The Petra Zone

Tme to play catch up here....

With the recent ending of Petra's 33 year music ministry I thought it'd be kind of interesting to start a series of polls on favorite songs. Starting with their first album and working to the last. I figured I'd do an album each week.

So for those interested, get out your petra CD's and start listening. Do it now!! Stop watching that Farewell DVD. Listening is NOT optional!!!

Voting for last weeks album "Beyond Believe" has completed.

Here the results...

Creed (#1 single) [10]
Beyond Believe (#1 single) [7]
I Am On The Rock [4]
Seen And Not Heard [2]
Prayer [2]
Love (#1 single) [1]
Underground [1]
What's In A Name? [1]
Last Daze [0]
Armed And Dangerous [0]

Coming as no surprise "Creed" takes the #1 spot with 10 votes. "Beyond Believe" at #2 with 7 and "I Am On The Rock" in a distant 3rd at 7.

A little tidbit about Creed. The idea came from, of all places, Bob's wife when she made an off-the-cuff comment that she would like to see him write a song about what we believe as Christians. Oddly enough Bob said that the apostle's creed was recited by the church he grew up in every Sunday. That church didn't believe in a personal relationship with Christ. Funny how such a great verse can end part of a church ritual and lose it's meaning to the very members reciting it.

Moving along. Next up is "Unseen Power" released in 1991.

Don't have much info about this album, but here goes.

1) Hey World is one of the few songs written about abortion that I think gets it right. It does it by getting people to think about it without bashing people on the head too much. After all the idea is to win people's hearts and minds. DeGarmo & Key did a pretty good job with "Who Will" as well.

2) Apparently the record was rushed in both its conceptualization and it's production.

3) Bob saw this as a transitional step. Transition to what, I don't know.

4) Destiny and Dance had similar riffs. Guess which song is the more popular? BTW I love the little drum fill their new drummer adds in Dance.

5) The tour for this album marked the time when I got back into listening to Petra again. Long story short. I got tired of groups watering down their lyrics and Petra was one of the few that didn't.

6) For some reason when I went to this concert it was so loud.. I ended up going home with a nasty headache. Non-the-less I still enjoyed it. That place was packed!

7) No Number 1 singles on this one for some reason.

8 ) There was a supplemental "Back Stage Video" released with this. Love the acoustic intro to "Sight Unseen".

Alright everybody... Get busy!

When I first bought this CD and really thought it was better than Beyond Belief, but then 3 weeks later the CD became very stale for me. It's a strong Album one of their heaviest(especially the low end). The drums and basslines are very metalish, but Bob's guitar seems to be in the background. I think if they would've put the guitars up front with the drums and bass this would have been a metal CD. In concert this tour was totally metal and was probably my favorite tour of theirs; I got to see it 2 times in 2 different years. I voted for Sight Unseen.

This album brings mixed emotions. It certainly had a pop feel to it, as exexutioner pointed out, keyboards came out front and mix of guitars lowered. Destiny has never done anything for me. It almost feels out of place.

Criticism aside, I thought the album was strong lyrically; Whole World, Ready, willing and able, I need to here from you, all terrific songs with a powerful message. With the exception of Destiny, the rest of UP is awsome. I would have preferred a different mix, but they didn't invite me to the sessions .

I voted for Ready, willing and able. Its an anthem for Christians throughout the ages, and touches me personally. Considereing the last 10+ years for Petra, it should have been their theme song too.

When I first heard this album, I liked it and disliked it at the same time. Beyond Belief was so awesome, and I thought Unseen Power would continue in that vain. It was a bit anticlimatic for me.

I still enjoy listening to this album. I'll agree about the lyrics on this album, all very strong.

Sight Unseen gets my vote here. The only song I think is really out of place is Hand on My Heart. I think this song for some turned them off to Petra.

I thought Secret Weapon was always such a strong lyric and title, but I never thought the music fit the song. It should have really rocked.

Weady, Rilling and Able, I tell ya. That song can make me jump and bounce and crash and fall and . . . uh . . . do a nice little breakdance on the floor. Well, not really. But it's a supa-supa good rocker with a heavy swing beat similar to that of Armed and Dangerous.

Otha supa-good rockerz on here - tracks 1, 6, 7, and 8. The beginning of Destiny after the chimes when the guitar bursts in with a distorted low note - this is such an endorphine-inducing moment 'n' gives me goosepimples thinkin' bout it. And the last two tracks are filled with emotion, especially toward the end of In the likeness of you when the drums kick in and the key changes - another endorphin-goosebumps moment. Sooo cooool - I love that feel!!

Lots of supa-good soundin' keyboard and drums, but I also agree that the guitar coulda' shoulda' been mixed a bit louder. The fourth track is kinda a downer because of its urban R&B style that doesn't really fit on this album at all. Track 2 is all right but it's not a great follow-up to Destiny.

The only 3 Petra albums I like slightly better than this one are On Fire, Beyond Belief (a.k.a. Beyond Believe) and Wake-Up Call.[/i]

I voted for "In The Likeness Of You." If I could I'd have voted for "Who's On The Lord's Side"; "Ready Willing And Able"; "Destiny" and "Dance" as well. I like all the songs-yes even "Hand On My Heart"-call me weird. I also liked the videos off of "Backstage Pass" of "Lord's Side" and "Destiny."

This album was special to me because it was around this time that I started listening to Petra. "Who is on the Lord's Side" rocks. I thought it was very unusual for them to sing with a gospel choir like that; I hadn't heard that too much before. And though most people hate on "Hand on my Heart", that song actually grew on me after a loooooong time. By the way, greenchili made a little mistake. There was a #1 song from this album and it was "Hand on my Heart":)

My vote goes for "Dance"...great song, and it went over huge whenever Petra played it live.

"DANNNNNNNCE...with the one who brung ya...".

All your density belong to us.

I remember I bought this album the day it was released as I was on my way to youth group. I put it on while we were playing some floor hockey. After the first few songs somebody changed tapes on me, so I ran over (a little ticked) to find out who did it. It turns out that nobody did. It was just Hand On My Heart. *stunned disbelief*

Out of all the albums from the John Schlitt era this one would be my all-time FAVORITE! I love everything about this album. My favorite song on this ablum would be I Need To Hear From You........though I think all the songs on this album are great, but that one just hit the mark for me.

This was one of the two first Petra cds I owned. I bought this one along with Beyopnd belief. It was two days after seeing them live for the first time in Toronto. I always liked Beyond Belief better but this has some great songs too. My vote goes to Hey World. I remeber playing this song non stop for a while. The chorus was so catchy and the lyrics about real life crisis were so strong. I am surprised this one is not played in concert. Close seconds would go to In the Likeness of You and Destiny. This record also holds the second most annoying Petra song ever-Hand on My Heart. I call this record and Beyond Belief Petra's Big Two.

krazykanuk wrote:It was two days after seeing them live for the first time in Toronto.

Hey, I was at one of those Toronto shows on the Unseen Power tour. It's the only time I ever got to see Petra live. I was at the Saturday night show at Massey Hall, which was the original show. It sold out so quickly that they added a show on Friday night. Then they added a third show on Sunday night. Man, those were the days.

I chose Destiny, though Dance or Sight Unseen could have easily have been the one.

I remember waiting and waiting for Unseen Power to be released, so excited. It is a decent effort, though it does not stand up to the album that preceded nor the one that followed it in my estimation.
Four really strong songs carried an otherwise mediocre album (those four songs really kicked though!). Along with those I already mentioned was Who's on the Lord's Side as the fourth-the only rock song I know of to use a gospel choir which actually crossed over into gospel itself. I have the gospel versions of it, and it's interesting how well the song really did capture that flavour both in sound and content rather than adding the choir as an appendage, as is often done.

With Beyond Belief being my favorite, Unseen Power is a close second.

The drums and basslines are very metalish

That's one reason I love this album so much, the fact that the drums and bass are so metal.

It's hard to pick one favorite song, so I'd have to say it's a tie between "Sight Unseen" and "I Need to Hear From You". "In the Likeness of You" is my favorite of Petra's ballads. "Who's on the Lord's Side" is up at the top of my list. I actually got to attend church with John Schlitt in that very chapel where the video for that song was filmed, and that was way cool!

Another album highlight is getting to hear Jamie Rowe's voice in the background. Yeah!