Fav petra songs poll #11 (On Fire!)

[greenchili]

Double poll this week guys (and gals ) so be sure to check em both out.

With the recent ending of Petra's music ministry I thought it'd be kind of interesting to start a series of polls on favorite songs. Starting with their first album and working to the last. I figured I'd do an album each week.

So for those interested, get out your petra CD's and start listening. Do it now!! Stop watching that Farewell DVD. Listening is NOT optional!!! :p

Voting for last weeks album "This Means War!" has completed.

Here are the results from the previous poll.

He Came, He Saw, He Conquered (#1 single) [10]
This Means War! (#1 single) [6]
All The King's Horses [6]
Get On Your Knees And Fight Like A Man [3]
Kenaniah [3]
You Are My Rock [2]
The Water Is Alive [2]
I Am Available [0]
Don't Let Your Heart Be Hardened (#1 single) [0]
Dead Reckoning [0]

Top dog this time is. "He Came, He Saw, He Conquered" with 10 votes. "This Means War!" and "All The King's Horses" tied at 2nd with 6. Last but not least we have two ballads and "Dead Reckoning" in Dead Last.

Next up we have "On Fire!" released in 1988.

Petra means Rock, and boy does this album do that! One point!

1) 2nd and last album with an exclamation point (yeah I know).
2) Out with Mark Kelly and in with Ronny Cates.

Shamelessly stolen from Guide To Petra. Thanks Michael.

Petra's new album, On Fire!, is about spiritual revival and renewal. it's a manual that challenges the young Christian to be ablaze with the consuming fire of total love for God. On Fire! teaches and applies intense devotion to God. Your life will be changed in these ways as you allow the message of On Fire! to burn in your heart. (Song title follows each change.)

1. Your lifestyle will reflect what you believe. ("Hit You Where You Live").
1 Timothy 4:12, Ephesians 4:1

2. You will seek God's direction and "lean not on your own understanding" ("Mine Field").
Proverbs 3:6, 1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 16:24

3. Strongholds of sins will be broken down. ("Defector").
Colossians 1:13, Ephesians 2:1-7, Isaiah 61:1,2

4. You will honestly open your life up to God. ("Open Book").
Hebrews 4:13, Psalm 37:18

5. You will immerse yourself in the Word of God. ("Counsel of the Holy").
Psalm 19:7-11, 33:11, 119:105

6. You will recognize God's need for your praise of Him. ("Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name").
Luke 19:40, Psalm 69:34, 148:9

7. You will reach out in ministry to others. ("Homeless Few").
Luke 10:30-37, 1 John 3:17

8. Prayer for yourself and others will be active. ("Stand In The Gap").
Ezekiel 22:30, 1 Timothy 2:1, James 5:16

So get out that CD and those bibles and start a bible study! Oh and don't forget to vote too.

[executioner]

This is a no brainer for me it is "Mine Field". That song and Judas' Kiss are my 2 favs in the Petra collection. Some interesting facts for me are: I bought the cassette single that had Mine field/First Love on it about 2 before On Fire! came out and right away fell in love with "Mine Field", and than was totally surprised when I listened to the whole album that John had done that scream at the beginning of Mine Field(it wasn't on the cassette single). the album rocked even more than TMW and I felt like Petra was really in the hard rock genre now. I also feel like once again the ballads were weak and didn't hold the same magic as in the early 80's, but overall the album was and is still on of my favs.

[calicowriter]

OK, I voted for �First Love� but it was tough choosing between it and �Somebody�s Gonna Praise His Name.�

[Jonathan]

Counsel reminds me how important reading the actual words of God really is. Hard hitting drums.

[RockOn]

I remember when I first got "On Fire" the beginning two songs ("All Fired Up" and "Hit You Where You Live") packed the most powerful one-two punch I had ever heard on a Petra project.

So...my choice is "HYWYL". It really got me pumped up and excited about being a Christian.

That's why I was so happy with J&H--that hard rock energy was back in full force!

[yamasaaaki har har]

All Fired Up because it's so full of energy and rocks so beautifully. It kinda has a "theatrical production" kinda feel to it, with all the key changes, I think.

But this was another hard, hard choice for har har's voice. All the other songs are almost equally as good. I could've also voted for Hit You Where or Defector. Man, so hard hard for har har to choose.

[executioner]

Has anyone ever noticed on how All Fired Up sounds like the Alvin & Chimpmunks song?

[js3971]

Defector got my vote. Other songs deserved it too. But this song has spoken to me personally so many times in so many ways. In Christ, we are more than Conquerors and overcomers. That's what this song is all about.

[St_Augustines_Pears]

ON FIRE! is my "co-favorite" Petra album (tied with GOD FIXATION). Every song on here is a winner. It is also Petra's heaviest album musically...until they made JEKYLL & HYDE. John Schlitt was rumored to have been quoted as saying, "We flirted with heavy metal with ON FIRE!". Nothing wrong with that!

Favorite song? Judas priest...so many to choose from...

* "Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name"...has a deceptively mellow beginning, pauses for a sec, then Louie's thundering drums and Bob's locomotive riff kick in. Plus, it has some of the most blatant, uncompromising Christian lyrics...Petra packs more in this one song than most "Christian" bands have in their entire catalog.

* "Open Book"...my favorite ballad by Petra. This is the song I want played at my funeral some day (I'm not kidding). I love the second verse..."When the cover of this book is closed, the final chapter read, I hope You find it worth the reading, I hope 'well done' is said.".

* "Counsel of the Holy"...what a wonderful description of the Bible! Like Johnathan mentioned, it has some hard hitting drums. Plus, Schlitt sounds like he's trying to push his lungs out through his throat on the choruses...and yes, that's a good thing!

I could go on...every song is killer. But I guess my choice is the song that got me interested in Petra in the first place..."Mine Field". Again, Louie's massive drums, Bob's crushing riff, and Schlitt's opening scream set the tempo for one of the heaviest songs Petra ever recorded. A cautionary tale of straying too far from the safety of God, it has some very graphic lyrics (again, a good thing). "It's a mine field, better watch where you tread, step off the path and you could end up dead!".

[greenchili]

On Fire! is a mixed story for me. It took me along time to get into this album and when I listened to it this week I really like it. I might have to redo some of my playlists again and add in this and some from TMW that I missed.

I kinda stopped listening to Petra (and Whiteheart I believe) at the time of On Fire and I didn't pick back up on them until "Unseen Power". It's kind of a long story. The comeback mostly had to do with the uncompromising bible oriented lyrics. I was getting tired of the vague stuff coming out at the time.

Minefield is one of those songs I discovered late and it ended up in my schlitt/petra/petra praise 2 mix because of that.

Anyways all around I really like this album and "Open Book" just has this way of sticking in yer head.

BTW I just got my MPTY book and saw no mention by Bob of nearly giving up before this album so maybe that quote came from a different source.

[krazykanuk]

I think On Fire was one of Petra's rockiest records. It is one record I describe as all killer, no filler. Every song tells a story and gets you singing along. The only song I find a bit annoying is First Love but even it is good. My favourite song is Counsel of the Holy. I love the lyrics and the melody of the song. A close second is Stand in the Gap-a powerful song. Other standouts are SGPHN, Open Book and Homeless Few. My greatest memories associated with this record are my days working on the farm as a teen, playing this tape in the cab tractor baling straw as the sun went down. Puts a perspective on Open Book, Homeless Few, and COTH. A great record. Only wish they had played these songs more live. Don't know why they didn't.

[believerindeed]

It was a tossup for me on this one.....I love Counsel of the Holy and almost voted for it but I greatly love the song First Love. But like others have said this cd is one of the very best Petra ever made...not a bad song on it anywhere!!

[charl]

Unlike the others, this isn't really one of my favorites. I'd say it sits in the middle of the Petra pack on my list, neither the best nor the worst.
As always with Petra albums, if there is weakness, it's usually on the B side. This is one of the albums that proved that, with most of the B side songs being while not bad, a little forgettable. Nonetheless, it is good solid album overall.

Having said all that, Hit You Where You live is one of my favorite songs. It is also the one my vote goes to. I do enjoy the lyricism of Counsel of the Holy (the redeemer of the B side ) but that can not compare with the simplicity of "Heeeeeyyyy On Fire!" The shining moment of the album.

[Epyon5757]

Well...let's see...this is the first Petra album that I enjoy all the tracks off of - I didn't get this CD until 1997, however...

That being said, there are eight (EIGHT) songs on here that I could easily vote for at any given time...and the other two are a VERY close second. I voted for "Counsel of the Holy" because when I got my first Petra album (Petra Means Rock) back in 1991, it was the song that I liked the best out of that compilation. It is still one of my five favorite Petra songs.

Honorable Mention:

Homeless Few - has to be my favorite Petra ballad (or my second favorite)...

Open Book - tremendous message.

Mine Field - has one of the best music videos I've ever seen as far as the video fitting the lyrics.

Defector and First Love are my least favorite songs here - but they still sit in the top 30 or so of my favorite Petra songs (I think they have somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 songs not counting the live albums)

Too bad greenchili doesn't put a vote for "the entire album" on his list...

[greenchili]

Silly me. I forgot to mention that this album debuted Ronny Cates.