Considered one of the top violinists in the jazz field, the late Noel Pointer also established a solid following for himself among soul and funk music lovers thanks to a series of great albums recorded between 1977 and 1993 (one year before his passing at the young age of 39). Released in 1980 and making its worldwide CD debut with this 2012 reissue, CALLING was the Brooklyn-born musician’s fourth album for United Artists. The LP was a musical departure for Noel, who worked with noted producer/arranger Richard Evans on the project since it included Noel on several tracks on vocals while the choice of material reflected a spiritual approach reflected in several of the tracks including ‘Higher Than Heaven,’ ‘Peace On Earth’ and the title track.
Not to be confused with the platinum-selling glam metal miscreants active in the late 1980s, the original Skid Row blazed a much overlooked trail some 20 years prior, as one of Ireland's earliest contributors to the hard rock field. Skid Row began to coalesce in Dublin, Ireland in October 1967, around vocalist Philip Lynott, bassist Brendan "Brush" Shiels, drummer Noel Bridgeman, and guitarist Bernard Cheevers, who would be replaced the following January by a 16-year-old prodigy hailing from Belfast, north of the border, named Gary Moore. The quartet threw itself into playing pubs and working men's clubs so as to develop their chops and repertoire, eventually recording a 1969 single for Irish label Songs Records entitled "New Places, Old Faces."
This self-titled album, Christy Moore's first on Atlantic Records, seemed intended to introduce him to a wider audience, possibly including American listeners.
With both sides of their very obscure two non-LP, pre-first-LP 1969 singles (originally issued on the small Dublin label Song), as well as three tracks from a 1971 BBC session, this CD rounds up the most interesting Skid Row recordings not to appear on their albums. That doesn't mean, however, that these tracks are too impressive in their own right. The first of the singles, "New Places, Old Faces"/"Misdemeanour Dream Felicity," are primarily of interest for being the first official release to feature future Thin Lizzy mainstay Phil Lynott (who sings on the A-side, Gary Moore taking the lead on the flip).