Young people everywhere. Pull up a seat and I will teach you the wisdom of old, the knowledge of all things wonderful, the ancient stories that have sustained us through many seasons of lame music. It all comes down to this:
Petra was simply the best kick-ass Christian rock band in the 1980’s!
Sorry. Its true! And if you don’t believe that then get the heck off my blog right now! Petra sold 10 million copies of their 24 albums and they were the first Christian band to be inducted to the Hard Rock Cafe. Unfortunately, Petra in the 90’s did not interest me and Petra Praise was an embarrassing and pitiful experiment that will never be mentioned again on this site and certainly not hyperlinked.
But Petra in the 80’s was momentus, incredible, remarkable, wonderful, even . . . dare I say it . . GLORIOUS! Especially the Bob Hartman /Greg X. Volz combination. Best albums, in my opinion, and I am taking this from my Petra Retires post, were:
Never Say Die (1981) This one healed me of my fundamentalism.
More Power To Ya (1982) Sweet album.
Not of This World (1983) Incredible songs. Maybe their best.
Beat The System (1984) More electronic songs for 80’s geeks. I loved it.
Petra ended their career with a blow out concert in Brazil and fans like me who never got to see them perform were kicking ourselves senseless with regret.
But now Petra have come out of retirement and have re-aggregated themselves from the 80’s line-up for the Classic Petra “Back to the Rock Tour” and I will no doubt be checking on their dates to see if I can see actually watch them perform. So far, the closest possibility is the Strawberry Jam Music Festival in Albany, West Australia and I am already talking to the organizers about having me come down there and speak – which will be a great excuse to see Classic Petra.
Petra just released the Back to the Rock album a few days ago. I am not buying it because I already have their music but if you don’t have any Petra on your iPod then now is the time for a history lesson.
FYI – this is no simple remix of Petra’s classics – these new songs absolutely rock! I know you say you don’t intend to buy it, but I urge everyone else to at least have a listen to the samples on http://www.classicpetra.com – this music amazing!
Also included is one all new (
Bob Hartman authored!
) Petra song (“Too Big To Fail”), which may be the hardest rocking tune Greg Volz has ever sung. And the new songs feature the same essential songs, with massive guitar and brand new leads – whether you’re an old fan or a newcomer wondering what the buzz is about – please, at least listen to the free samples – you won’t be sorry!
Really? I was thinking they were old songs. Thanks for the correction!!
Hey, thanks for the update on Petra. Last I knew Greg was leading worship at a little church in my fair city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. A friend of mine was hired as their pastor and he asked me, “Have you ever heard of a guy named Greg Volz? He’s the worship leader and says he used to sing in a band.” Hehe. Of course I had heard of him!
Wow, flash back moment…
“used to sing in a band” = UNDERSTATEMENT