By James Grimes
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Summary: Legendary Christian rock pioneer band Petra’s first really successful album not only paved the way for every Christian rock band in the future, but it is truly good in its own right.
Art Assessment: Promising and cool.
Review: In the 1970’s and 80’s, many former hippies were becoming Christians. They naturally didn’t mesh with the mainline dogma of American Protestantism, with their social gospel, communal lifestyle, and love of “devil” music, specifically rock & roll. Artists such as Keith Green and DeGarmo & Key managed to make some headway for “Jesus music”, as the hybrid style was called, but they maintained a strong gospel music sensibility. While they were doing their thing, however, in 1972, in Indiana, guitarist Bob Hartman and a few friends (none of these folks, Bob included, were hippies) organized a little band called ‘Petra’. Their style, initially, was southern rock, and they played in clubs and church venues. Their first two albums were met with little to no success, unfortunately, due to resistance from major Christian leaders who still opposed their genre of choice, and from the fact that they were not touring. After being dropped from their label and picked up again by another not too long afterward, they were pressed to soften their sound. They were no longer southern rock. This release, known as ‘Washes Whiter Than’, managed to get some success, at long last. Christian radio stations started to give them airtime. After dropping and adding band members, and confident with their new lineup, Petra returned for the album ‘Never Say Die’, which began their rise to success, as one of the most influential and artistically excellent Christian artists ever. Now, track by track, here’s a breakdown of this monumental 1981 release.
‘The Coloring Song’: Featuring flutes, soft vocals from now-lead vocalist Greg X. Volz, and mellow acoustics, it’s a very unassuming introduction, and one of Petra’s biggest surprise hits. The lyrics are concerned with the basics of Christianity, specifically the gospel, told in a very simplistic, child-like manner. Musically, it most closely matches the precedent they set in their previous album, and doesn’t sound very much like the driving rock the band would become known for. However…
‘Chameleon’: As the first track fades out, a super fast guitar riff suddenly plays, announcing that this is in fact a rock album. Greg X. Volz further warms us up to this fact by giving a long, sustained, passionate yell. The lyrics are a plea for the lukewarm Christian heart to choose between good and evil, once and for all. We know immediately that the southern rock feel of the very first Petra album is long gone, and it had been fading ever since the second album, after all. This song is impressive and fun, but not the best track on this album. That goes to…
‘Angel Of Light’: After impressing us once, they step it up and deliver a truly quality classic rock performance, which is one of my favorite Petra songs of all time. It’s a direct challenge to the devil, with clever satire, clear vocals, driving rock, and eerie organs. It’s legitimately Christian and legitimately rock, all that Petra would hope to be.
‘Killing My Old Man’: Despite referring to the “old man”, meaning the darkened nature of the regenerated person in Christian theology, the song was cautiously kept off a previous Petra album, ‘Come And Join Us’, for being rather audaciously titled. This one is keyboard-led, and is not quite as impressive as ‘Angel Of Light’. Nevertheless, it’s the third strong rock song of the album, and by now the listener has settled into it.
‘Without Him We Can Do Nothing’: This one takes a joyful turn after the angst of ‘Killing’. This was one of the few songs written by vocalist Volz, notable due to the fact that Bob Hartman provided most the songwriting for the band’s 33 year career. ‘The Coloring Song’, this track, and and the very last track were written by folks other than Hartman. The lyrics on this song are a straightforward declaration of the Christian’s reliance on God.
‘Never Say Die’: The title track, continuing the encouragement theme, is good, but the album feels like it’s losing steam by this point. This is not a common ailment that afflicts Petra albums, however, so it’s probably due to the fact that they were trying to play it safe. Not that I blame them, however, considering the pressure from all sides.
‘I Can Be Friends With You’: Another one of Petra’s bigger radio hits, I personally find this one kind of annoying after a while. It’s cheerful, keyboard led, and awfully repetitive. That’s not to say it’s a bad song, but it’s not the kind of thing I find too enjoyable.
‘For Annie’: A major departure from the rock of the rest of the album, this melancholy plea is much more like the popular Jesus music ballads of the day, with a string backing and strong vocals. This one is good, but it’s odd for Petra.
‘Father Of Lights’: Well, it turns out they couldn’t stop the rock. Another cheerful, God-centric, laid back entry, kind of a Summertime driving song, if that makes any sense to you.
‘Praise Ye The Lord’: Petra goes out on an enthusiastic note, with an out-and-out praise song. Another great Petra classic.
So when it’s all said and done, almost 30 years later, is ‘Never Say Die’ still a good album? Well, obviously, tastes have changed. To many thirsting for a hard rock album, you won’t find it here, except in three tracks. Three exceptionally solid tracks, remember! Overall, it’s an incredible accomplishment and a milestone in Christian and general music history. Petra walked the line, and despite the backlash, broke into new ground.
The Spinning Record 