blackleatherbookshelf | Entries tagged with michael been

Let the Day Start
4 Out of 5 Stars

Perhaps the best known song in The Call's expansive excellent library was the title song on "Let The Day Begin." It came closest to cracking the Top 40 (that and only "The Walls Came Down" ever charted the top 100, giving The Call exactly two charted singles), and it became the theme song for one Al Gore during his bid for the Presidency.

It is deservedly an anthem from the decade. Yet why couldn't The Call capitalize on all the acclaim? That is a question better left for philosophers and pop trivia addicts. But for some reason, The Call never exploded in the way many of their biggest fans (like Bono, Peter Gabriel, Martin Scorsese and Harry Dean Stanton) predicted they would. Stanton even contributes a harmonica solo on "For Love" and Scorsese would soon cast lead singer Michael Been in "The Last Temptation of Christ."

"Let The Day Begin" is filled with the kind of big songs that The Call is best known for, like "You Run" or the storming "Same Old Story." As usual, Been's lyrics are loaded with Christian allegory, some blatant ("For Love"), some not so much (the beautiful "Uncovered"). His reach was always high, and while his success never seemed to make his grasp, his music rarely missed the mark. "Let The Day Begin" is a big 80's album - and sounds it - standing with The Call's best works.

The Best of the Call - The Millennium Collection

Break Like a Fever, Fall Like Rain
3 Out of 5 Stars

The fifth album from The Call felt like a bit of a slide back from the excellent "Reconciled." But while not up the the standard that its predecessor set, "Into The Woods" maintains the level of quality The Call had been setting for themselves, and holds its own against contemporaries of the time like U2, Simple Minds or Peter Gabriel (all of whom where Call Fans).

Micheal Been was one of the new breed of born-again rockers; always faithful, but not necessarily joyous. There's plenty of questioning and doubt to be found along the dark passages of "Into The Woods," with the dabs of redemption not as prevalent as they have been on other Call albums. The uplift comes from the lead track, "I Don't Wanna," which details a hard climb to devotion, and "Expecting," a minor key cry for hope.

Then there is the kick that closes the album, the rocking "Walk Walk," which chucks all the previous dark moods aside to finish things off with a bang-up 50's style shuffle. Overall, "Into The Woods" is a middling Call album, with fans better served by "Reconciled" or the more anthemic "Let The Day Begin."