Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Petra's final moments are captured in the apt-titled "Farewell" disc, recorded October 4, 2005 at the Nashville stop of the same tour.
Bob Hartman's tight guitar work, John Schlitt's distinctive gritty vocals, Paul Simmon's tight drum work, and bass player Greg Bailey's talent come through loud and clear. A rush to production -- in the hands of fans a month later -- the disc could have spent more time in post-production. The bass and treble are a tad muffled, but with a near-flawless performance, this live album stands on its own next to the studio releases.
The concert showases new hits and old favorites -- featuring recent Jekyll & Hyde hits and the the standard Petra concert "Rock Medley" and "Acoustic Set". In the latter set, former lead singer Greg X. Volz joins the stage for a reprise of songs familiar to fans of the Beat the System tour and prior releases. Keyboardist John Lawry returns for his famous "Jesus Loves You" solo from the Captured in Time and Space live album. (My two-year-old and five-year-old laughed out loud at this fun bit of synthesizer sampling.) Louie Weaver is noticeably absent, but his replacement Paul Simmons has a very similar style with a crisp, clean, driving beat. Also absent is my favorite Petra song of all time, "Godpleaser", but you can't win 'em all.
Bob Hartman, Petra's founder and lead guitar player, exudes the soul of the band. Never have I heard such guitar work -- tight rhythms, punchy riffs, catchy licks, and driving power chords that fill the auditorium. Fans will complain that his guitar solo was only one and a half minutes long.
Truth be told, the musical performance is carried by Bob's guitar; nevertheless, he simply will not step into the limelight and take the attention to himself. Bob's purpose is to glorify Jesus Christ. His lyrics pull deep from Scripture, and point straight up to God. And that's what he did on tour; during the encore set, Bob personally challenged Christians to love one another and live as soldiers in a spiritual battle. He challenged non-believers to take the ultimate step of faith.
You won't hear these words spoken on the CD, buy you'll hear them loud and clear in the lyrics. Once more, Petra delivers a rock-solid message with a rock-solid performance. (Love it and live it, that's the soul of a Petra fan.)
Petra will long be remembered as a pioneer band in Christian rock music. High-energy songs, powerful guitars, soaring vocals, timeless ballads and straight-to-the-point lyrics have been the signature elements of this band going strong for 33 years and now entering retirement.
Farewell, Petra, we honor your work which continues to inspire and energize our lives of faith.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Farewell
0 comments:
Post a Comment