The Lost Archives Surfacing the reviews of our forgotten youth
    Back to The Lost Archives
    The Phantom Tollbooth 1997/Caedmon's Call
    Caedmon's Call — Intimate Portrait cover

    Caedmon's Call

    Intimate Portrait

    (1997)

    Reviewed by Shari Lloyd

    DiscogsYouTube
    Label Warner AllianceThe Phantom Tollbooth1997
    acoustic rockccmfolk rock

    After a quick trip through the sewers, this enhanced CD takes you on a tour of a Caedmon's Call virtual neighborhood, complete with the Houston skyline. This newest release contains five songs (two brand new ones), four of them presented with complete videos. "Hope to Carry On" has already made it to the top of the video charts and has received a 1997 Billboard Music Video Awards nomination for "Best New Artist Clip" in the Contemporary Christian category. This can be found by clicking on the guitar case (the guitar was painted by Jimmy A) which is in front of the art gallery. One can view the video, strum the guitar, or hear the band members talk about the making of the video. The art gallery includes past and present pictures of the various band members. Background material on the band can be found on the side of the art gallery building.

    The other three videos are acoustic sets. Each song is introduced by a band member. One is "Piece of Glass," about a young woman's struggle with bulimia, another is "The Truth," and the last is "April Showers," which originally appeared on Just Don't Want Coffee. These first two are new songs. Clicking on the sewer cover in the road will get you to these gems.

    Click on the bus sign and a Houston Metro bus pulls up. Jump aboard and you can hear the various band members discuss their struggles and insecurities, and other reflections from a Christian perspective. Click on the bus side, and there is a new banjo version of one of my favorite songs, "Bus Driver."

    This enhanced CD is well done but not ground-breaking by MTV standards. It will only be available in Christian bookstores, and its $8.98 price tag makes it a great buy. Look for it!

    4 tocks

    Other coverage for this album

    The Phantom Tollbooth 1997Reviewed by Linda T. StonehockerWelcome to the neighborhood of Caedmon's Call. Here comes the Houston Metro Bus! Should we hop on and talk to the passengers or check out that gallery across the street? Funny, this whole scene reminds me of a song. . . The latest release by Caedmon's Call is an enhanced, extended-play CD that includes a CD-ROM's worth of bells and whistles to accompany their down-to-earth, acoustic, college rock…

    Similar sounding releases

    2004Justin McRobertsIntersections2000Martyn JosephThunder and Rainbows1997Jars of ClayMuch Afraid2000FFHFound a Place2002Ross King... And All the Decorations, Too2004David GlennNot About Me

    More from Caedmon's Call

    2000Long Line of Leavers2004Chronicles1997Caedmon's Call199940 Acres2004Share the Well2003Back Home

    Also in The Phantom Tollbooth 1997

    1997Smalltown PoetsSmalltown Poets1996Soul-Junk19531997Galactic CowboysThe Horse that Bud Bought1998Training for UtopiaPlastic Soul Impalement1996Phil Keaggy2201996The Mustard SeedsThe Mustard Seeds