The Call (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Call | |
|---|---|
 THE CALL: band members |
|
| Origin | San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA |
| Years active | 1982 – present |
| Genres | Rock |
| Labels | MCA Records Fingerprint Records |
| Members | Michael Been Tom Ferrier Scott Musick Jim Goodwin Greg Freeman |
The Call is a San Francisco Bay Area-based rock band originally formed in Santa Cruz in 1980 by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, Scott Musick, and Tom Ferrier. Been and Musick were originally from Oklahoma.
Beginning with their self-titled debut in 1982, the Call went on to produce a total of 10 albums by 2000.
The eponymous premiere album was recorded in England, and Michael Been later recalled that the band was in an exploratory phase at this point. Been noted in a 1988 interview, "The Call was a compassionate album, but it probably came out as anger."
The next album, Modern Romans, was notable for its political content. Been later stated, "There was a great deal happening politically - Grenada, Lebanon, or the government saying the Russians are evil and the Russian government probably saying the same about us. That kind of thinking inspired me to write the last lines of 'Walls Came Down'."
This was followed by Scene Beyond Dreams. Been has referred to it as The Call's "metaphysical" album. With a strong poetic sense to the lyrics and a change in instrumentation, the change in sound is notable.
The next album, Reconciled was recorded during the summer of 1985. At this point, the band had experienced two years of not having a recording contract due to what Been describes as "legal bickering" between The Call's former record label and their management company. However, once the deal was signed with Elektra Records, the band resumed playing and produced their most commercially successful album to date. Peter Gabriel and Simple Minds's Jim Kerr both guested the album which was released in 1986.
Next came the band's 1987 release Into The Woods, which Been has referred to as his favorite album.
In 1989 The Call released Let the Day Begin, whose title track reached #1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
In 1990, the Call released Red Moon, which included background vocals by U2's Bono.
During the next few years, Been branched out creatively. He participated in composing and performing the music to Paul Schrader's 1992 film Light Sleeper. The film also features two of his songs, To Feel This Way and World On Fire. In 1994, he recorded a solo album, On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough
In 1996, Warner Bros. Records. released The Best of The Call, which featured a selection of old favorites and few new songs. Two of the songs, Us and To Feel This Way, were recordings from Been’s solo album.
In 1997 Heaven & Back, was released by Fingerprint Records.
This was followed by a live album, Live Under the Red Moon, in 2000.
Although the band is not currently touring, their fan base remains dedicated to their music and sound.
Contents |
[edit] Trivia
- Al Gore used "Let The Day Begin" as his campaign song in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election.
- Tom Vilsack also used "Let The Day Begin" as his campaign song during his brief 2008 U.S. Presidential Election campaign.
- Garth Hudson, of The Band, played keyboards on their first three records.
- Peter Gabriel liked the band so much that he asked them to open for him during his "Shock the Monkey" tour.
- 'I Still Believe' from the band's 1986 album 'Reconciled' was re recorded by Tim Capello and appears in the 1987 movie The Lost Boys and appears on the soundtrack.
- Neeb Music Co. is named after Michael Been (BEEN - NEEB)
- Michael Been played the apostle John in Martin Scorsese's 1988 feature film The Last Temptation of Christ.
- Been's son, Robert Levon Been, is the frontman for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
- The band had a fan club called "Notified" and the information contained in these newsletters has been placed in the file section of the Yahoo! e-mail group list found at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/THE_CALL/?yguid=1173550.
[edit] Discography
The Call
- The Call, 1982
- Modern Romans, 1983
- Scene Beyond Dreams, 1984
- Reconciled, 1986
- Into the Woods, 1987
- Let the Day Begin, 1989
- Red Moon, 1990
- The Best of the Call, 1996
- Heaven & Back, 1997
- Live Under the Red Moon, 2000
To see album tracks and covers, go to http://members.tripod.com/kdrew/the/call-discography.html
Michael Been (solo project)
- On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough, 1994, Qwest/Reprise.
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | |||
| 1989 | "Let the Day Begin" | #51 | #5 | #1 | #42 | Let the Day Begin |
| 1990 | "What's Happened to You" | - | #25 | #39 | - | Red Moon |
