From Petra, it was a short leap to the Rez Band. The Rez Band was bigger, badder, and better than Petra in every way. They were street enough to be controversial and threatening, almost earning them a trip to the banned list. Their 1984 album Hostage was one of the few Christian rock albums I continued to listen to after the Baker household ban on secular influences was relaxed. The album is rock with new-wavey touches, but the vocals by husband and wife Glenn and Wendi Kaiser are pretty tough. "Beyond the Gun" is a tale of apocalyptic Christian paranoia, set in a future where religion is forbidden. You should really watch the video. It's got black helicopters and everything. "Souls for Hire" had nice, crunchy guitars that sounded like ZZ Top.
But "Tears in the Rain" was the standout. It's a classic tale of the rise and fall of a rock star, seduced by fame but empty inside - sort of like Bad Company's "Shooting Star." I liked the narrative and the guitars. I liked the dramatic chorus (there's murder in money/prison in fame/danger in love/and tears in the rain). But mostly I liked it because it was so different. It seemed like Rez was making a great song that just happened to have a moral to it, rather than making a crap song that I was obligated to like just cause it was Christian.
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