Customer Reviews

Red Moon

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Leader/vocalist/guitarist of The Call, father of Robert Been (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) as well as the sound engineer for BRMC, Michael Been has passed away at the age of 60. No official cause of death has been announced and all the information we've gotten thus far has been from foreign news sites translated. Here's what we know about this very sad event:

Michael Been, sound engineer and father of bassist Robert Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, was unwell Thursday in the backstage area of Pukkelpop. "The first aid was immediately administered by the workers of the Flemish Cross and the doctors present backstage." says festival organizer Chokri Mahassine. "The Medical Emergency Team was immediately on the spot." He was rushed to the Salvator Hasselt hospital where he later died.

Our hearts go out to our close friend Robert, his family & the band.

RIP Michael Been.

If you like timeless music in the vein of Van Morrison or the Band you need to pick this one up. I never figured out why this Call CD never made an impact on the charts? There isn't a weak track on the disc. Also, Michael Been and company get away from their trademark sound and come up with something completely new, original and exciting!! To say this record is earthy is an understatement, they sound like their playing in your living room. I know this record is almost 20 years old but I still listen to it and it sounds as fresh today as it did in 1990.

Take Care!

Patrik

Just love this album, Easy listening type music with some rock sounds,
very spiritual,although the band claims they are not trying to be evangelics,they are. This album draws me closer to God,I love it!

I guess that the best way I could describe this record is by saying that it is The Call stripped down to a bare bones sound. It is probably as close as they wanted to get to making an "unplugged" record. It took a while for me to get used to this record. They took the music in a very different direction as compared to 'Reconciled' and 'Into the Woods'. It has a much more organic feel. The highlight of the record for me, the song I want to listen to over and over again is "Floating Back". That song and "This is Your Life" are the most energetic songs. Most of the other songs have slower tempos. I like all of the songs on Red Moon but I have to admit that some of the slower songs are not so easy to like. Just takes a little time to appreciate them as they are.

The last album of The Call's original run was a major left-turn away from the big, anthem filled previous albums. While the songs were still big in sound, the production tore down the walls, hid the synths, and went for something more intimate. In doing so, leader Michael Been rediscovered his soul, and made the most relaxed Call album in their discography.

It's obvious that something's afoot in the opening, "What Happened To You." Instead of Been's usually strident and sometimes accusatory manner, he sings in a gentler voice, backed by a shimmering guitar arrangement. Instead of a lyric that chastises, he asks his love what all the changes are about, and ends up being happy about them. "I like what I see," he cheerfully admits. And when a more Call-like song like "You Were There" comes up, exploring Been's love of Christian parables, it is punctuated by a saxophone instead of a raging synthesizer.

"Red Moon" continues in this vein, with richly textured songs and uplift. There's almost a vibe of The Band (Robbie Robertson and one time call pseudo member Garth Hudson both guest) to many of the songs here that never appeared on prior Call albums, and that's to "Red Moon's" favor. I was always confounded why, with three stints on major labels, The Call could never field a bona-fide, hit. I also wondered if "Red Moon" was seen by the band as a last hurrah, as they broke up shortly after releasing an album that was such a departure from their usual operations. Either way, when the sun set on "Red Moon," The Call went out with one of their best.