Customer Reviews

Never Say Die / Washes Whiter Than Snow

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

[MY RATING: 4 1/2 STARS]

This was the album that finally brought this pioneering Christian rock band to a level of musical and lyrical sophistication that could compete with the best of the secular rock bands. Many listeners will be familiar with some of these songs from later hits compilations such as "Rock Block," but you should really get the original album to hear the songs in context with lesser-known songs.

"The Coloring Song" opens the album with a beautiful and poetic devotion, which makes allusions and allegories inspired by colors. The vocals, organ, acoustic guitar, and mixolydian mode give the song a refreshing, folklike flavor.

The next two tracks "Chameleon" and "Angel of Light" showcase some outstanding electric guitar work and fierce vocal performances by Greg X Volz, whose voice has a more gospel / soul orientation than his successor John Schlitt, who has more of a hard-rock voice.

"Killing My Old Man" was a controversial song because on the surface, many people took it as a horrible ode to patricide (instead of a song about the biblical admonition to crucify our old selves), and Petra's label actually didn't let them release this song for a few albums. It's a catchy tune.

"Without Him We can do Nothing" closes out side one with a powerful, rocking praise number. Exhortation at its best.

Side 2 is a little weaker than Side 1. "I Can Be Friends with You," and "Father of Lights" are okay, but nothing special. The same could be said of the title cut, although its lyrics are very encouraging and positive, and the guitar hook is admirable.

"[Too Late] For Annie" is a well-known song about a girl who commits suicide because she feels that nobody cares (the message being that Christians could have told her that Jesus loves her, cares for her, etc., and her untimely death could have been averted.) Whether or not people liked the song or its message, it challenged listeners- and with unsentimental realism- in a way that CCM had seldom done before or since.

"Praise Ye the Lord" closes out the side with the same rock-solid praise of "Without Him We Can Do Nothing."

I heartily recommend this album to any fan of Petra (or Kansas, or 70s progressive rock for that matter). You'll enjoy it.

The first thing to note about this release is that it contains all tracks from the two albums except "(Couldn't Find Love) Without You" and "Magic Words" (both from Washes Whiter Than). It's been quite a while since I listened to my vinyl copy of that album, but I don't remember those as particularly outstanding songs. The 18 tracks you do get (the Amazon track listing shows only the tracks from Never Say Die) make this release a solid value, though.

Never Say Die was always among my favorite Petra albums (the first of three solid albums with lead singer Greg X. Volz), but as a young man Washes White Than didn't impress me at all. Listening to it now, I'm able to appreciate it as a well-executed example of the mellow pop (not disco!) stylings of the 1970s. I also disagree with the reviewer who claims you need to be a pre-teen religious fanatic to enjoy these albums. I'm neither young nor a Christian, but I enjoy it all the same. In fact I suspect that older listeners who are nostalgic for the music of this era will enjoy Washes Whiter Than far more than their kids will! (And, sure, the lyrics to a few songs are insipid; but that's true of so much pop music that it hardly seems fair to fault Petra simply because their lyrics are also Christian.)

These two albums aren't masterpieces. But if you're a former Petra fan nostalgic for their old music, or an open-minded listener who appreciates pop music from the 70s and 80s, there's much to like here.

This is a great Christian band and what a way to start. Washes whiter than is a little slower but it does show the softer side until they perfected their sound then out comes Never Say Die!!!!! This one set the stage for the awesome list of albums that came out after it!!!!! You can definately hear the progression as they went from one time period to another!!! Definately the Best Christian rock band that ever came out, You guys did it with the help of God of course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really like these albums as they have classic songs. I was happy to see them available in MP3. However, there are two tracks that do have a "clicking" on them which ruin the end of one song and the beginning of the next one.

The end of track 17 (Father Of Lights), starting around 2:41, the "clicking" starts and continues into about the first 10 seconds of track 18 (Praise Ye The Lord). And they're two of my favorite tracks.

I've spoken to Amazon and they'll eventually, they said, pull them off the site once they've confirmed the problem. I talked to their MP3 support on 8/20. They also said it may take months to get the new "clean" copies from the publisher. They'll put them back once clean copies are obtained.

I just wanted to make any future buyers aware of this issue. The 3 stars I gave are due to the product and the inconveniece this has caused and does not reflect the content of the albums which I really like.

Play this or most of Petra's 80's albums to anyone under 20, and they might say they sound wimpy, corporate, safe and bland. I guess you had to be a teenager in the early 80's to know the impact that Petra had on Christian Music.

Back in the late 70's-early 80's this was extremely cutting edge music, enough to scare your parents and minister. Most contemporary christian artists played it very safe, cutting string and choir laden MOR ballads, southern gospel or country-pop to please Christian radio, who still considered any kind of rock to be the "Devils Music".

Petra, along with the Resurrection Band and Servant were one of the few Christian artists at the time who felt you could merge the sounds of 70's hard rock with religious lyrics. Petra started out a country-southern rock influenced band but by this time that music had faded out and bands like Journey, Styx and Kansas were all over the airwaves. Petra's previous album "Washes Whiter Than.." is a fine album, but "Never Say Die" was the first Petra album where all the elements that made them a great band came together.

My brother brought this LP home back in 1981 when I was listening to mostly Album Rock and it was a real shock to me. The Rez band and Servant had made some good albums during that time, but the production work on their albums sounded low-budget. But "Never Say Die" was a consistent album with great songs, great performances (especially Greg X. Volz who really came into his own on this album) with a tight production that matched the secular bands I loved.

This LP was the beginning of classic Petra, which lasted through most of the decade (until they left Star Song). The album still holds up today, and I wish whoever owns the Star Song Records catalog would give it a good re-issue, along with all their 80's albums and a full re-issue of "Washes Whiter Than..". It's a shame "kids" don't know about these albums.

If you can stomach the sounds of the 70s, then you will like this disc. A bit disco-like? Yes. A bit outdated? Yes. However, I can't help but to thoroughly enjoy the winners, such as "Yahweh Love," "Morning Star," "Praise Ye the Lord," "Father of Lights..." This CD kicks up plenty of nostalgic old-time feeling.

If you're not a rabid Petra fan, then maybe you can afford to miss this album. I personally find it irresistible, and though I already have 16 Petra albums, these two stand out.

This is a great Petra combination. These two CD's show the early stages of Petra and their development with lead singer Greg Voltz. The CD is worth every penny!

At first, I was disapponted when I realized that there's two tracks missing from the original "Washes Whiter Than" album. Those tracks are "(Couldn't Find Love) Without You" and "Magic Words". This CD has all the "Never Say Die" songs. I don't know if those tracks are good. They must have been fillers! Anyway, I decided to review them in this way:

NEVER SAY DIE (3½ stars):

This was the first 80's album Petra made. Released in 1981, this album proved to be quite good. It has great songs but there's a couple of fillers "Without Him We Can Do Nothing", and "Father of Lights". However, the good songs "The Coloring Song" (very positive song about the meaning of colors), "Angel of Light" (a great song how dangerous the devil can be), "Praise Ye The Lord" (This song could have been also in "The Rock Cries Out", it's so powerful), and "For Annie" (a beautiful ballad. I started to cry when I realized that Annie had commited suicide, and now was too late for her to tell about Jesus. However, Annie could be next to you. You've gotta tell her/him!) The title track, "Killing My Old Man", "Chameleon", and "I Can Be Friends With You" are good songs too.

Stars: For Annie, Praise Ye The Lord, The Coloring Song

WASHES WHITER THAN (2½ stars):

This album includes Petra's first real hit "Why Should the Father Bother?" and it was also the last album Petra made in 70's. It was released in 1979. Although the album has its moments, the style is so peaceful and lame. You could think that the band doesn't only love Jesus, they are in love with Him. At least the songs "Deep Love", "Yahweh Love", and "Taste And See" make me think. Petra's good style hadn't yet developed.

Stars: Why Should the Father Bother?, Yahweh Love

I really like the cover on this album. The anchor-torpedoes racing down to earth. Even if this album art is'nt original,which I think it is; It's awesome because of other worlds' that just might be our friends. Willing to fight for our safety for those who respect our creator, God.

This Cd is two different Albms Never Say Die & Washes Whiter than. The never say die part of the Album is great rock but the other Album does noes not rock at all It is not good at all. buy iot for the first half of the cd.