Not counting compilation albums, Petra have released twenty-one studio albums, three live albums, and two Spanish-language albums since forming in 1972. Based upon a conversation on Twitter (thanks Caleb The Spy) I have taken it upon myself to rank and briefly give my thoughts on Petra’s catalog. I will not be looking at the many compilations even though there are a couple of medleys and one new track included on some of them. The two Spanish-language albums will be included with their English counterparts. That being said, let’s get busy.
Petra reached the end of their contract with Word Records in 2000 and released the uninspired collection of hits that were rearranged and recorded acoustically. I will admit that the two new tracks (The Longing and Breathe In) are not bad but the rest of the album just doesn’t do anything for me. It takes some of Petra’s most iconic songs and (in my opinion) suck all the life out of them. I don’t know if this was done simply to fulfill contract obligations but it sounds like a band that has checked out and simply going through the motions. I will give credit where credit is due. The stripped down, bluesy versions of Dance and Praying Man keep the album from being a total dud.
That 80s Pastor Dude 