The Call
The Best of The Call
Reviewed by Brad Caviness
"The Walls Came Down" introduced much of the world to The Call in 1983. With ragged post-punk guitars and vocals drawing on Old Testament images from the fall of Jericho, it was a revelation to listeners looking for something new. Fourteen years later, it's the penultimate track to The Best of the Call, the new compilation project for Warner Resound and the band's first exclusively for the Christian market, and it's still just as exciting. The disc opens with "Let the Day Begin," The Call's biggest hit and a cheerful pop benediction that, like much of singer/writer/bassist Michael Been's work with the band, takes on the character of the Psalmist. "I Still Believe" was a bigger hit for Russ Taff, but didn't capture the anguish of the trial of faith as effectively as The Call's version. "I Don't Wanna" still beats its breast, rends its clothes and draws tears for the prodigal love who has not returned. "What's Happened to You?" from The Call's last full length disc, Red Moon, features a rootsier, more settled version of the band that revels in the changes that redemption brings to the human spirit. The Best of also contains two tracks from Been's outstanding 1994 solo record, On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough, his biker-grunge take on Mark Heard's "We Know Too Much," and two songs recorded with Bruce Cockburn which are previously unreleased. Those two songs also represent the future of the band, which has recorded a new CD to be released independently. Michael Been and The Call have weathered more trials than many more successful acts. The Best of The Call may be the best chance a new generation of music lovers has to discover their challenging and uncompromising music.