The Call (band)
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The Call is a San Francisco Bay Area-based rock band (Santa Cruz, actually) formed in 1980 by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, Scott Musick, and Tom Ferrier. All of the members are from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Been took a short break from the band in 1988 to appear in Martin Scorsese's controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ as the apostle John.
In 1990, the Call released Red Moon, which included background vocals by U2's Bono. Peter Gabriel and Simple Minds's Jim Kerr both guested on 1986's Reconciled. Garth Hudson, of The Band, played keyboards on their first three records.
Been also 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.
Been's son, Robert Levon Been, is the frontman for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Although the band is not currently touring, their fan base remains dedicated to their music and sound. Their music is often heard on the radio and is often requested today. The band has not broken up but faced with the challenges of the current musical climate, they have chosen to remain friends and see what the future brings to them.
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. There are numerous pictures as well.
The Call was originally from Santa Cruz, California. Peter Gabriel liked the band so much that he asked them to open for him during his "Shock the Monkey" tour.
Michael Been's take on the CALL's first five albums
When asked the question in 1988: THE CALL HAS MADE FIVE ALBUMS. IN RETROSPECT, ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR WORK? Michael Been responded this way:
I really like all of our albums, and each one for different reasons. In 1980 we went to England to make some demos and play some gigs and at that time there were emerging some great bands - Joy Division, The Clash, The Pretenders, Gang of Four; and we saw them all. The British punk bands weren't so concerned with technique and orthodox standards, they just played like their lives depended on it. In fact, everyone thought we were an English band. We went back to England later on to record our first album. We were exploring music during that time; trying to determine our own direction. The Call (first album) was a compassionate album, but it probably came out as anger.
Modern Romans is our most political album. There was a great deal happening politically - Granada, Lebanon, or 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". The album reflected the times.
Scene Beyond Dreams , I call our 'metaphysical' album. It was an abstract parallel of the transitions we were going through. Those were the heaviest of times for us. Some personal tragedies and strained relationships caused a great deal of introspection. Lyrically it was a more poetic approach. We were also in the middle of reforming the band with Jim Goodwin. Musically, the change in instrumentation brought out a different sound.
We did Reconciled in the summer of 1985. The band hadn't had the luxury of playing very much together prior to making that album. We had gone through two years of not having a recording contract. We fell into a business hell and the band became lawyers over legal bickering with our former record label and management company. We didn't have anything definite other than the band itself. Then we got the Elektra deal and we started rehearsing, and things started clicking and feeling wonderful again. We believed in the band, and I think that all the adversity that we went through strengthened us.
Into The Woods is my favorite album, without a doubt. There's so much of all of us in the album. I really love it. When we finished the album I didn't want to listen to any of it for awhile, after having heard each song about 200 times in the studio. So I separated myself from it. When I did listen again, it was really wonderful. I was enjoying the album and not concerning myself with studio technicalities.
Discography
To see album tracks and covers, go to [CLICK HERE]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
- Heaven & Back, Fingerprint Records, 1997
- The Best of the Call, Fingerprint Records
- Live Under the Red Moon, 2000
Michael Been solo
- On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough, 1994, Qwest/Reprise.
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | |||
| 1989 | "Let the Day Begin" | - | #5 | - | - | Let the Day Begin |
| 1990 | "What's Happened to You" | - | #25 | - | - | Red Moon |
External links
- [The Call: Into the Web]
- [The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Call]
- [The ORIGINAL CALL website]
- [The Call Fan]
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