Customer Reviews

Jekyll & Hyde

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you've been disgusted with the "modern rock" or "praise and worship" or other incarnations of Petra in recent years, today is your lucky day! This CD is ROCK 100%! Bob Hartman is back in a big way, writing or co-writing every song and handling guitar duties with a power and creativity that we haven't seen in any of Petra's earlier recordings. Even so, I hear lots of hints of Unseen Power in this CD; after a concert months before album release I was told by John Schlitt himself that this new CD is like Beyond Belief and On Fire! combined. I would have to say that John is underexaggerating... this is the rockiest Petra album EVER!

John himself did a great job at lead vocals; you can tell he was enjoying himself. The album was produced by Peter Furler of Newsboys, and in the wake of the departure from Petra of well-loved and missed drummer Louie Weaver, he also handled drum duties professionally and with style and class.

For those of us who care a lot about the lyrics, the songs on this CD are challenging, thought-provoking, and Bible-based. Scripture references are provided, in true Petra style, for every song, although if you know your Bible you can find things in the songs from areas of Scripture that are not even mentioned. The basic theme of the album is living your life for God, and the ups and downs of every Christian's walk.

This one is EXCELLENT! Don't wait... click "Add to cart" right away!

No band, especially one with members well into their 50s, written off and derided even by Christian media, should on paper come back sounding this loud, sing or play with such power and conviction. If the heavy, detuned, grinding guitar riff of "Jekyll & Hyde" doesn't get you pogo-ing around the house playing air guitar, nothing will. This is an instant classic, slightly reminiscent of tracks like "Secret Weapon" from the "Unseen Power" album but yet sounding fresh & contemporary.

"All About Who You Know" has a terric guitar riff & great lyrics, but the actual song & tune isn't that memorable.
"Stand" has a stomping, Aerosmith-esque blues-rock feel, (especially THAT great guitar riff). "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda" is even better. Another air guitar intro (this time a dead ringer for ZZ Top), a typically "Petra" pre-chorus, and a hook which could have graced numerous Newsboys songs or albums all make unlikely bedfellows, yet Peter Furler works miracles with the production - another instant classic!
"Perfect World" isn't so clever. An excellent melody, which should have been less "produced" is crowded out by an un-necessary & ham-fisted attempt to make it heavy and of course, John Schlitt still tending to spoil slow songs by screaming them like 80s power ballads (just like he did on the "Double Take" and "Revival" albums.)
"Test of Time" - similar to the earlier songs. Strong intro, strong lyrics, good hook, strong song.

"I will Seek You." A very powerful chorus, sounding like an 80s Petra song with modern production (and of course, air guitar!)
"Life as We Know It." This is extremely catchy, another instant classic, mixing Newsboys (the intro riff and the chorus) with Unseen Power-era Petra (and yet more air guitar, in this case the Aerosmith-esque post-chorus.)
"Till Everything I Do." Probably a good choice for second or third single. Very melodic, radio-friendly and similar in sound to songs from the "Revival" or "God Fixation" albums. A nice breather & change of tempo.
"Sacred Trust." Sounds similar to the previous track - again, strong melody, great lyrics ie "you never tried to be politically correct" Slightly spoiled by over-indulgence in the air guitar department during the bridge.
A few minor niggles (notably the album's length at just over 31 minutes, and the occasionally over-zealous use of heavy guitars, hence 4 stars not 5) spoil a really enjoyable album. Highlights include some of Bob Hartman's best ever playing & writing, John Schlitt singing close to his best, and Peter Furler's production. Whatever your religious persuasion, if you like hard rock then go out and buy it - you won't be disappointed!

I've been a fan of Petra since the mid '80s. I saw them with former vocalist Greg X. Volz on their Beat the System tour (when was that - 1985? 1986?) and have followed them ever since. Like other Petra fans, when John Schlitt assumed lead vocal duties I was skeptical. But the minute he stepped out on stage (wearing a long white tie-and-tails coat, I believe) and belted out the songs all doubt vanished. The guy's voice was unreal then, and it's still unreal now.

John Schlitt is probably one of the most underrated vocalists in rock music -- Christian or otherwise. He has an expressiveness and a range that most vocalists would kill for. (And his front-man stage presence is second-to-none. They guy knows how to work an audience!)

On Jekyll & Hyde, Schlitt's voice remains just as powerful as it was 20 years ago -- and that despite the fact that he's now in his mid fifties.

I'm sorry to hear that Petra has called it quits after some 30-35 years in the business, but I'm glad they're going out on a high note like Jekyll & Hyde. Their farewell tour (which my wife and I saw in Muskegon, Michigan this month) features many of their hits and much of Jekyll & Hyde, which sounds as good live as it does on CD.

It's been a privilege to see Petra repeatedly over the past 20-odd years. They're a very talented, dedicated and committed bunch of Christian musicians -- who just happen to write some of the catchiest songs I've ever heard.

Thank you, Petra, for recording Jekyll & Hyde. And thank you for giving us so much pleasure (and inspiration) over the years!

First of all, I actually like progressive rock Glenn. I can actually play the 15-20 min Yes songs. There is nothing wrong with 3 min songs. P.S. Glenn This isn't a progressive rock album. THIS IS A GREAT ROCK ALBUM! PETRA LOVES JESUS & HELPS YOU FOCUS ON SERVING THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE! Today's Christian rock is a bit weak on spiritual content, Not PETRA! Ladies and gentlemen if you want to be encouraged to completely follow Jesus, this album will do it.

Petra has done something so usually brave and new with this CD that it is the only CD that I am buying additional copies to give to my friends. All the songs have great spiritual content and an excellent hook. It doesn't sound like anything I have heard before with Petra. My favorite is, well, there are a few,
"Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda," "Stand," "Life as we know it," "Till Everything I do," "Sacred Trust". It's an album you can play straight thru without skipping a song. Look, the whole record is great just preview it for yourself.

Thank you Petra for years of excellent Christian uncompromising rock. You have strengthened my faith in the past and have helped me thru some difficulties today. Thank you!!!!! God bless you guys!!!!! Excellent recording!!!!!

I'm not Christian, but Jewish-followed these guys since the '80's-mostly because they simply were great melodic metal and very well-produced. This CD is one of their best, starting off with some excellent kick-ass rock tracks.
I don't pay attention to the lyrics, although I respect their right to free speech and mostly positive and intelligent writing, but their talent, longevity, and quality make them a consistent favorite among my hard rock/metal CD and iPod collection.

Being a fan of Petra for so many years, this is the album I have been waiting for since No Doubt. I thought Petra was dead with all the compilation and alternative-like albums. Finally, John Schlitt's signature 80s voice is reunited with the early 90s hard rock style. I am giving 4 stars because it still lacks the guitar solos that Bob Hartman used to throw in in the early 90s albums. Petra always means rock!!!

Petra has suffered in the past from a variety of problems. Lack of promotion from a disintrested label, a revolving door of membership, and musical miscues have all contributed to a downward spiral in the band's popularity and sales. And so it was with much anticipation that I, like many Petheads, listened to Jekyll and Hyde for the first time.

Jekyll and Hyde is the first "real" record that Petra has released since 1998's God Fixation (the last record that contained all original material--2000 saw Double Take, an acoustic remake of several songs; Revival, a praise set, came out in late 2001), and so has the feel of a come-back.

And a come-back it is. Jekyll and Hyde is a return to form for Petra, whose musical tastes had diverged from their rock'n'roll mainstay of the late '80s to mid '90s, years that saw a spike in their popularity. Make no mistake, Jekyll and Hyde is in-your-face rock, with old-fashioned influences and enough modern punch to be pleasing. That said, the music isn't terribly original (unless one allows that few bands really play old-school rock in the Christian arena anymore), and there simply isn't that much of it. (At 31 minutes, this is the shortest album they've ever released.)

Several of the cuts are good: Jekyll and Hyde, Perfect World, Life as We Know It, and Till Everything I Do are this reviewer's personal favorites (especially the last, whose lyrics are among Bob's best). But none of the songs has a ton of replay value. The single Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda has the best hooks, but the lyrical work is subpar, in my opinion. Several songs are a rehash of Hartman's older work, and we might legitimately complain that Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda and Test of Time say essentially the same thing.

For fans of the band, this signals a return to the music we have longed to hear for ten-plus years. Lyrically, it simply doesn't match up to Hartman's work of old, though after thirty years of writing songs, this is understandable. It provides a bit of optimism to those of us who are still waiting for a musical follow up to Beyond Belief and something as lyrically inspiring as No Doubt.

For those interested in getting into Petra, this is certainly a recommended album. Be sure to pick up Beyond Belief and More Power to Ya, as well--these are classics that should inform any Christian rock fan's vocabulary.

I've been listening to Petra since the Greg X. Volz days with songs like "Not Of This World" and "Graverobber." When my brother bought "Back To The Street," which was the first album with John Schlitt, it took some getting used to. However, I grew to love Petra even more and by the time their second John Schlitt album came out "This Means War!" came out, that album is just awesome! "Jekyll & Hyde" is Petra's best rock album since "This Means War!" There are so many great Petra records, "Beyond Belief", "On Fire", "Unseen Power", but I thought into the later 90's, with albums like "God Fixation" and "No Doubt" musically they sounded good, but it sounded like something is missing. After 2001's "Revival" Petheads were clammering for a rock album! "Jekyll & Hyde" delivers that after at least a decade long wait! The songs, "Jekyll & Hyde", "Perfect World", and "Test Of Time" are especially good. The only criticism I've read is it's a short album, which I do understand. At somewhere between 30-35 minutes, it's unusually short, but an awesome rock album none the less. With Bob Hartman back and guitars, Schlitt still showing his power vocals, and the Newsboys frontman producing, Petra shows not only that they can still rock for guys in their 50's, but it shows their continuing passion for what the music is about, that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior! Keep the fire going boys!!

This is Petra like I've waited to hear them play in years. I haven't stopped playing Jekyll and Hyde since I received it. I am an admitted Pethead, but, I still know when I like a CD and I LIKE this one. The job done by Bob Hartman on guitar is Great and John Schlitt's vocals--just as good or better than ever. I disagre with other reviewers about the drums and bass sounding mechanical. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I wish it were longer than 31 minutes long. I find myself singing along on ALL the songs. I highly recomend this newest offering from Petra.

I have been looking around Amazon.com and listening to clips from other Petra CDs, and none of them are very loud. For sure, none of them are as loud as this CD. While I am not too great of a fan of hard rock, I do enjoy some loud music, and this is the best I have found yet. I have also had the privilege to hear Petra in concert recently (in their Farewell Tour), and they were awesome. This CD is a good example of what their main music is like.
A few of my favorites are: "Jekyll and Hyde", "Stand", "All About Who You Know", and "Test of Time". "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" is also a really good song.
The first five songs are the loudest, and then it slows down some to a fairly mellow ending with "Sacred Trust". Nevertheless, this entire CD is highly recommended. It also has very good lyrics with good meanings. For example, "Jekyll and Hyde" talks about the inner battle between your godly life in Christ and your sin nature.
I would also recommend that you try to get in on their Farewell Tour. It is going through Dec. '05 and will be the last time they will be together.

Overall, this is a very good CD in my opinion and it will probably be my favorite for a long time. I highly recommend it.