Petra--Backslidin' Blues from The Ultimate Collection

After years of hearing about this CCM band, I finally got a hold of Petra: The Ultimate Collection, their two disc set of greatest hits. I've been listening to Disc1. For the most part, it's kind of unremarkable. I give them kudos for having a solid message with unambiguous lyrics. Musically, meh, nothing special, I would describe it as competent pop music, UNTIL "Backslidin' Blues" popped out of my speakers and grabbed me.

I did some research on Backslidin' Blues and found out it's from their debut album and it's from 1974. Nineteen Seventy-Four! Wow.

I suppose back in the 70's and 80's Petra would have been a big deal. According to Wikipedia, they were a pioneer of the Christian rock and contemporary Christian music genres. Throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, Petra was one of the world's most popular Christian rock bands, with each of its albums during that period selling hundreds of thousands of copies while the band sold out arenas and regularly placed songs at the top of Christian radio charts. With its lyrics, music and style, Petra influenced numerous other artists at a time when Christian rock experienced strong opposition from many conservative pastors and churches.


Anybody else want to comment on this band? Any memories? Did anyone see them in concert?

 

I still listen to the Who, have seen them twice in concert. Ozzy and BS, never got into them.

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