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The Call A Tribute to Michael Been Review by Gary Hill The Call were always a legendary band. Their sound had a very lush wall of sound kind of element to it. Yet, they were definitely a rocking outfit and one that was quite tied to the sound of the 80s. Michael Been is no longer walking the Earth, but his son Robert Levon Been (of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) got the band together to pay tribute to his dad. This CD is a document of that show. This deluxe edition comes with a DVD of the show along with some behind the scenes features. This is a great concert. It should be noted that while in a lot of ways the music is all pretty similar, it still manages to entertain from start to finish. It’s just often hard to differentiate tracks a lot in a track by track review. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Everywhere I Go They kick into this song with almost a jazz element at play. This is energetic and very classy alternative rock.

I Still Believe A bit more of a rocker, this is another solid cut. I don’t think it’s as strong as the opener was, though. That said, the keyboard laden, charged up movement is strong. There are definitely some potent guitar elements here, too.

I Don't Wanna Another strong rocker, this is very much an 80s kind of song. It’s actually one of the best tunes here. Everything just works so well together.

Floating Back If anything, this is even better than the previous one. The general concept isn’t altered much, but this is catchy and meaty.

Into The Woods There is a real dream-like soaring quality to this tune. I love the guitar sounds on it.

Turn a Blind Eye This one definitely has a punky edge to it. It’s more killer music.

Oklahoma With some of the catchiest hooks here, this is a highlight of the set. There is a short drum set in the midst of this.

You Were There There is a bluesy, hard rocking sound to this cut. In some ways it makes me think of The Doors just a bit.

Red Moon This mellower number just doesn’t work as well to my ears.

Let The Day Begin Starting with bass, this is another smoking hot bluesy rocker. It has some great slide guitar.

Modern Romans Fun and dramatic, this is another highlight of the set.

You Run Here we get an acoustic guitar based ballad-type piece. I like this, but it seems to go on a bit too long.

The Walls Came Down Back in hard rocking territory, this is a killer.

Uncovered Another ballad, this is keyboard based. It’s a nice change.

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