Wake-Up Call (Dayspring [Word], 1993) SIDE 1 Midnight Oil [buy WMA] Good News [buy WMA] Strong Convictions [buy WMA] He's Been In My Shoes [buy WMA] Praying Man [buy WMA] SIDE 2 Underneath the Blood [buy WMA] Sleeping Giant [buy WMA] Believer in Deed [buy WMA] Marks of the Cross [buy WMA] Just Reach Out [buy WMA] all songs written by Bob Hartman unless otherwise indicated John Schlitt - Lead Vocals Louie Weaver - Drums John Lawry - Keyboards Bob Hartman - Guitars Ronny Cates - Bass Background vocals: Robert White Johnson, Chris Eddy, Michael Black, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Bob Carlisle, Gordon Kennedy, Nanette Britt, Vicki Carrico, Ron Hemby, Judson Spence, Tommy Funderbunk, Dale Thompson & Joe Pizzulo Special thanks for additional contributions from: Chris McHugh Alan Pasqua Blair Masters Gordon Kennedy Tom Hemby Lenny Castro Terry McMillan produced by Brown Bannister art direction: Diana Barnes design: Gabrielle Raumberger

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cover art:
This cover has as its main focus a picture of the world with the band members standing on it in circles of light, presumably spotlights. The word "PETRA" is written across the top (above the world) in white letters, and "WAKE-UP CALL" is written along the left-hand side in tiny yellow letters. In a trivial side note, this is the first Petra album cover in which words are written sideways. The only other times anything was written off the level are Never Say Die, Not Of This World, and Back To The Street; on all three of those some of the lettering is slightly tilted, but never completely up and down. "Who Cares?" you ask.

Michael's review:
This one is definitely a departure for Petra. The sound is a "southern-fried" rock sound. The guitars are more rhythmic overall, and the drums have a very "human", non-machine sound. Great rockers are in abundance, with "Midnight Oil", "Underneath the Blood", "The Sleeping Giant" (the title cut) and "Praying Man" being special standouts. "Good News" and "Strong Convictions" showcase John Schlitt's voice very nicely; "Good News" seems a little John Cougar influenced, with honky-tonk guitar and harmonica neatly in place, and "Strong Convictions" seems to have a little The Call/Inxs influence. I was surprised by "He's Been In My Shoes", which is possibly the first acoustic guitar-oriented ballad since Not Of This World and which is (of course) about Jesus' identification with us in the flesh.

The other two ballads on this album are "Marks of the Cross", which almost sounds like a commercial for Compassion International: "Praying, caring, loving, sharing; these are the marks of the cross/Giving, bearing, feeling, daring to lay down your life on the line, forgetting what you leave behind, and willing to suffer the loss/of the marks of the cross." and "Just Reach Out", written in part by John Schlitt. JRO is one of the most thoughtful, devotional-sounding Petra songs in a long time, and it contains some of the most clever lyrics on the album: "Sometimes the night seems to go on for days, when it's hard to see the light through the darkness and the haze..." "...You say you've walked ten thousand steps away, but don't you know that it's only one step back?" Both are very moving songs, and the type that will stick with you all day as you go about your business.

As I said before, the title of the album comes from the song, "Sleeping Giant": "Whoa, sleeping the night away/Darkness enclosing the world, so desperate for day/We're under the spell of disunity/when will this giant awake and stand and be free?... Can you hear the alarm echo down the hall? The sleeping giant gets a wake-up call!" The music sounds sort of plodding, a little on the slow side (like a giant waking up), and the guitar hook is like an alarm clock... a terrific arrangement for the lyrical content.

Though the whole album has an attractive, well-done sound, some of the most interesting music is in "Underneath The Blood" and "Believer in Deed" Ronny Cates wrote the music for UTB, and his talent really shines! Let's hope we hear more from him in the future. During the verses we can hear a little conversation going on between the guitar & bass, and the chorus contains an irresistible hook with a huge arena feel. One of my favorites on this album. BID is melodically and lyrically the usual for Petra, but the arrangement is quite different. It starts off rather abruptly with slow chording in the keys over a comparatively fast melody, and then suddenly a dissonant piano/guitar thing comes in (a friend told me it sounds like the guitar player is playing a different song!) and creates a little musical tension. Very effective. After the chorus there is an unexpected key change, which just seems to set off the fact that this is a very unusual arrangement!

Overall the sound of this album is very different for Petra, but I think a step in the right direction. Rock fans will definitely not be disappointed, and fans of a more acoustic rock sound will be very happy with this release. A definite success for the band!
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