The Petra Zone

Matthew RJ wrote:Just dawned on me, when the frequent enough John -vs- Greg // Greg -vs- John debate goes on, with the "classic Petra" getting songs remade with a modern edge (plus new material) ... which version of Greg with Petra will we be comparing? Or will it be Greg -vs- John -vs- Greg?

While we're at it ... which incarnation of Petra with Greg do you like more? 80s Greg, or 2010 Greg?

Not possible to compare yet. Wait till the whole production is done, cd is in hand, and then you can take the poll

Given the purpose and target audience, I think comparing John's Petra songs to Greg's past or present is silly. Why even go through this?

It will be natural to compare all of the Classic Petra guys to what they were (or remember them to have been through a filter of bias). This is silly too. The guys have aged, are not who they were as people and will have only rehearsed a short while vs. played together non-stop for a couple of years in their prime. No matter what, it will still be great none-the-less.

All people give up some power and range as we age. Having heard Greg's tracks that he has done for me, I can tell you that he really hasn't lost anything. Some of the stuff is higher thsn I recall him singing in a looong time. Old Greg is not that far off from Young Greg. Now John has gone from a cleaner voice with a little bite to a grittier, raspier voice. This is far from a decline in quality. I actually prefer his voice now to the younger voice on BTTS. To me it is up there with some of the secular legends. The big thing with John is that he can sound warmer and much more intimate with a nice texture now. IMO he was not able to pull this off in his youth. But that is not what was needed then either. They were pushing him to sing in the dog range. This is a big huge mistake. Artists should not give in and should record LOWER and in control of what they are capable of. This way they can most certainly pull it off live, night after night with ease, vs. killing their pipes.

Basically the difference with old-Greg-Petra and new-Greg-Petra for me would be John Slick vs. John Lawry. I've always associated John Lawry more with the Schlitt-era, than with the Volz-era. Lawry came on board after NOTW had already been recorded. I think Slick never toured with NOTW, but he defined the sound of the album. Before Lawry came on board they actually had another keyboard-player for a while: Rob Watson. I presume he was hired while Lawry was still serving his contract with Joe English. In the end Lawry played on second leg of the NOTW-tour and the entire BTS-tour. He helped shape the sound of BTS, even though it was mostly created by Bob, Greg, Carl Marsh and JDB. Lawry just has three keyboard solos on the album. So while I'm thrilled about the reunion, I sometimes think that Slick should have been included instead of Lawry. But probably because the BTS-tour was an all-time high in Petra's history, they chose to reunite this version.

I'd have to choose Lawry since I started listening to Petra during the BTS era but all in all just glad to have Petra back. And I'm sure Bob will be talking on stage because it isn't a Petra concert without it.

Slick played a few select shows on NOTW tour(Orange, Tx) early on in the tour. I saw both Slick and Lawry on this tour and they both are great but really totally different styles. Either one for me is great to see again; You never know maybe Slick was asked and declined.

I think Lawry because of the circulation of CITAS (or whatever so don't start with me) CD and video.

executioner wrote:Slick played a few select shows on NOTW tour(Orange, Tx) early on in the tour. I saw both Slick and Lawry on this tour and they both are great but really totally different styles. Either one for me is great to see again; You never know maybe Slick was asked and declined.

He played more than a few. He was with them in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, etc.

p-freak wrote:Basically the difference with old-Greg-Petra and new-Greg-Petra for me would be John Slick vs. John Lawry. I've always associated John Lawry more with the Schlitt-era, than with the Volz-era. Lawry came on board after NOTW had already been recorded. I think Slick never toured with NOTW, but he defined the sound of the album. Before Lawry came on board they actually had another keyboard-player for a while: Rob Watson. I presume he was hired while Lawry was still serving his contract with Joe English. In the end Lawry played on second leg of the NOTW-tour and the entire BTS-tour. He helped shape the sound of BTS, even though it was mostly created by Bob, Greg, Carl Marsh and JDB. Lawry just has three keyboard solos on the album. So while I'm thrilled about the reunion, I sometimes think that Slick should have been included instead of Lawry. But probably because the BTS-tour was an all-time high in Petra's history, they chose to reunite this version.

Actually, John Lawry didn't do much on BTS IIRC. The dude in LA on the Fairlight did the majority of the work, Bob played and Greg Sang.

Slick is still an amazing player. He is more of a blues/rock player and has more soul and a thicker tone than John L. JDB would tell you that. John L is a modern player who has relied on programmed arpeggios, and a thinner, modern sound. John put the cool into keyboards for Christian fans and musicians. You can't really compare the two musically, because they both provided what was required for their respective styles of music.

I get the impression that Slick would not come back for anything. He seems to be kind of embarrassed about those Petra years. I get the impression that he would not be asked back. There is a special bond between Lawry and Volz that solidifies that choice. Plus, the BTS tour and stage performance was one of the best in their history together.

Why would he be embarrassed about those Petra yrs?

petraman wrote:Why would he be embarrassed about those Petra yrs?

I don't know first hand. I deduced that from his comments. You should email him. He has a youtube channel "http://www.youtube.com/user/gingervytis". He still plays and posts clips occasionally.

Greg sounded a bit "off" to me on the Farewell recording, so I thought maybe his powerhouse voice had dried up, but I recently watched a YouTube clip from one of Greg's 2009 shows, and he sounded as good as ever. Who knows what was up during the Farewell concert, but if that YouTube clip is anything to go by, there's going to be very little difference between 80's Greg and 2010 Greg.

brent wrote:Artists should not give in and should record LOWER and in control of what they are capable of. This way they can most certainly pull it off live, night after night with ease, vs. killing their pipes.

Reminds me of Arnel Pineda, the new Journey frontman who replaced the incomparable Steve Perry. Arnel has a great voice... when he sings within his range. It's painful listening to him try and sing the Journey classics because the strain on his vocal chords is evident as he reaches for notes he has no business reaching for (and missing them, more often than not). He's only been with the band a couple of years, but he doesn't sing whole shows like he did at first. These days he sits out a couple of songs every concert and rests his voice while drummer Dean Castronovo takes over. It's a shame, really.

Here in a bit, I will post what he recorded for me. He really hasn't lost much if any on the top end. He does not have that "old man" voice at ALL.

I wouldn't put too much stock in the Farewell show for Greg, John or Bob. I have heard them all do better. But, that night was what it was.

brent wrote:Here in a bit, I will post what he recorded for me.

Good!! I've been wanting to hear something recent by Greg.....only found 1 YouTube, he sounded fine but the song was monotonous. PDC is anything but monotonous, so....bring it on!