40th Anniversary Tour 2013

[trodLAN]

Former glory? The last time I spoke with John, he came to Norway to speak about the glory of God.
All his interrest was in telling about the faith he has in God and share the gospel to believers and non-believers.
I don't think either John or Bob wants to glorify other things than Jesus!
(That is the message from Classic Petra too!)
The latest album, J&H by Petra was the best Petra album in my opinion (my personal taste), and Johns two latest solo album the best ever!
So I don't think Petra or John need to look backwards to glorify God. They don't need people glorifying the band either. We should glorify God, and pray for the ministry of Petra.

I believe the best Petra record is yet to be released!

BTW: John will probably be back in Norway in April 28, 2013. I will be there!

[brent]

Saying something, like a car, is restored to it's former glory means that it is looking, performing as intended, in it's peak, in it's day and time. That's all. Nobody is suggesting that the band wants "the glory" for anything.

Former glory is not a spiritual term. Don't over spiritualize the music, the entertainment, the band. Things are what they are.

The best Petra record is the one that spoke to you (whomever), when you were most impressionable. The best Petra record is relative and subjective. For me, it has been done. For me, there is no reason to try to do anything else, because the bar was set far too high, when John could singer higher, bob could play faster, etc. When those guys were younger and playing live all of the time, they were better. They were riding the wave they created by jumping into the water. Today they are playing for people looking at the water from a comfortable room, while the young kids surf the new waves.

[trodLAN]

And for me, John sings better than ever, Bob plays better than ever and Petra rocks more than ever!
The good thing is that we all are getting older and wiser by the day. Let the young people know about it!

[Mountain Man]

brent is correct. "Former glory" is simply referring to the days when their albums flew off the shelves and they could pack out concert halls. That band doesn't exist any more, but I get the feeling they're still trying to bring it back.

[brent]

Here is the fake Asia video. Nobody in this band was in ASIA as far as I can tell except for the singer. The other

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr6JDq6XX3o

Here is the real Asia band's site. This band is still doing shows. These guys would be the ones to see. The members of this band were intertwined with the prog rock history before this other band was born. These guys have ties to Yes, Deep Purple, ELP, etc, etc.

http://originalasia.com/index.php

[trodLAN]

I understand the "former glory" issue. As far as I know the band don't believe they will ever again have so much commercial success as before, but that doesn't mean they are not as good as before. I think they are better than ever nowadays. I have been to many shows recently, and I hope I know what I am talking about!

[brent]

You are hot on them now, so you will think that. For those of us who are older, who saw this genre and this band arrive, grow and then become something else over time, we (I) saw this band from the side of the stage in their prime, and they were spooky good back then. Our fandom is centered on a different time/band and genre of music.

I am not saying they aren't great now, and that I don't want them to shine for the world, cause I do. Bob admits that he and the band were in their peak when they were touring the most, playing together the most. When that slowed down, he did too, and so did the creative process for making records.

If you watch some of the old videos, Bob was playing some very cool tricks back in the day. He was playing faster. But, Bob was younger and in and around other sharp, younger, players he was having to match/emulate to be relative in his genre. Now, they don't really do anything that is guitar hero worthy. Not like they did back in the day live. The records never really captured all of the cool stuff Bob would throw in live, which was a real shame.

[Mountain Man]

I think they are better than ever nowadays.

I don't think so. They're older now, less energetic, the material isn't as fresh to them, and I think it shows in their performance. They're still pros and put on a solid show, but they certainly don't have the edge they used to.

[Preacherman777]

I would have to agree that Petra is not better than ever, especially not this version, but to be honest, even Classic Petra, which I think was exceptionally good and even better than I expected they would be, is not actually better than they were in their prime, though they do have a harder edge than they did back then, which is something I appreciate, but as good as Greg sounds for a man in his 60's, he can't compete with Greg from the 80's and really neither can anyone else in either version of the band that was around back then. At best, they might be as good but not better and neither singer, not John nor Greg can match what they could do back in the day.

[executioner]

I would have to agree that Petra is not better than ever, especially not this version, but to be honest, even Classic Petra, which I think was exceptionally good and even better than I expected they would be, is not actually better than they were in their prime, though they do have a harder edge than they did back then, which is something I appreciate, but as good as Greg sounds for a man in his 60's, he can't compete with Greg from the 80's and really neither can anyone else in either version of the band that was around back then. At best, they might be as good but not better and neither singer, not John nor Greg can match what they could do back in the day.

True, but the weirdiest thing is I like John's vocals even more now than I ever have; his high end is not what it was but his mid & low range has matured and is better/stronger than ever. Overall John is a better vocalist then he was in the 80's. I urge everyone to go listen to TGC again and block out all but John's vocals and you will hear something that gives goosebumps like none other. I do feel TGC is the strongest material in the last 18 years put out by anything Petra related.

[trodLAN]

For those of us who are older, who saw this genre and this band arrive, grow and

I am not sure if you think I am a newbie, but I have attended around twelve Petra shows during 80's and 90's.
I sold Petra LP's in christian bookstores back in 1982. So I have been around.
And I have seen the band evolve. I was there at the first and last show Petra did in Norway, and I have everything on tape.

The harder style and Johns raw voice, both Petra and Johns last solo CD, really attract me!
In the 80's he sounded a bit like Geddy Lee, and that was cool, but I like his voice better now.

[brent]

Compared to me, you are a newbie. I was lucky enough to be alive when Christian rock really started, in the 60s, when the Imperials and Elvis launched it. Greg X claims that his group was the first Christian rock band. Not so. CCM was around long before those pot smokin' mid western hippies heard about it.The 70s was where the industry really became an industry, CCM and rock radio on FM was starting. So, anyone coming in the 80s had missed a BUNCH (20 years worth) of history and great music that will never be heard again. The 80s was the start of Christian cheese metal and all of that gay bad euro pop stuff.

As for John's voice. IMO, there are really four eras where John's vocals were different, yet well matched for the styles of the day. There is the Head East era, the early Petra era (which still had remnants of his youthfulness), the mid 90s to late 90s era, and then the modern era. I think there are vast differences between them all.

As John has aged, his voice has become tougher sounding. I too like his voice singing the harder music. But, when it comes to covering the old music, I prefer his younger voice with the range they were squeezing out of him. I wish they would tune down. It is all contextual for me. If I were younger and expected less from the music, I would say that J&H was fulfilling. Don't get me wrong, J&H is great...for 15 years ago. I would like to hear a bigger sounding band. J&H is flat. It has no sonic dimension. It is compressed to death. I love how the mix sounds aside from that. The guitars SHOULD be that hot. The best rock albums have the vocalist fighting for his space. Listen to AC/DC Back In Black. Everything has it's place, yet the vocals are not way out front, and the guitar is very dominant. Foo Fighters are another great example. THOSE are rock mixes well executed. It would be hard to do those tunes and mixes with a younger, leaner sounding John. John right now would go toe to toe with anyone. He could out sing MANY staples of the music industry.

Back to the context of Petra's current show....the show is tired. This is why I don't think they are the best, in their former glory. But, they should not be. They would look kind of silly doing all of the young men stuff. At some point, they have look cool in a static state. People do not think the old ZZTop shtick is cool anymore...unless it is done by ZZTop. People do not think Petra is cutting any edges anymore, because they aren't. But then again, their audience isn't either, and they are now listening (in the USA) to the past on stage, to recapture the memories of the past. The band has a different impact on the world now. The world, the music, the fans have evolved/changed since Petra was the edgy thing Christian parents hated. I think the rebellion had something to do with it. Kids still felt like they were getting away with something. So, the band has a different purpose for people now.

[trodLAN]

I was talking about the Petra in 80's and 90's. When they actually had their greatest commercial success.
I do agree with you in some of your analysis of the band - but I guess I like the Farewell lineup more than you!
Me too wish it was released earlier!

I know quite a lot of the history of Christian rock, (it has been my interrest for 25 years now) but you might be older than me - and you are living in the States, where Christian rock (probably) started. I guess you know more than me though. (I was actually born in 68.) I mostly play music from the 70's.

And as far as I know, Elvis was a copy-cat (regarding the gospel-music issue).

[brent]

If you study the old music, there were few authors of good tunes. Most groups did covers. Yes, Elvis hired those he admired and watched from the side of the stage since his childhood. But what he did was expose the gospel artists to his audience, with his band, playing rock music of his day. He was the first one to break it to the masses in arenas, on TV and in the movies. Elvis did more to give exposure to CCM than anyone else in that time. The only industry awards Elvis received were for the Imperials/Elvis record(s).

You are one year younger than me btw, you old fart. (US term of endearment bestowed on the elderly)

[trodLAN]

During the years I have learned some english, and I have some books about the Jesus movement and the rock history.
But I still struggles with the language issue, and I use a lot of time trying to understand everything. Right now I am reading Mylons history.

BTW: The word "fart" is an Norwegian word too, and it means something else:
http://translate.google.no/?hl=no&tab=wT#no/en/fart