The Call Michael Been

Despite having musical legends like Bono, Peter Gabriel, Jim Kerr and various members of The Band as their biggest fans, the music of The Call had always somehow stayed undervalued. The more reason to release this extensive overview on which, for the very first time, songs from all their studio albums come together on the first two discs. The third disc is filled with rare live recordings, collectable b-sides and songs from front man Michael Been’s solo efforts. The Call Collected has been compiled in close cooperation with the band and Michael’s son.

Coming off the success of the previous year's Reconciled, the Call returned in 1987 with Into the Woods. The slow-building "I Don't Wanna" is a bit ragged at moments but reaches an impressive sonic swell and Michael Been's vocals are passionate as always. "In the River"'s tone is forlorn, but backed by a solid, smoldering melody and gospel background vocals. A tumbling, percussive beat drives "It Could've Been Mean," a rumination on fate that is simple, yet effective. "Day or Night" probably comes the closest to best capturing the band's usual anthemic style. Much of In the Woods has a darker, more serious feel to it. The somber, introspective nature of the lyrics and the lack of a track with a hook as memorable as the radio hits from Reconciled undoubtedly doomed a further commercial breakthrough. However, Into the Woods is a worthy and challenging artistic follow-up.

New 2024 studio album from The Call. The Call recorded “Beaten at Your Own Game,” “Can't Find Love,” and “Christine” ca. 1978-1980, during a time in which the band called themselves Airtight and, later, Motion Pictures, and before the band cut their first deal with Polygram. “Welcome to My World” is an outtake from 1986's Into the Woods sessions.

New 2024 studio album from The Call. The Call recorded “Beaten at Your Own Game,” “Can't Find Love,” and “Christine” ca. 1978-1980, during a time in which the band called themselves Airtight and, later, Motion Pictures, and before the band cut their first deal with Polygram. “Welcome to My World” is an outtake from 1986's Into the Woods sessions.

New 2024 studio album from The Call. The Call recorded “Beaten at Your Own Game,” “Can't Find Love,” and “Christine” ca. 1978-1980, during a time in which the band called themselves Airtight and, later, Motion Pictures, and before the band cut their first deal with Polygram. “Welcome to My World” is an outtake from 1986's Into the Woods sessions.

Lovecraft was a spin-off group from the original H.P. Lovecraft, who released two albums for Philips Records, of the original line-up, only drummer Michael Tegza remained, though George Edwards was with the group briefly, the remaining members were former Aorta guitarist Jim Donlinger, ex-Buckinghams' multi-instrumentalist Marty Grebb, and future leader of the Call, Michael Been. The LP bears little resemblance to the the original H.P.Lovecraft, but that doesn't mean this album isn't entertaining, with a tighter sound that blends hard driving drums and guitars with more delicate, harmony vocal accented songcraft! It's a far cry from the psychedelic experimentation of HP Lovecraft - but it's actually a pretty impressive rock record in its own right - prefiguring the later 70s rock sounds long before the better known giants of the decade!