The Petra Zone

Just about every rock band puts out stuff that's kinda weird! Of Petra's albums and songs, which ones really strike you as odd?

Me:

Washin' Whiter Than
Beat the System
Back to the Street
Double Take
Revival

- - -
These are what I think are Petra's most unusual songs: (sorry, I can't keep a small list)

(almost everything from Washes Whiter Than, especially Yahweh Love, Taste and See, and Magic Words)
Killing My Old Man
Father of Lights
Judas' Kiss
Visions doxology stuff
Not By Sight
Pied Piper
(almost everything on Beat the System, especially Computer Brains, God Gave Rock, and Witch Hunt)
(almost everthing on Back to the Street, especially You Are I Am, Whole World, and Run For Cover)
THis Means War
The Water is Alive
Dead Reckoning
Defector
Friends (definitely)
Creed
What's in a Name
Secret Weapon
Sight Unseen
Strong Convictions
Think Twice
Heart of a Hero
A Matter of Time
God Fixation
(almost everything on Double Take and Revival)
It's All About Who You Know
Woulda' Shoulda' Coulda'
Perfect World

That's alot of 'weird' songs!!

I believe that Friends is the weirdest song-not in a good way. I hated that song when I was younger. Years later I thought well maybe I was too harsh-nope. I often wondered 'what were they thinking?' with that one. It is still IMO the worst song Petra ever recorded.

Other weirdness for me includes
Lucas McGraw ah that beginning always made me laugh-especially Elvis hillbilly.
Holy Ghost Power Petra channelling Kool and the Gang or something? One expects to hear Ladies Night directly follow that one.
Taste and See (hehheh):lol:
Computer Brains Sooo fun to do the robot to.
Witch Hunt I loved the clever wicked witch backwards track-hahaHAAA-always wondered what was up with the drunken hillbillies at the end though. I laughed at that too-Petra hillbilly songs are so funny.
Hand on My Heart-R&B minus an actual R&B group=weird
God Gave Rock and Roll To You as recorded in 84 and Double Take-Uh guys you got it right the first time...

Those are the stand outs for me.

Friends was intentionally a parody of 50's "doo-wop" type music. I like it because of that - even though it doesn't rock. And it's a funny song because of the whistling, the "shoo-be-wop" backgrounds, the bluesy wailing saxophones, and John's Elvis imitation at the beginning of the song "wha- a- a- oh"

I think doo-wop (or whatever it's called) is one of the styles of music that helped give birth to rock-and-roll. So it's interesting that Petra wanted to do a song that ventured way down into the very roots of their genre. (Which is rock, of course.)

Yeah, I know it was supposed to be doo-wop-that is why it was so dern terrible.

BTW, Doo-Wop did not precede Rock and Roll, but was for the most part contemporary with it. The term actually post-dates it.
I'm pretty sure Elvis didn't sing Doo-Wop. This was the domain of the Five Satins, Penquins, et al. Though Doo-Wop is a large and murky domain, I think group harmony is required, and ultimately he was a soloist.


That all of course is not counting the fact that rock and roll is really a variation Memphis City Blues and evolved from there-and is way old! I wouldn't mind them trying some Jump blues if they wanted to go back to rock roots.

I call 'em head-scratchers...I like the songs in their own right, I suppose, but they would't occupy a spot on my ipod.

Friends
Hand on My Heart
Lucas McGraw
Mary's Song

Even though I think it is an awesome song, I always thought that Marks of the Cross was a very strange and out of place Petra song.

Nothing is worse than "Holy Ghost Power" lol. Nothing. Makes Friends seem awesome.

What else?

All Over Me was strange.
I am Available was strange.
Hand on My Heart was strange.

some songs on Revival and Double Take made me shake my head.

Otherwise Petra's tunes rock!

Petra's only Christmas song. I actually like that song a lot and wish I had the guitar tabs to do that song at Christmas ...

My weird list:

Holy Ghost Power -uh huh huh huh huh as Beavis and Butthead would say

Taste and See- equally Beavis and Butthead Material

Couldnt Find Love Without You - Three Words: WKRP in Cincinnati

Lucas McGraw - I love this song.

Hand on My Heart - closely follows ...

Friends as the worst Petra song ever!!!!

Run for Cover - I too think this song is weird but good.

I Am Available - One of Petra's greatest songs with the exception of the weird sounding flute/whatever intro

Computer Brains - pretty much says it all in the name

Beat the System - see above

There are others, I am leaving off but these are the weirdest imo ...

That crazy stuff on "I Am Available" sounds like keyboard fake harmonica. It is weird.

I should add "All Over Me" and "Hand on my heart" on my weird list - so many of you are saying those, and I agree - they're different.

"Friends" is definitely not Petra rock, but I like it because I think 50's music is really cool

I think "Yahweh Love" might be the worst Petra song I've ever heard. "Magic Words" and "Deep Love" are close seconds.

Hmmm, boring songs? Lots of songs on Double Take and Revival were BO-RING, especially the "Creed" remix (it's too slow!!!), "Oasis" is one of those songs I could skip over, "Better Is One Day" is more like FFH than Petra, and "You Satisfy" is very redundant.

The techno-ish sound effects on Double Take's "Beat the System" remix and "Just Reach Out" remix are weeeiiird. So is the "na, na-na, na-na, na" on the "Just Reach Out" remix.

I don't have the Come and Join Us album (or the first album), but I heard the sound clip from Josh Renaud's website, and yes it's rather bizarre. Reminds me of the Mickey Mouse disco song from a 70's Disney music record I listened to when I was little.

What are you doing???
Are you making fun of petra songs???
That weird thing is what puts the petra trademark.

Personally I like Washes Whiter Than so much, it and never say die are the best petra albuns(not mentioning WUC).

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well.....I am still wondering why did John Lawrry played that funny thing
at the ending of He came, He saw. At that part: .....He came into this world....it's so weird!!!
In the same song, at that part: the enemy was conquered...it seems like John used an "orchestra hit" from the cheapest synthesizer... that destroyed the song.

I should add "All Over Me" and "Hand on my heart" on my weird list - so many of you are saying those, and I agree - they're different.

I wouldn't call All Over Me weird-it was just too slow. The cover version that someone did speeds it up a little and it's really a pretty decent song. Another one that is not weird per se, but is too slow is Fool's Gold. It was like they did not have a whole song and had to drag it out to make one. I always thought it would be cool to remake that song with less of that drag.

I also like Washes Whiter Than, Yahweh love in particular-though I would say they were not trying to prove their genuis in the lyric department with the chorus. Still a pretty song.

Holy Ghost Power is soo funk, odd to our ears, but in a fun way. You know I'm beginning think Bob must have a huge soft spot for R&B/soul/funk and every so often it recklessly makes it's way in to Petra's music-obviously not unnoticed.

And yes pmal, you are correct, Friends is the worst. Petra did that song an undeserved favour by playing it (though it certainly wasn't a favour to us).

adrinux wrote:That weird thing is what puts the petra trademark.

Sounds like you're making fun of Petra by saying that.