A Little History.....

History Part II

This album is a recording of 3 performances during the 1985 Beat The System Tour. A GREAT Petra album - Double Album, Single CD. This is another "must-have" for any Petra fan!

Getting back to the line-up change, check out our page on John Schlitt to see his history / testimony (and Solo releases).

The first album with John at the microphone was 1986's Back To The Street. This is one of our Petra Top 10 favorites! Gone are the overbearing synthesizers and back is the guitar. Our only complaint is that there is not enough guitar - but we understand this is a transition album, and to go from Beat The System to This Means War! would have scared fans mightily! So while we prefer the rock sound, this album does not lack entirely. The overall message or theme of this album is evangelism "we gotta take this message....Back to the street".  We especially like "Whole World" and "Fools Gold".

1987 brought about the anathematic This Means War! This is in our Petra Top 5. Spiritual warfare is on the menu here, with songs like "Get On Your Knees & Fight Like A Man" reflecting prayer. This album is another "must have" for any Petra fan!

There are so many good songs on this album, it is hard to pick any one favorite. The guitar is definitely picked up several notches, while they keyboards have been toned down considerably.

1988 brought about blazing, raw rock with On Fire! Now this is what Petra is all about! This is our all-time favorite Petra album. On Fire! brought what should be considered the best 12 minutes of Christian Rock with the first 3 songs: All Fired Up, Hit You Where You Live & Minefield. Lyrically, this album speaks of being filled with God's presence & applying it to your daily life! "It's His delight to give you your desire...it's His desire to set your life ON FIRE!" There isn't a song on this album we don't like!

At this point, Petra embarked in a radically different direction. Feeling the need to reach young people on their own level, Petra recorded Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out. This became Petra first official Gold selling album, though there is considerable wonder if several of their older albums would have reached this status had there been reporting earlier (SoundScan did not start until 1989 or 1990). This album is very diverse from a musical standpoint. From the typical hard-rock opening of I Love The Lord, to the 50's do-wop of Friends, All In The Family of God. This album is a good album overall, and spawned a wave of contemporary or modern worship praise albums that extend even until today! While we like this album overall musically, it is a bit too diverse for our taste. A good album though, and definitely a must have for any Petra fan!