The Call - To Heaven And Back

Tuesday 1st December 1998
The Call - To Heaven And Back

STYLE: Rock
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 11809-
LABEL: Fingerprint
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by James Lewis

The Call, Mark Heard, Bruce Cockburn, King's X, Pierce Pettis, Tonio K, 77's... what do all these artists have in common? They are just some of the large number of Christian artists who have attracted great critical acclaim without ever achieving the success their reviews might suggest. What causes this phenomenon is, I don't know, but I digress. After an eight-year absence The Call finally return to the fray with a surprisingly low-key release on small US indie label Fingerprint. 11 songs, three of which have been heard before ("World On Fire" was from 'Light Sleeper OST' and "Become America" and "All You Hold Onto" were on the recent 'Best Of'), but all three are totally new versions. Stylistically, the album mostly uses the same organic brush as their last album,'Red Moon', but paints with a more varied palette. "Soaring Bird" actually sounds a bit like Tom Petty and the psychedelic US single "Love Is Everywhere" and the loop-driven "What Are You Made Of provide some variety. Despite recording on secular labels until now, Michael Been has never been shy of recording songs about what he calls personal politics - songs about spiritual and ethical concerns. He hasn't stopped now - "All You Hold On To" reminds us that our heart is where our treasure is and "What Are You Made Of exhorts the listener to examine his/her values. A couple of tracks fall a little short of the rest, but nevertheless, it is definitely good to have them back!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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