most ccm artists albums had the same sound quality of their secular counterparts. I'm pretty sure I am not alone with this opinion. As a high schooler in the 90's we still yearned for the day that out favorite ccm artists would release albums that sounded as current or as good as the stuff played on regular radio stations. It's not blasting Petra, just a matter of fact comparison. I'm a little shocked to hear someone say they think that the early Petra albums are on par with the other music of the day. Maybe I am being to harsh or critical?

[Mountain Man]

I still have no idea what you're on about. Can you, as objectively as possible, explain what you're hearing that makes you criticize early Petra as being sub-par in terms of production quality?

For instance, the only real difference I hear between Journey's Escape and Petra's More Power To Ya is that the former has more reverb in the vocals which is a stylistic choice and not a difference in quality.

[executioner]

What I'm trying to say and I think Rex is trying to say the same is the production quality and sound Petra was doing from 81-83 the secular artists that Petra was mostly compared too were doing the same in the mid to late 70's and these artists and market had already moved on from it.
I remember as an early teen trying get a couple of friends who had not heard of Petra to listen to it and they had comments like "old" & "dated". Now for me it was great because my parents tried to keep me away from that evil secular stuff, but for the guys that knew better their opinions were different and negative.