The Petra Zone

1.Get on your Knees and fight like a man.
2.Beyond Belief
3.Pied Piper
4.Hit you where you live
5.Judas Kiss
6.Seen and not Heard
7.St. Augustine's pears
8.Beam Seat
9.Armed and Dangerous
10.Kenaniah

Just a rough list of solos I like, any other ones that should be mentioned?

This is a great thread- going to be plenty of different opinions here.

1) He Came , He Saw, He conquered ( for me the way it ends up finishing the song as a sort of counter melody elevates this to number one status. I wish they did more of this sort of thing.)

I don't have a top ten, A lot of Petra solos, in my opinion, are just there to fill time. For me an example is the Armed and Dangerous solo, that seems to dead end into another chorus. It doesn't do much for me, plus it is difficult to hear the guitar over the drums on that album.

2) I Am On the Rock (plenty of air guitar opportunities)

3) Sombody's Gonna Praise his Name ( love the solo, but the rock or tree lyric is lame.)

4) Bob's Solo from Farewell ( I could listen to a few more minutes of this one

5) Last Daze (This one is way too short- There is a slow build up from the bass to the guitar solo that is not always present in Petra songs so I really enjoy this one.) This song is a little under appreciated in my opinion.
6) adding the Walkin' in the Light solos. That's a cool song for a debut and the solo is pretty fun.

Last Daze- Very unusal song for Petra; the solo gradually grows on you and is really different from their catalog.

Creed- It actually has two solos in it and the second one is really hot; I love the ending to this song.

Whole World- Listen to it closely because it just flows right along with the song and its gone before you know it. It still gives me chills to this day! I hope this is one they remake in the future.

I think musically the strongest part of one of Bob's songs is the trademark bridge. There is alot of energy and sometimes anger in them; Too me it sounds like Bob is letting out alot of frustration.

I think Revival had a lot of great guitar, it is just too buried in the mix and when solos start, them song fades and ends. JAH was such a wasted opportunity for great solos, it's a shame it was all in the name of staying trendy.

The fun thing about Bob's guitar solos is that he always plays them the same. His solos are more or less part of the compositions.

rexreed wrote:This is a great thread- going to be plenty of different opinions here.

1) He Came , He Saw, He conquered ( for me the way it ends up finishing the song as a sort of counter melody elevates this to number one status. I wish they did more of this sort of thing.)

#1 on my list too! Nothing else comes close for me.

1. Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name.

2. Rose Colored Stained Glass Windows.

3. St. Augustine's Pears.

4. All the others.

How can one man have so many? It still amazes me the catalog this man has written.

On second thought I'm not so keen on Somebody's gonna praise his name. I like the beginning and the end of the solo, but it sort of gets lost in the middle.

edit: Nope, I just listened to it again and the solo is pretty shredtastic throughout.

I love the over the top intro. Back then I loved it because that was the sound, now I love it for the nostalgia of big keyboard sounds:)

fcollazo wrote:I think Revival had a lot of great guitar, it is just too buried in the mix and when solos start, them song fades and ends. JAH was such a wasted opportunity for great solos, it's a shame it was all in the name of staying trendy.

Agree 100 times!

Daniel wrote:Seen And Not Heard

Thank you! This song is underrated, mostly because it gets overshadowed by other songs such as "Beyond Belief", "Creed", "I Am On The Rock", etc. from that album.

SCJ-7 wrote:Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name
St. Augustine's Pears

Totally agree. "Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name" is another underrated gem. So much energy in that song, and Bob just lets it rip. Plus John sounds like he's trying to push his lungs out of his throat.

I love how it starts out so mellow with the keyboards and the praise chorus, followed by a couple of seconds where it goes quiet. Then Louie's drums thunder in and it's off to the races! Plus the lyrics are pure scripture. "Jesus said that it couldn't be stopped...Jesus said that it had to be heard...".

Is the solo in "St. Augustine's Pears" played by Bob or Pete Orta? Tastefully done, and the outro is great too. I wish they would've let that play out a little longer.

one pretty good song that desperately needs a solo is Sight Unseen!

St_Augustines_Pears wrote:
Is the solo in "St. Augustine's Pears" played by Bob or Pete Orta?

Very interesting question. I don't know who played the song in the studio but we have a little information in the album:

1. Song Credits: St. Augustine's Pears - Words and Music by Bob Hartman.
2. Album Credits: Additional Musicians - Bob Hartman-Guitars.

It is not much information but... I will say that (for me) the guitar style in the song is pure Bob Hartman...

In the end: Definitely one of the best songs of Mr. Bob... and one of my favorites.

Here's my top ten. But not in order because I like them all equally =)

-Creed (I really want to hear it live! Too bad that they took it away after 1997).
-Last daze
-Judas kiss (Live 2005-)
-Rose colored (Live 2004) (heavy end!)
-He came, he saw
-Somebodys gonna (great solo and my all time favorite song)
-Hit you where you live (great guitar from the solo to the end)
-Get on your knees (imagine to hear a 2010-verson of this song)
-Bema seat (from Notw)
-Let everything that hath breath (from 2003) What a disappointment that he didn't played the solo on the "Back to the rock" album - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wUObkbHspU

rexreed wrote: 3) Sombody's Gonna Praise his Name ( love the solo, but the rock or tree lyric is lame.)

I don’t understand why you think the “rock or tree” lyric is lame!

Luke 19:40
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Psalm 148:
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

Psalm 69:34
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

Habakkuk 2:11
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.