Reviewed by Matthew Griggs

The classic rock band from Indiana are showcased here with a stomping collection of their greatest hits from their most successful decade. The band that brought us their infectious worshipful rock provide us with a close knit collection here of 10 of the most powerful, stadium-filling rock epics. The collection kicks off with "All Fired Up", the crashing drums and soaring harmonies reminiscent of a DefLeppard song from the same era. The album continues in the same vain in the main, but there is time for a breather on "The Coloring Song" (a major US Christian radio hit when released in 1981), which is the perfect example of how Petra had their harmonies spot on and how they could put down the crashing instruments and perform a delicate song speaking of God's love and his giving of life to us. The highlight and centrepiece for this collection for me is "It Is Finished". The lyrics are brilliant and the guitar riffs still bite. It is the more modern sounding track within this collection, but that's not to say the others are too dated as their classic AOR approach, like that of The Eagles, today still retains a timeless quality. For recordings that are around 30 years old these oldies still have legs. The one big snag is that Petra's StarSong recordings have been brought together on so many different compilations that there can be few original fans left who haven't already got these evergreens.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.