Wake-Up Call

Wake-Up Call is the fourteenth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released on November 9, 1993. The album was one of the most successful for the band garnering them both a Grammy Award and a Dove Award.
The album marks a dramatic shift in tone for the band. The sound is more raw, there are fewer driving rock songs, and it concludes with three consecutive ballads.
Taking what for its members was an unusual yearlong break between touring and recording the band's followup to Unseen Power, Petra emerged to a changing musical landscape requiring adjustment from the 20-year-old band. "I think we're on the verge of a new era for Petra," Hartman said shortly after the release of 1993's Wake-Up Call. "I'm not sure what that will be - but it won't be disco."
As the broader musical climate soured on the arena-rock style that had been Petra's musical core, the band continued to revamp its style, breaking with the Elefante brothers for the first time in six records. Instead, Brown Bannister, who at the time had won eight Grammy awards as a producer and songwriter, mostly for Amy Grant, was brought in. The reason for the change was purely practical: the band, now consisting largely of middle-aged fathers living in Nashville, did not want to travel to California, where the Elefantes were based, to record an album. Also seeking a new musical direction, the band sought out Bannister after enjoying his work for White Heart earlier in the decade.
Wake Up Call as a result was the band's first significant shift from the style of the 1980s, featuring fewer driving rock tracks and favoring instead midtempo songs and ballads. Bannister's production style, favoring authenticity over the Elefantes' slick production styles, led to a rawer feel for the album. Hartman called it "probably the most indicative of who Petra really is."
The change was well received, as the album stayed on Billboard's Christian albums chart for more than five months and was the third consecutive Petra album to receive a Grammy for Best Rock Gospel Album.[84] The short-lived America's Christian Music Awards named Petra favorite rock group or duo and named Wake Up Call favorite rock CD, and the band won a Dove award for Rock Album of the Year. In the 1994 CCM Readers Awards, the band continued to clean up, winning Favorite Rock Artist/Band, Favorite Rock Album for Wake Up Call and Favorite Song for the radio hit "Just Reach Out."
More change was in the offing, however. As the band concluded its world tour for Wake Up Call in 1994 and began looking to re-enter the studio, Hartman, the lone remaining founding member, decided to retire from touring. An era had ended.

Lineup

John Schlitt (Head East) - Lead Vocals
Bob Hartman (Classic Petra, II Guys From Petra) - Guitar
Ronny Cates - Bass
Louie Weaver (Randy Matthews, Fireworks, Classic Petra, CPR) - Drums
John Lawry (Forerunner, Classic Petra, CPR) - Keyboards

Guests

Robert White Johnson - Background Vocals
Chris Eddy - Background Vocals
Michael Black - Background Vocals
Jimmie Lee Sloas (The Imperials, Dogs Of Peace, Megadeth) - Background Vocals
Bob Carlisle (Allies and Billy Thermal) - Background Vocals
Gordon Kennedy (White Heart) - Background Vocals
Nanette Britt - Background Vocals
Vicki Carrico - Background Vocals
Ron Hemby - Background Vocals
Judson Spence - Background Vocals
Tommy Funderburk - Background Vocals
Dale Thompson (Bride, The World Will Burn, Perpetual Paranoia) - Background Vocals
Joe Pizzulo - Background Vocals