Adonai

Talk about Petra albums, songs, and concerts.
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fiendik
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Re: Adonai

Post by fiendik » Tue Dec 15, 2015 7:44 pm

I don't prefer to clump Wake-Up call with earlier albums; even though Bob was still there, the Elefantes were not, and it's possible that this break in the momentum killed them. Wake-Up Call had harder chords and a clearer sound than later ones, but the tunes were pretty bad, so realistically speaking, I think they were just out of good song ideas. I know I'm not supposed to pick on WUC, but I can't help it.
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Re: Adonai

Post by executioner » Wed Dec 16, 2015 9:08 am

WUC is a top 5 album for me. I think it has a lot of strong songs on it especially from the lyrical stand point; It was a little less edgier than the previous few albums but the sound was progressing in a different direction. I do believe it to be the best production Petra has ever done from the technical & sonic view. The only albums Petra made after WUC that I like were PP2 & JAH. The other four are actually all in my bottom 5 albums with WWT with No Doubt being the lowest of lows.
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Re: Adonai

Post by rexreed » Wed Dec 16, 2015 12:54 pm

WUC was a huge letdown for me, too. In hindsight I appreciate it for Just Reach Out, and yes, the production holds up pretty good, but I was not a fan of the album. I never saw Petra again after Unseen Power...
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Re: Adonai

Post by fiendik » Wed Dec 16, 2015 6:59 pm

executioner wrote:...It was a little less edgier than the previous few albums but the sound was progressing in a different direction. I do believe it to be the best production Petra has ever done from the technical & sonic view ... The other four are actually all in my bottom 5 albums with WWT with No Doubt being the lowest of lows.
"a different direction", that is, in the direction of No Doubt. To me, WUC has very little going for it, since it has neither the edge of earlier albums, nor does it have an ordinary-CCM value (That is, if I judged it by other standards than I usually use for Petra). It's a mess. The musicianship is alright, but the composing and production are pretty bad IMO.
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Re: Adonai

Post by executioner » Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:10 am

fiendik wrote:
executioner wrote:...It was a little less edgier than the previous few albums but the sound was progressing in a different direction. I do believe it to be the best production Petra has ever done from the technical & sonic view ... The other four are actually all in my bottom 5 albums with WWT with No Doubt being the lowest of lows.
"a different direction", that is, in the direction of No Doubt. To me, WUC has very little going for it, since it has neither the edge of earlier albums, nor does it have an ordinary-CCM value (That is, if I judged it by other standards than I usually use for Petra). It's a mess. The musicianship is alright, but the composing and production are pretty bad IMO.
Industry wide WUC is known for being Petra's best production of an album. This was the first album to have multiple songs that were not written only by Bob so you are going to get a different product from the past and the lyrical content has a lot of growth to it unlike most of Petra's Elefante offerings with it not being what I call "Sunday School Candy Songs". The only song that fits into that catagory is Believer Indeed.
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Re: Adonai

Post by rexreed » Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:16 am

After reading and posting in this thread I listened to the entire WUC album on my way to work this morning. The only songs that I don't feel the urge to skip are Praying man, Sleeping ZGiant and Just reach Out. The others, well they sound nice but I don't have any attachment to them. they are blah to me. Unseen Power and BB are albums where I listen to nearly every song. Hand on My Heart is totally on skip, though.
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Re: Adonai

Post by fiendik » Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:37 pm

I had to look up the album online to even remember what the songs were :shock: If "Sunday school candy songs" means it has a tune, then I suppose Believer In Deed is the only one like that (and Just Reach Out, which was too sappy for me to like). Come to think of it, I don't really like any music from 1993-2002... But the fact remains that WUC (especially Underneath the Blood and He's Been In My Shoes) is really off-key, which isn't good production.
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Re: Adonai

Post by executioner » Sat Dec 19, 2015 8:09 am

fiendik wrote:I had to look up the album online to even remember what the songs were :shock: If "Sunday school candy songs" means it has a tune, then I suppose Believer In Deed is the only one like that (and Just Reach Out, which was too sappy for me to like). Come to think of it, I don't really like any music from 1993-2002... But the fact remains that WUC (especially Underneath the Blood and He's Been In My Shoes) is really off-key, which isn't good production.
Explain the "off key" statement. BTW those 2 songs were radio hits with "Underneath The Blood" getting in top 5 category. Believe me people around the industry which are few around here and have A LOT of producing albums experience will tell you that WUC is Petra's gold standard for production value. I think your distaste for WUC lies more with you just do not like the songs plus like Rexreed you were most likely wanting Petra to stay with the style of the previous albums like BB & UP. BTW this is the first album were you actually here Louie playing and really showed his strong points in being a drummer. All the previous albums except for maybe PP1 the drums were programmed in.
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Re: Adonai

Post by executioner » Sat Dec 19, 2015 8:17 am

rexreed wrote:After reading and posting in this thread I listened to the entire WUC album on my way to work this morning. The only songs that I don't feel the urge to skip are Praying man, Sleeping ZGiant and Just reach Out. The others, well they sound nice but I don't have any attachment to them. they are blah to me. Unseen Power and BB are albums where I listen to nearly every song. Hand on My Heart is totally on skip, though.
How can you not like "Good News" & "He's Been In My Shoes"? I will almost say shoes is a classic and is probably one of Petra's best ballads. I think Petra's ballads especially during the Elefante years were stale, except for maybe "Love" I hated the songs "I Am Available", "Don't Let Your Heart", "First Love", "Homeless Few", "Prayer", "Hand On My Heart" & "In The Likeness Of You". These songs were horrible especially with want Petra had done in the early 80's and also with what their contemparies like White Heart & Stryper were putting out at the time.
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Re: Adonai

Post by fiendik » Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:41 pm

"Good News" just doesn't sound catchy to me. Same with the rest of the album. I don't especially like most of the songs you listed, either; The two-ballad mandate was not a good idea. "I am Available" always annoyed me. Some of them did have character, though; (I liked "Hand on My Heart" but can certainly understand not liking it) "Prayer" and especially "In the Likeness of You" were very well produced songs with a lot of work put into them. I don't care what people said about WUC; It simply isn't catchy. The tunes aren't equal to those of earlier albums. I would definitely say it has more in common with No Doubt than Beyond Belief.
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Re: Adonai

Post by brent » Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:42 am

I hear music differently than most people. Vocals to me are just time wasters, filling n the gaps around cool guitar grooves, drum patterns and solos. Consider Dream Theater. Nobody cares that James doesn't sing the lyrics, or makes up parody vocals. Nobody really understands what he is doing. Nobody really cares that he is off stage. Let the band do their thing and drop the jaws of the audience. That resonates with me.

I can't remember the lyrics to all of my fav songs, but I can sing the guitar and bass lines like nobodies business. If I can remember a lyric, it is life chantingly great, or bad. Consider Praying Man. Those lyrics are catchy because they are so poor. "Prayer works when you take the time to pray" !? Ooooohkaaaaay. Only Van Halen can beat that one with "Only time will tell if we stand the test of time". Really? Duh! Some of the worst songs in the world are catchy and cannot be forgotten. Catchy isn't everything.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Mostly, WUC is not for everyone. It is a sonically mature record for sure. It is the most honest sounding record. That mix will stand the test of time, none of the E brothers stuff does.

Here is what I learn from Petra lyrics:

This means war, so stand in the gap. They must be Catholic because they do a bunch of standing up then kneeling, then standing up again. They say I need to stand up to fight, take a stand for Jesus. Then they say I need to get on my knees and fight like a man. They say I need to have folded hands. Then they say I need to speak to the sky. Then they tell me Jesus snuck in my house and wore my shoes. Then they say, you better clean up your house, cause Jesus is going to shake it and everything is going to get messed up again. I guess this proves cleanliness is not next to godliness, since he is going to come shake everyone's houses and mess stuff up. Don't send hate mail. I am messing' with ya'.
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Re: Adonai

Post by gman » Mon Dec 21, 2015 9:30 am

I would say it is inarguable that WUC is one of Petra's best produced albums. Whether one likes them or not, the songs are still great. :lol:
I put WUC and UP as my top two albums. I loved pretty much anything the E-brothers did. Petra, Guardian, BC, Mastedon, John's solo stuff. It's all good. I loved the huge production of UP, and the songs were really great. But, I don't think they could pull off that sound live. At least not when I saw them. WUC is a much better representation of what you get live. And Louie played the whole thing. Good News just sizzles, and Praying Man is a huge anthem. Some of Louie's finest work right there. Many of the songs are heavy. If you don't think so, pass the weed. :lol:
If I want a Petra fix, I'll be listening to UP or WUC. Maybe some J&H. Or I'll take the rare appearance from the current lineup. I like Cristian's skill and enthusiasm, and for the most part, they play the songs I would really want to hear live.
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Re: Adonai

Post by fiendik » Tue Dec 22, 2015 1:02 pm

I wouldn't say it's "inarguably" the best production, but I can kinda understand liking it. It sounds like it really did sound; they really isn't much in the way of added-on effects. Thus it is like a live album. But I never had a problem with "over-production" as some people call it. I'm a BTS fan, and with that, we can come to the same conclusion that we always come to, that music is still a matter of personal preference, and can't really be analyzed that much. How many times have petheads discussed this... 730,000 times? :lol:
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Re: Adonai

Post by sue d. » Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:27 pm

More like 730,001 times. :P

WUC has always been one of my faves... I guess to each his own.
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Re: Adonai

Post by Mountain Man » Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:20 am

It boggles my mind that people are actually hating on Wake Up Call. In my opinion, it's easily one of their top albums and rivals the "golden days" when Johnathan David Brown was producer.
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