Description
War & Remembrance, sub-titled 15 Years of Rock, is a double-disc compilation album by the American rock band Petra, released on StarSong Records in 1990, distributed by Sparrow/Star Song Distribution.
Petra is one of the few contemporary Christian bands that has spent enough years in the trenches to warrant a boxed-set compilation such as ‘War and Remembrance’, a celebration of Petra’s 15th anniversary. At its outset, Petra was one-of-a-kind; a blues-based rock outfit that might have been considered “heavy metal” in those early years. Although only guitarist/composer Bob Hartman remains from the original unit, the band’s name has come to stand for a certain standard of production quality and lyrical integrity in Christian rock.
‘War’ opens with the title track from Petra’s second album (1977), an invitation to «Come and Join Us», and closes 27 tracks later with «Parting Thought», off the band’s 1974 debut, a fitting reminder that “Jesus is yours for the asking.” In between is arguably the cream of Petra’s nine Star Song albums from 1979 to 1988. Unlike the 1988 compilation ‘Petra Means Rock‘, ‘War’ contains both classic rock tunes as well as Petra’s better-known (and usually softer) radio hits. Petra had been together over five years and logged thousands of road miles before achieving its first significant radio play with «Why Should the Father Bother», off its Star Song debut ‘Washes Whiter Than‘. The band may have unwittingly set a precedent for future hard rock/metal bands to follow, as today it is virtually impossible to find a Christian rock album without at least one acoustic/radio-ready track. Still, those more laid-back numbers of Petra’s were often better than what the rest of the market had to offer. Witness «Road to Zion»/«Not of This World»/«Grave Robber», a triumvirate from disc/cassette one of ‘War’. I doubt you’ll find three more powerful acoustic-oriented ballads in any group’s songbook.
The first phase of the band’s career culminated with the 1986 live recording ‘Captured in Space and Time‘, Greg Volz‘s swan song. This ushered in the (vocalist) John Schlitt era, and a second streak of unprecedented popularity for Petra. ‘Back to the Street‘, ‘This Means War‘ and ‘On Fire‘ marked a return to the more aggressive sound of Petra’s first two albums, but juxtaposed with the scorching title tracks of those three albums, are power ballads like «I Am Available» and «First Love», made all the more credible by Schlitt’s wailing pipes.
Executive producer Darrell Harris contributes liner notes to ‘War’, as do journalist Devlin Donaldson, CCM editor John Styll, and other figures in Petra’s history. Interspersed with the commentary is a time line, which keys the listener in to important world events which happened during Petra’s history. Also to be commended is mastering engineer Tom Baker, who seamlessly melds together tapes that span vast differences in recording technology. The two CDs/cassettes are enclosed in a faux marble box, with embossed lettering, and graphics which set a standard for future archival releases in Christian music. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, January 1991]
2CD tracklist:
Disc One
1-01. Come And Join Us – 4:39
1-02. Why Should The Father Bother – 3:46
1-03. Yahweh Love – 5:38
1-04. Coloring Song – 2:52
1-05. Chameleon – 5:47
1-06. Angel Of Light – 4:21
1-07. Stand Up – 3:33
1-08. Second Wind – 4:32
1-09. More Power To Ya – 3:37
1-10. Road To Zion – 3:59
1-11. Not Of This World – 4:49
1-12. Grave Robber – 4:18
1-13. Not By Sight – 3:20
1-14. Beat The System – 4:22
1-15. Computer Brains – 4:1
1-16. Clean – 3:1
Disc Two
2-01. Praise Medley: Let Everything That Hath Breath/Without Him We Can Do Nothing/Praise Ye The Lord – 7:42
2-02. Back To The Street – 4:14
2-03. Whole World – 4:50
2-04. Thankful Heart – 3:17
2-05. This Means War! – 3:30
2-06. Don’t Let Your Heart Be Hardened – 3:41
2-07. Get On Your Knees And Fight Like A Man – 4:32
2-08. I Am Available – 4:27
2-09. All Fired Up – 4:30
2-10. Hit You Where You Live – 4:20
2-11. First Love – 4:10
2-12. Parting Thought – 1:30
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by StarSong Records. (The CDs come in a cardboard box with the CDs side by side, and a booklet on top. The booklet contains info about the bands albums up to this point in their career.) Re-issued the following year by 214 Records, distributed by JCI.
The April 1991 issue of CCM Magazine featured an image of Petra on the cover. The band was voted “Favorite Pop/Rock Artist or Band”, “Favorite Pop/Rock Album”, “Favorite Song” (“Creed”),”Favorite Long Form Video”, and “Favorite Live Concert” in the CCM Reader’s Choice Awards 1990
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