The Petra Zone

Food for thought...

I really like what Julian Downward did with his video of "All Over Me" from the Classic Petra concert in the UK in 2011.

http://youtu.be/s5c6YwhMemI

But every time I watch it and other Classic Petra performances from their BTTR tour (the extended version of "Judas Kiss" is another one that springs to mind) I can't help but think of how much this version of the band has often had a kind of bluesy, gospel sound undergirding their specific style. I like that and think it helps define this era of Petra's unique-ness, certainly with Volz' unique vocals as well.

Now, this is all hypothetical, of course, as the future of anything with CP remains uncertain at best but...hypothetically, I can't help but wonder what if Classic Petra went the route of having an original album of bluesy, gospel rock for their follow-up. It follows in the vein of the tone of some of the stuff they did in the trilogy albums of NSD/MPTY/NOTW and in John Slick's keyboard style of that time. I've noticed in re-watching many of CP's stuff on YouTube from the tour that John Lawry fluently melded Slick's gospel-ly (read Hammond organ) style with his own creative style to create a really nice keyboard bed for many of the old tunes. I liked the result.

What if CP were to continue with just such an album and style, reserving the "hard rock" vein stuff for the Schlitt era of Petra? This is not to say that CP wouldn't still rock (Petra means "rock" and all that) but just that with a diversified fan base of all these different versions of Petra still out there, each wishing for their own "preferred" Petra, perhaps defining the differences between each of the "eras" might help to unify the whole. Which is not the point of my topic but still another interesting off-shoot of this whole thing that just occurred to me.

How many of you might support a CP effort in that vein? Just curious.

Like!

John Lawry is not bluesy. You need to get his predecessor who was driving that buss.

I like the blues, but a whole album from a band that is really not known for their blues no I'm not really into it. The songs that Petra has done with somewhat of a blues feel really are not that strong of songs.

stsmedia wrote:Food for thought...

I really like what Julian Downward did with his video of "All Over Me" from the Classic Petra concert in the UK in 2011.

http://youtu.be/s5c6YwhMemI

But every time I watch it and other Classic Petra performances from their BTTR tour (the extended version of "Judas Kiss" is another one that springs to mind) I can't help but think of how much this version of the band has often had a kind of bluesy, gospel sound undergirding their specific style. I like that and think it helps define this era of Petra's unique-ness, certainly with Volz' unique vocals as well.

Now, this is all hypothetical, of course, as the future of anything with CP remains uncertain at best but...hypothetically, I can't help but wonder what if Classic Petra went the route of having an original album of bluesy, gospel rock for their follow-up.

***I don't know if I'd want a whole album of bluesy, but I certainly get your idea. I think this version did a lot of experimentation and they did it all very well. That's part of why they're so great, imo.

executioner wrote:I like the blues, but a whole album from a band that is really not known for their blues no I'm not really into it. The songs that Petra has done with somewhat of a blues feel really are not that strong of songs.

***Wow, why am not surprised that even something hypothetically speaking about CP gets a jab from you?

Dev wrote:

executioner wrote:I like the blues, but a whole album from a band that is really not known for their blues no I'm not really into it. The songs that Petra has done with somewhat of a blues feel really are not that strong of songs.

***Wow, why am not surprised that even something hypothetically speaking about CP gets a jab from you?

I didn't say anything about Classic Petra and basically said the same thing that you posted except that I felt like the songs that Petra has done that are bluesy were not that strong of songs. It's my opinion and if you agree/disagree that's fine with me; I am totally fine with whatever your opinion is.

executioner wrote:***I don't know if I'd want a whole album of bluesy, but I certainly get your idea. I think this version did a lot of experimentation and they did it all very well. That's part of why they're so great, imo.

Yeah, Dev, I think you see where I'm coming from. I was really using that term "bluesy" to suggest a certain genre that is only a part of their style. I certainly don't mean to suggest they do an entire hard blues album either. Words fail me. Bluesy gospel rock is the best I can come up with at the moment. Being in Austin I've got the musical leanings of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Storyville in mind, though I realize those are different beasts altogether from Petra.

Regardless of whatever personality issues, etc. there may be in CP, they do gel well musically as a band. You can really see that resonance in their music and the way they perform together. That outro to Grave Robber from the reunion show (which has some hints of Lawry's more gospel-inflected keyboard playing in it) reminds me some of that bluesy, gospely style too (and maybe some Pink Floyd too, strangely enough).

http://youtu.be/ppwUbC17oT4

Thanks for indulging my musical reflections for a bit. I realize I'm just thinking out loud a lot here in this post.

Sine we are playing make believe I have a couple wishes. I'd love to hear CP tackle some golden era rock and roll along with a couple blues tracks. Have each member pick a couple songs that made them want to be rockers.

rexreed wrote:Sine we are playing make believe I have a couple wishes. I'd love to hear CP tackle some golden era rock and roll along with a couple blues tracks. Have each member pick a couple songs that made them want to be rockers.

Like "Whole Lotta Love"

Seems like Bob is a blues man at heart.