Live Under the Red Moon

The Call: Michael Been (vocals, guitar, bass); Tom Ferrier (vocals, guitar); Jim Goodwin (vocals, keyboards); Scott Musick (vocals, drums).
Additional personnel includes: Dan Hallas (percussion, background vocals); Ralph Patlan (bass).
Personnel: Tom Ferrier, Michael Been (vocals, guitar); Scott Musick (vocals, drums).
Recording information: The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA (1990).
The Call should have been the Great American Band, achieving massive recognition for its uplifting anthems and cutting spiritual and political insights. Instead, it quietly carved out a career throughout the '80s, scoring a couple of minor hits and releasing several impressive albums. By the time of this 1990 live recording, the group was near its end (a fine but low profile '90s reunion album notwithstanding). The irony is that it was touring to promote possibly its finest album, RED MOON.
The Call revolved around Michael Been, whose impassioned vocals and thundering, melodic bass drive the tunes here. Some of the RED MOON songs ("Family" and the title cut) display a newfound sense of understatement that makes the band's imminent demise all the more regrettable. However, the bulk of the album features the charging, energetic rockers that were the Call's stock in trade, full of galvanizing riffs and raw emotion. The Call's name may not appear in the history books, but LIVE UNDER THE RED MOON stands as a rewarding elegy to its career.