''Beyond Belief'' is the twelfth studio album of the
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...
band,
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
. It was released on June 20, 1990.
In this album the band continues to polish the
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
/
arena rock
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
sound the band had been working on their previous efforts before their praise album (''
On Fire!
''On Fire!'' is the tenth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra (band), Petra. It was released in 1988 by Star Song Communications, StarSong.
The songs of this album are in the Hard rock category. The lyrics continue the theme of spiri ...
'' and ''
This Means War!
''This Means War!'' is the ninth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra (band), Petra. It was released in 1987.
In this album, the band started to refine their movement into a more hard rock/arena rock sound, still retaining keyboard syn ...
'').
As of late 2011, this is the band's most successful album both critically and commercially, and it is considered by most to be the peak of their discography. The album won the band their first
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
after five previous nominations, and was certified gold on October 3, 1995. The album was listed at No. 71 in ''
CCM Magazine
''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications.
History
''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...
''s ''The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music''.
The band also released a mini-movie of the same title.
Track listing
All songs written by
Bob Hartman
Robert "Bob" Hartman (born December 26, 1949) is a Christian artist, guitarist, writer and songwriter. He is the founder of Christian rock band Petra. Hartman was involved with the band from its foundation in 1972 to its end in 2005. He took ...
, except where noted.
# "Armed and Dangerous" – 4:06
# "I am on the Rock"
(Hartman, John Elefante) – 4:37
# "Creed" – 4:36
# "Beyond Belief" – 5:06
# "Love" – 4:10
# "Underground"
(Hartman, J. Elefante) – 4:33
# "Seen and Not Heard" – 3:54
# "Last Daze" – 5:04
# "What's in a Name" – 3:34
# "Prayer"
(Hartman, J. Elefante) – 4:15
Awards
* Won
Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album was awarded from 1991 to 2011. From 1991 to 1993 the category was awarded as Best Rock/Contemporary Gospel Album. From 2007 to 2011 it was awarded as Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album.
The award was discont ...
in 1991.
* Won
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...
for Long Form Music Video in 1990.
* Won Dove Award for Rock Album in 1991.
* Won Dove Award for Rock Recorded Song ("Beyond Belief") in 1991.
* Won Dove Award for Recorded Music Packaging in 1991.
Personnel
Petra
*
John Schlitt
John William Schlitt (born February 3, 1950) is an American singer, who was the lead singer of Christian rock band Petra (band), Petra from 1986 until the band's retirement in early 2006. Prior to joining Petra in 1986, Schlitt was the lead voc ...
– lead vocals, backing vocals
*
Bob Hartman
Robert "Bob" Hartman (born December 26, 1949) is a Christian artist, guitarist, writer and songwriter. He is the founder of Christian rock band Petra. Hartman was involved with the band from its foundation in 1972 to its end in 2005. He took ...
– guitars, arrangements
*
John Lawry
John Lawry (born June 15, 1950) is a Christian rock musician, composer, producer, and songwriter. He was the keyboardist of Petra from 1984 to 1994. After his departure, Lawry dedicated himself to producing and record engineering. From 2010 to 201 ...
– keyboards
*
Ronny Cates
Petra is an American music group regarded as a pioneer of the Christian rock and contemporary Christian music genres and was, for many years, regarded as the "world's most popular Christian rock band". Formed in 1972, the band took its name from ...
– bass
*
Louie Weaver
Louie Adrian Weaver III (born July 13, 1951) is a drummer most famous for being the long-time drummer of Christian rock band Petra. Weaver was dismissed from the band in 2003. He is currently working on several projects. In 2010, Weaver reunited ...
– drums
Additional musicians
* John Andrew Schreiner – additional keyboards
*
John Elefante
John Elefante (born March 18, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and record producer. From 1981-1984, he was lead vocalist of the rock group Kansas and is currently touring with several groups that have featured members fro ...
– background vocals, arrangements
* Dino Elefante – background vocals, arrangements
*
Dave Amato
David Paul Amato (born March 3, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band REO Speedwagon since May 1989.
Early years
He was born and raised near Framingham, Massachusetts. At age 11, his first band wa ...
– background vocals
* Walt Harrah and the Los Alamitos Congregational Choir – background vocals on "Love"
Production
* John Elefante – producer,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
, mixing at Pakaderm Studios,
Los Alamitos, California
Los Alamitos () is a city in Orange County, California. The city was incorporated in March 1960. The population was 11,780 at the 2020 census, up from 11,449 at the 2010 census. The adjacent unincorporated community of Rossmoor uses the same 90 ...
* Dino Elefante – producer, engineer, mixing at Pakaderm Studios
* Lynn Keesecker – A&R direction
* Mike Mireau – engineer
* Jeff Simmons – assistant engineer
*
Bob Ludwig
Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...
– mastering at
Masterdisk
Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production.
Their clients include such no ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
* Amy Linden – art production coordination
* Buddy Jackson – art direction
* Beth Middleworth – design
* Mark Tucker – photography
* Carol Buckley-Frazier – hair, make-up
* Susan Wakulsky – stylist
Short film
Prior to the release of the album, Petra released a short film also called ''Beyond Belief''. The film was produced and directed by
Stephen Yake and written by Yake, Tom Newman, Andrea Jobe, and Jeff Bates.
The film features six videos of songs featured on the ''Beyond Belief'' album intercalated in the plot of the film. The members of the band also make
cameo appearances
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
during the film. The project was filmed on location in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
,
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
and
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...
,
Coos Bay, Oregon
Coos Bay ( Coos language: Atsixiis) is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one en ...
,
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
and
Lima, Perú
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...
.
Plot
The film follows Chad Warren (
Tony Leech
Tony Leech (born May 28, 1968) is an American director, screenwriter and editor who currently lives in Los Angeles. Tony attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While a student there, Leech and fellow ORU student Mark Steele (c ...
), a young senior in
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, who must face the illness of his brother, David (Jason Rogers) during the summer.
While David is diagnosed with
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
, Chad must compete in a huge track and field competition to get a scholarship at
Angelo State
Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...
. David also insists on Chad mending his relationship with their father, who recently walked out on their family.
Music videos
The music videos included are:
* "Creed"
* "Seen And Not Heard"
* "Love"
* "Beyond Belief"
* "I Am On the Rock" (Words and music by
Bob Hartman
Robert "Bob" Hartman (born December 26, 1949) is a Christian artist, guitarist, writer and songwriter. He is the founder of Christian rock band Petra. Hartman was involved with the band from its foundation in 1972 to its end in 2005. He took ...
and
John Elefante
John Elefante (born March 18, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and record producer. From 1981-1984, he was lead vocalist of the rock group Kansas and is currently touring with several groups that have featured members fro ...
)
* "Armed and Dangerous"
All songs are included in the band's album ''
Beyond Belief'', and were written by the band's guitarist/founder Bob Hartman, except where noted.
Cast
*
Tony Leech
Tony Leech (born May 28, 1968) is an American director, screenwriter and editor who currently lives in Los Angeles. Tony attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While a student there, Leech and fellow ORU student Mark Steele (c ...
- Chad Warren
* Jason Rogers - David Warren
* Vicci Jo Witty - Mrs. Warren
* Bob Maras - Mr. Warren
* Monte Light - Young Chad
* Adam Maras - Young David
* Larry Smith - Coach
* Tom Holder - Chris
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1990 albums
Petra (band) albums
A&M Records albums
Epic Records albums
1990s English-language films