#92 PETRA by Petra (1974)



PETRA by Petra (1974)
Myrrh Records (MST-6527)

In a career that spanned more than three decades, Petra released 20 studio albums (including 3 Spanish language albums and 2 live recordings), and sold 10 million copies while being nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning 4. They won 10 Dove Awards. They had a song reach the #1 position on 3 Christian radio charts simultaneously. At the height of their popularity, they performed an average of 160 concerts per year. They were among the first bands to tour with extensive light shows and special effects. They were the only Christian band invited to play at the historic Farm Aid festival. They were the subject of numerous ‘greatest hits’ projects, including a tribute album that featured modern rock acts covering their favorite Petra songs. They were the first Christian band to be enshrined in the Hard Rock Café. And they were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in the year 2000. Other than that, move along…nothing to see here. But seriously…

Back in 1972, no one foresaw all that lay ahead for this band of new believers and struggling musicians.

In the early 70s, guitarist Bob Hartman and bassist John DeGroff were in a band called Dove. The group disbanded when DeGroff decided to attend Bible school. Hartman soon joined him at the Christian Training Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1972 Hartman and DeGroff formed a band with two other classmates – Greg Hough and Bill Glover. They named the band Petra, which is the Greek word for ‘rock.’

They started playing anywhere they could throughout the Midwest – churches, coffeehouses, parks – sharing the message of Christ via the medium of rock and roll. The band became regulars at a now-well-known venue called the Adam’s Apple. There, they met and played alongside other Christian musicians and performers such as Honeytree, Mike Warnke and Phil Keaggy.

Their mix of evangelism and rock music placed Petra squarely among the early pioneers of Jesus Music. But theirs was by no means a smooth road. They were opposed by parents, church leaders, bookstore owners and radio programmers who were convinced that rock and roll was “of the devil” and that trailblazing Christian rockers like Petra were simply wolves in sheep’s clothing, sent to cause their teenagers to stray from the straight and narrow.

Enter Billy Ray Hearn.

Petra had attracted the attention of Paul Craig Paino of Myrrh Records. Paino convinced the label’s founder, Billy Ray Hearn, to attend a Petra performance at the Adam’s Apple. Hearn must’ve liked what he saw and heard; he signed Petra to a Myrrh Records recording contract in 1973. Hearn was later quoted as saying, “Petra was the most radical thing around.” He produced the band’s debut album himself.

OK, let’s talk about the album. I’m just gonna say it. This record is on this list due to its historical significance. The production standards are sub-par. The vocals are, in a word, terrible. Bob Hartman probably never claimed to be a singer, but he got the job by default on this first album. John J. Thompson has called Hartman’s singing “almost comically bad.” He added, “The band needed a singer badly.” But the importance of this album on Myrrh Records, being released in 1974, warrants its inclusion on this list.

The album cover features the name PETRA carved in sand (with what appears to be nomads in the bottom right-hand corner, seen from overhead). Some have wondered if this was meant to suggest the ancient Biblical city of Petra, which was carved out of the sides of a ravine of rock. The back cover shows an illustration of the four band members, and states, “Petra is…rock – massive – with spiritual overtones.” That much was certainly true.

Petra’s self-titled debut has been described as “solid, guitar-driven, rural rock ‘n roll with loads of lengthy, rip-snortin’ leads.” The album hearkens more to southern rock bands like Lynryd Skynyrd  than the arena rock that the group eventually became known for. Elements of Yes, Allman Brothers and Cream could be heard in the tracks.

On the Word/Epic CD reissue in 1992, the track order was regrettably screwed up. This resulted in the song Parting Thought – clearly intended to be the album’s closing message – being heard in the middle of the album. In this review, we will follow the album’s original song order.

The record hits us right out of the gate with Walkin’ in the Light, a Hartman-penned tune based on I John 1:7. The joyous yet simplistic lyrics were typical of Jesus People in the early 70s:

I’m rockin’ with the Rock
Rollin’ on the road that takes me to the King
Walkin’ in the light / every day and night
Livin’ in the Spirit / really out of sight!

This song and several others on the album featured tight, Allman Brothers-type dual guitar lines.

Mountains and Valleys had an acoustic sound more akin to the gentle Jesus Music bands in Southern California.

Next up was a novelty track called Lucas McGraw. The song tells the story of a feuding, foul-mouthed, womanizer who’d gotten saved, and the change that had come over him. The track begins with some hillbillies sitting around talking, complete with sound effects of hogs and pigs. Some of the lyrics are hilarious.

Lucas McGraw, what’s come over you?

We’re beginning to think you’re touched
We heard you got religion
Ya ain’t been ‘round to see us much
Ya threw away your corncob pipe
And your jug of moonshine brew
And we hear you ain’t been doin’
All those things you used to do

Lucas McGraw, what’s come over you?

You’re shavin’ every day
You ain’t been chasin’ women
And you kissed your wife today
You went to church last Sunday
And you shook the preacher’s hand
And they say that you’ve been talkin’
‘Bout a Home beyond this land

Lucas McGraw, what’s come over you?

You never cuss no more
We hear you ain’t been feudin’ / You hung your rifle by the door
You take a bath each Sunday if you need it or not
And you go to work on Monday, even when it’s hot

Lucas McGraw was something of a cult classic. People either loved it or hated it. Musically, it was a severe departure from the rest of the album – a bluegrass tune complete with mandolins and banjos. The song ends with what sounds like a pig being shot by a gun. Pig sound effects would not be used this effectively again until Gary S. Paxton’s There Goes a Cigar Smoking a Man. (wink, wink)


Wake Up featured a funky time signature and a blistering guitar solo.

Closing side one was the standout Backslidin’ Blues. This song may have been the first full-on blues tune ever recorded on a major Christian album. The song was a concert favorite back in the day and benefitted from its inclusion on Jubilation, a 2-album various artists compilation that Myrrh Records released in 1975. The song sounds like it was recorded live in some old smoky blues bar, complete with a handful of exuberant ‘regulars’ on hand to cheer on the band. Yes, you can actually hear the clapping, hootin’ and hollerin’ while Hartman and Hough deliver some authentic blues licks and sing about the struggle a Christian can sometimes experience in his quest to stay close to the Lord.

Side two kicks off with Get Back to the Bible (three years before Chris Christian wrote and recorded a song with the same title). This one calls out Hare Krishna and the devil himself while proclaiming that “Jesus is the answer to everything you need to know.”



A&M Release - SP-5061



The second coming of Jesus was the inspiration for Gonna Fly Away. Reminiscent of the old hymn I’ll Fly Away or Servant’s Fly Away, the song contains dual guitar solos and some really funny lines:

Every day I’ve been lookin’ in the sky / Hope it’s not raining when I start to fly
I bet you think I’m strange / Just wait until I’m changed

Where you gonna be when the trumpet blows?

All that’s left of me is gonna be my clothes
I’d really like to see / you flyin’ next to me



Next up is a song that served as a good, overall statement of faith. I’m Not Ashamed has an Allman Brothers feel to it, and more “harmony guitar” technique. It had a nice psychedelic ‘70s ending, employing reverb and feedback (a la Larry Norman). 

Storm Comin’ contained more sound effects (thunder and rain) and even more dual harmony guitar parts.

 

Finally, Parting Thought was a simple, acoustic tune that invited the listener to once again consider the claims of Christ:

Here’s a song sung with you in mind
Maybe it will make you
Think about Him one more time
And if you can, please try to understand
Jesus is yours for the asking

Parting Thought was included on the 1974 Myrrh compilation album titled Love Peace Joy, exposing the band to a wider audience.



Overall, the band’s debut recording is pretty raw, lacking the refined production values of their future releases. The entire thing was recorded on a $1,000 budget during the span of two weeks. And yet it still brings a smile to the faces of Petra fans as they remember a simpler time, simple lyrics, atrocious vocals…and some smokin’ hot guitar work.

Hough, DeGroff & Glover still tour and record as GHF

The lineup would soon change, as would the sound. But the world had not heard the last of this band of Midwestern Jesus Rock pioneers -- to say the least.