Petra Discography

I've been on a bit of a Petra kick lately, since it's been hard to believe that they are retiring. I thought I'd put together a discography with a few notes attached.
The discography is as follows:

Petra (The original four: Bob Hartman, Greg Hough, John DeGroff, and Bill Glover.)
Come And Join Us (Greg X. Volz’s debut with Petra)
Washes Whiter Than (Greg became a full time member.)
Never Say Die (The first of a consistent band for a few album’s.)
More Power To Ya (My first exposure to Petra.)
Not Of This World (I caught them on this tour near St. Louis with September opening up. When I heard Bema Seat, I became a fan for life and bought the first 3 cassettes as quick as I could find them. I still have the pictures from this show.)
Beat The System (After hearing Bema Seat on the previous cassette, this was a HUGE disappointment. It is mostly all keyboards, no live drums, no live bass.)
Captured In Time And Space (This live disc put closure on the Greg Volz era.)
Back To The Street (The beginning of the John Schlitt era and a welcome return to a guitar rock sound.)
This Means War (Great continuation of Petra’s rock sound. I caught them opening night of this tour in Jefferson City, MO. They were still using the Back To The Street stage setup and merchandise arrived late. They had an after-party at a local arcade and I had the opportunity to meet the band for the first time.)
On Fire (THE BEST PETRA CD!! They finally realized the rock side I’d been waiting for since I heard the opening of Bema Seat. I still play these tunes and it just rocks!!)
Petra Praise – The Rock Cries Out (The first full disc foray into praise music. Not a bad effort, but a letdown for those of us hoping to hear the continuation of On Fire.)
Beyond Belief (Not as hard as On Fire, but a rock disc, nonetheless. Ronny Cates rocked live and was a great addition on bass. I saw this tour in Columbia, MO. I was unable to meet the band, but upset someone by asking why Petra ripped off Kiss for Seen And Not Heard. You can hear the obvious rip-off from Heaven’s On Fire by Kiss.)
Unseen Power (This one and Beyond Belief and Wake-Up Call are stylistically very similar.)
Wake-Up Call (This trilogy of discs rocks, but they took a step back from the harder leanings of On Fire.)
No Doubt (I was very disappointed in every song except Right Place. It’s actually a decent CD, but an even bigger step away from their roots rock sound. This was also the first disc without Bob Hartman as part of the touring band. I saw this version of the band live on the Salt Box Tour with WhiteHeart, Johnny Q. Public, and Grammatrain. They were tight live and I was able to meet John before the show and the rest of the band afterwards.)
Petra Praise II – We Need Jesus (A decent follow-up to the first praise disc, but fans like me see these as pandering discs instead of a progression of the band as artists with their own sound. Petra Means Rock.)
God Fixation (Another stab at “modernizing” the Petra sound. Another disc without Hartman touring and it still doesn’t truly rock.)
Double Take (A mostly acoustic spin on classic Petra songs. Not something worth buying unless you’re a hardcore fan. Nothing rocks here at all. There are some interesting spins on the songs, but there hasn’t been a truly rock disc by Petra since Wake-Up Call by this point and I’m sure fans were getting antsy. I know I was!)
Revival (This is the return of Bob Hartman to the Petra fold, so to speak. John, Louie Weaver, and Bob were required for InPop Records to sign the band and release this CD. It’s another praise disc that doesn’t add anything to Petra’s rock legacy. It’s good to see Bob back, though.)
Jekyll & Hyde (Finally, a true follow-up to On Fire! This disc clocks in at barely over 30 minutes, but it rocks from start to finish. When I heard this, I dropped what I was doing and cranked it louder!)
Farewell (This just came out and features Greg X. Volz and John Lawry on some of the older Petra songs. Great disc from the current lineup and it’s great to hear the former members. It’s just a shame they aren’t following up Jekyll And Hyde, but at least they are retiring with a bang!)

There are several Greatest Hits discs out, too, that have both of the main eras of Petra. There is little from the first two albums out anymore as the CD’s are now out of print. A few of the Greatest Hits CD's are The Early Years, Petrafied, and Petraphonics. Get what you can to support this great band!