Come And Join Us

Come and Join Us is the second studio album of the Christian rock band Petra. It was released in 1977.
The album continues with a style similar to the one of their previous album, which is something between country and Southern rock. However, the music is more rock-oriented, and the lyrics show more depth.
Also, like their previous album, there is no lead singer per se. Instead, the lead vocals are handled by guitarists Bob Hartman and Greg Hough, and some guest singers. One of the guest singers was former e vocalist Greg X. Volz (that band's name being a lower-case abbreviation of "Emmanuel"). Volz took the lead vocals on two songs and backed up several others. Among Volz's songs was a cover of the Argent anthem "God Gave Rock and Roll to You," which Myrrh had hoped to release as a radio single to the secular market. The song was immediately controversial and revolutionary. "It was the boldest statement anyone in Christian music had made until that time," said Ambassador Artist Agency president Wes Yoder. "This was a radical notion, especially in the minds of the leaders of conservative churches." Other guest singers featured in the album were Steve Camp, Karen Morrison, and Austin Roberts. Volz later became the band's full-time singer.
Bob Hartman wanted to title the album "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", after one of the songs. This song was written by Russ Ballard for his band Argent, and later became a rock music anthem, covered by other bands like KISS (1991) and Bride (1993). However, Myrrh Records deemed it to be inappropriate and forced Hartman to change the title.[2] Petra would cover that song again in 1984 on their seventh album, Beat the System.
Another drawback for Hartman was the exclusion of the song "Killing My Old Man". It was recorded for this album, but was dropped by Myrrh before the album was released. The song remained a staple in concert, though, and was eventually recorded for the 1981 album, Never Say Die.
In 1976, Glover had resigned from the band. He was replaced by a string of drummers which included a childhood friend of Hough, Bob Rickman, and Glover's cousin, Mark Richards. However, by the time their record deal for the second album went through, Richards had already left, and Petra decided to hire Glover as a studio musician.
The recording process also was marked by disputes: the label refused Hartman's request to name the album God Gave Rock and Roll to You while a bluesy, crowd-favorite track written by Hartman about rejecting the pre-Christian self, "Killing My Old Man," was deemed too controversial and cut from the album (the song would later appear on the album Never Say Die). With a harder-edged sound reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, Come and Join Us was released in 1977. It failed to sell well, however, and Myrrh dropped Petra from its label.
The cover art was done by Dennis Bellile while the band's logo was designed by Craig Yoe (Yoe-Yoe Studio).
The album was originally released in 1977 on Myrrh Records and reissued several times as well as on CD in 1995 by Word Records.

Lineup

Bob Hartman (Classic Petra, II Guys From Petra) - Guitar
Greg Hough (GHD, GHF) - Guitar
John DeGroff (Cosmonaut Bob, GHF) - Bass
Bill Glover (GHD, GHF, Simon Peter) - Drums/Percussion

Guests

Greg X. Volz (E-Band, Classic Petra, CPR) - Vocals
Steve Camp - Vocals
Karen Morrison - Vocals
Austin Roberts (Arkade, Buchannan Brothers) - Vocals
Steve Mergen - Percussion
Allen C. Hornung - Percussion
Steve Pfeiffer - Percussion
Cowbell Bob - Percussion
Houghie I - Percussion
Steve McElyea - Keyboards