The Petra Zone

Not here in Ecuador though; I had ordered it from Christianbook.com and had it sent to my parents' place, and a friend who was coming down here brought it with him. Still haven't seen it in stores here, but it's been a few weeks since I've looked.

Overall, it's pretty good (of course). I'm not sure that it flows quite as well as the English version. There are a few pronounciation problems.

I don't know if this is heretical, but perhaps it would be better for them to get a native Spanish speaker to do the lead vocals in future Spanish projects? I think it really would sound better and be more easily understandable by locals. John is great, but I think Petra's songs are defined by hard hitting rock with Bob Hartman's writing more than John's singing.

I will certainly be sharing it with Ecuadorian friends and will get their opinion, as to how much they understand, how they like it, etc.

don`t you think petra wouldn`t be the same if they put another singer to sing in spanish?

John`s terrible accent is what makes petra en espa�ol hehehe

Matthew RJ wrote:How about the PP1 project? How does John do on that one?

PP1 featured a lot of choral and background singers, so that John actually didn't have to do much singing (both in English and Spanish). He did fairly well. But when he has to carry the whole album, it's not quite as successful.

--Josh

We all know John tried his best. That is all we can ask for. I we are missing the point of why Petra and John did this. Putting someone else in there to do the vocals would have been a BIG mistake.

Of course, I didn't mean to say that J&HEE is a bad album... far from it. I enjoy it a lot, and it helps me learn my Spanish better. But it will always sound a bit "off" to native speakers because John doesn't pronounce well enough to really be free and let his voice go.

I'm glad he was willing to tackle it, though. A Spanish album is a challenge, especially one with such fast songs as "Lo que pudo ser" ("Would'a Should'a Could'a").

--Josh

Yeah.

Actually now that I've listened to it a few more times, it's growing on me and is easier to understand. That shouldn't have been a surprise -- the same is true with Petra's songs in English as well. I often don't understand everything the first time I listen.

Somewhat off-topic -- at church this morning they sang "Amigos, siempre se aman." Some of you may immediately recognize that as "Friends love one another" from PP1, and of course is on Petra en Alabanza. The way they played/sang it sounded so close to the Petra en Alabanza rendition of it that for a minute or two I thought they were lip/instrument-syncing to the Petra tape!