British guitarist analyses The Call's unique live setup for 'I Still Believe'!
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
- Tonight we're going back to 1986 to take a look at The Call performing 'I Still Believe (Great Design)!
Original video - • The Call - I Still Bel...
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One of my favorite bands from back in the day. Almost criminally under rated. Perhaps the religious undertones of the lyrics and band members held them back for whatever reason, but they were fantastic. Carried the show whether they were headlining or under card. RIP Michael Been, he was a musical genius.
If the religious undertones is what held them back, that is quite a shame. I am not religious and that voice is phenomenal
Well the religious undertones is one thing, their a bit older than the norm and they made occasionally poor choices..they could've played this themselves in the lost boys movie but turned it down...big mistake.
The religious subtext in the lyrics was not very blatant. I think they suffered from their looks, honestly. It was the height of MTV and at that time (and since) the rock bands that hit big all had handsome/pretty/sexy male frontmen.
These dudes all looked like your uncle who worked a shitty job but let you drink a beer with him at family gatherings and who had an AMAZING record collection
The religious under or overtones are what attracted me to this excellent band.
Michael Been's voice is in my personal "Hall of Fame" for male vocalists. This list is relatively short so Michael is in very esteem company. One of my top 80's bands ever.
Watching his son play the same song on the same bass always brings a tear to my eye. It also demonstrates how Michael would have actually played it.
Thank you Phil for giving the late Great Michael Been attention. He really was one of the most underrated musicians ever
My best friend and I were grooving to theTalking Heads and B52's when this band hit the airwaves in the 80's... good band.....thanks Fil
One of my best friends, Claire and I both really like the song, Planet Claire. "Some say she's from Mars or one of the seven stars that shine after 3:30 in the morning. WELL, SHE ISN'T" I like Talking Heads a lot, and I will add DEVO to your list. 👍
I love the fact that there is always a very genuine smile on your face when you are watching someone totally nail a performance. I'm here smiling with you. The lack of ego and your way of pointing out perfection with keen insights but not overtalking it are awesome. Thankyou for all you do.
Thanks for the kind words!
Very well said. Thank, agree.
Even though I’m more of a hard rock/metal guy two of my favorite bands from the eighties were The Alarm and The Church. Great guitar players in these bands.Not to mention Flock Of Seagulls also. 80’s music was great.
I always liked The Church and still do. They've got a unique combination of the jangly guitar and an ethereal background guitar tone with Steve Kilbey's dreamy/offhand/couldn't-care-less vocals. As you say, the guitarists are fantastic individually and together.
Love The Church. I've just recommended them to a couple other reactors, you can find them out there.
I recall this band from the 80's. "Let The Day Begin" was the first song I heard and loved it. Great lyrics. Also Michael's son Robert is the bass player for The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, another great band!🤘🏻❤️✌🏻 Rest In Peace Michael.
Michael had an unusual cool voice, he could change in up in so many way's, this group worked very well together as you could see in the video the Walls come down. Another great group coming out of the 80's that was like a finely tuned machine in action.
*Time Stamps!*
11:16 Chords
14:32 Timings
15:52 Major to minor keys
17:04 Resolutions
21:17 Brief Background
The first time I heard "Let the Day Begin" I was driving on the 101 Fwy in L.A. headed into the city at 7:30 a.m., commuting to work. I was so blown away, I almost had to pull over . . . there was steam coming out of my ears, I think. What a great way to let the day begin. God bless Michael Been and the rest of the band. Sad they are gone.
I remember "walls came down" from the MTV days but I've been a big fan of the call since buying "Reconciled" in a used record store for a quarter back in the 80s. I listened to the whole of "Modern Romans" yesterday for the first time in a few years and as always when listening to the call was challenged to my core and now here I am. I love your videos and wasn't expecting to find this one here!! Awesome analysis!!
Fil!! great insight on this one
Learned something as always cheers man
Thank you for the analysis of The Call-they have such a fabulous sound! I used to think of them as my secret band because it seems like nobody I know is aware of them, even though I realize they have quite a following. Michael Been’s voice really does something for me. ♥️
One of my hubby’s and my favorite bands. Michael Beane sure had a set of pipes! Thanks Fil!
Thanks for the reaction! Underrated band for sure!!
Fil, interesting analysis. The Call were one of my favorite bands and Michael Been's bass playing was a tremendous influence on me. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on and Ampeg Fretless Scroll Bass, such a beautiful instrument. I have seen them live many times and can assure you, they did not fake it. Michael developed a unique way of playing - fretting with his thumb, muting with the fret hand and the picking hand, playing with a pick, playing notes just by hammering on the string and while singing - all of which you can see in the live performance. I have seen this full concert years ago on MTV and have since watched this clip on UA-cam. As you noticed, there certainly do seem to be inconsistencies in what he is doing and what is being played. And I have noticed those as well. My personal feeling is that, like many live recordings that were released, there were overdubs in the studio to fix the audio. This was a live concert from The Ritz in NYC. The Call never would lip-sync a live concert. They were talented musicians who gave it their all on stage. Clearly, this video does have overdubs, but those were not done while playing.
The Call is such a great band. The walls came down is one of my favorite songs. I can remember watching MTV just to see the music video of that song.
I love this song. It’s an intense driving anthem Also covered by Russ Taff as Christian rock.
Great "Lori" minds think alike! I knew I'd heard that song before but couldn't remember what artist had done it! You're exactly right!!...👍😁✌♥️🤘
Robert Been was a Christian rocker. He crossed over into mainstream. Your recognizing elements of worship in many of his songs is on point.
New to me and I loved it! This was a super interesting video and analysis! The song and sound kept reminding me of Hothouse Flowers, an Irish rock group from the mid-eighties, as well. Many thanks.
Love Hothouse Flowers..yes I had their Cassette
@@mevrammcoyoteV8f150 ...that is so cool!
Good call
Good stuff again Fil. Nice na, na, na's.
A great band! I remember their song "The Walls Came Down" and have the album it's on. Thanks for doing an analysis of them!
Great man great band great song brilliant musicians RIP Michael Been
Thant you for reviewing this song .one if my favorite all time songs it deep spritual...
Got to love the fretless sound.
Check out The Police doing a gig at The Beat Club in '79. Great 33min set w Sting on a fretless bass.
I remember this song from the Lost Boys Movie, and from the radio in the 80's I've never seen a live performance by the actual band🤗
I saw them at a small club in San Diego. They were a sonic masterpiece. One of the best live bands i have ever seen!
I am absolutely obsessed with this video! I have always loved this song and the bassist is insane! (RIP)
What timing! I've been listening to different versions of this song today.
I never thought I'd see The Call get an analysis vid from anyone! Thanks!
Having this song covered the way it was in The Lost Boys seemed perverse considering what the song was said to be about.
This band was so good. Thanks for playing it!!!
Absolutely lovely that you've reviewed this band. I was a big fan of them in the late 80s (still have on all my playlists, saw them live, got invited backstage, and kissed Michael Been!! It's possible I'm Robert's mom. (jk) Very nice you did this group. I hope you do Black Rebel Motorcycle Club soon (if you haven't already.) I'll post a couple good songs by them to check out. Cheers!
Such a great band. I saw them live in 1989/90 in Bloomington, Indiana. I had just graduated music school and my roommate was/is a bass player. We were both in awe of Michael's technique and that voice was so unique. Good to see him making fun of having to mime to his own bass backing track. So glad that they are releasing an album of previously unreleased new songs. I can't wait!
80's kid here. One of my favorite bands from that era. And I'm a yank.
Thank you! The Call came to my attention because of Michael Been's Moby Grape connection.
I was fortunate enough to have seen these guys live during this era. They were outstainding and Michael's bass playing was absolutely phenomenal. I never knew how gifted they were as a band until I saw them live. Really great stuff! Another good live band from this time was Big Country.
Thanks for fascinating analysis, Fil.
Another good analysis Peg. The Call was one of a hundred great bands of the 1980s I always thought the sound this band made had British all over it.
You never cease to amaze me. I love these guys, I just didn't think anyone else would remember Them! You REALLY should listen to Let the Day Begin...if you haven't already done it. SUPERB SONG!!!! Honest!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! FiLLLLLLL! I love you SOOO much!!!! The Call is one of my FAVORITE bands! Oh my golly gosh!!!!! Woooo! Michael Been makes me go crazy! I have always been in love with him. Everything about him is just phenomenal. His intense writing, his powerful singing, his fabulous,unique style of bass playing. All of those messages he puts in his songs have had such impact and influence. I am a Christian with a strong faith. And I know that The Call didn't want to be very public that they were a Christian Alternative band in the beginning. But it's pretty obvious if you listen to the lyrics closely and you know some bible verses. Michael Been died way too young. It makes me very sad. Because I think about all of the grand, brilliant music that he could have gone on to write for us. At least he left a musician son behind. And for the people who don't know, when Michael's son Robert was a little boy, he was in The Call's video "The Walls Came Down" as was Michael's Father-in-Law.😊👍 Thank you Fil. Another fabulous analyses. And when it's one of my favorite bands, it's even better! Much love to you my friend. Sending lots of hugs and kisses to the UK!😙😽💖🙏🍀🎸🎶🎼🎧🎤🎵
Thanks!
@@wingsofpegasus You're very welcome, my very handsome, hunky friend!😊💋💕🎶🎸🎼🎤🎧🎵 ROCK!
@@wingsofpegasus I love you more and more all the time.💓🙏😃 Thank you Fil. You have my Hero worship.😘
Geez, how did I miss this one? How are you doing Fil?
I enjoy 'The Call's' songs. They sort of remind me of 'Triumph' with how uplifting their lyrics are.
Michael's vocals are great here too. Have a blessed weekend...
strange as it may look, I find Mikes bass playing unique like no other as well as Brilliant as fuck!
Another great analysis keep it up
So glad you covered this. Love these guys. Saw them live in a club in 1987 or 88 in San Francisco.
Thanks for the great analysis!!! They were a fantastic group and one of my personal favorites! Of course I appreciate the guitar lesson too!
Awesome..thanks Fil
From the encyclopaedia of "Fil-isms:"
" Just to take you through some "nahs..."
😄😄😄
What a funny video! Poor guy looks fed up on the stage. Great way to start out the week!
Thanks! I love this band. I still listen!
3 years later I find this video and let me say I so appreciate the choice and the analysis. This band and this song mean the world to me.
Don't remember these guys, but I like them!
Love this concert I remember it well.
Michael didn't like faking it out. I saw them in Dallas in 1989-1990 I believe. Fun to watch live. Their sound was spot on. I didn't catch the solo career for Michael though. Thanks for the review and the memory
Killer song! I've never before had the pleasure. Wow Fil, thanks!
The late great Michael Been was such an underrated bassist. Watch a live UA-cam clip of The Call playing "Let The Day Begin" on the Arsenio Hall show of all places, to show this very same Alembic bass being played to great effect by Michael Been. Trivia fact: his son is Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
The bass is an Ampeg AUB-1 Fretless Scroll bass from 1968. Same one Rick Danko of The Band played
@@thomasfioriglio
I stand corrected sir, my apologies.
Russ Taff back in the day did an awesome cover of this song. Brings back alot of good memories as a young follower of Yeshua in the 80's.
Great singer. His soundtrack for the film LIGHTSLEEPER is fantastic.
Nice job on the analysis of The Call. Strange decision on the backing tracks. It seemed to me that band was as much about energy as talent. Fave of mine was " When the Walls Came Down" Tons of energy and ability.
Fil, Please consider an analysis of Molly Tuttle, a bluegrass performer.
He has done, early last year, she is a diamond☘️☘️☘️🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
@@robertsmyth4998 He needs to do another one for sure.
What a great voice he had... this was a fantastic song. My sons loved that movie.
Fil, I have tapped the strings with my fingers on my left hand without using my right hand plucking, in the past, it is very easy to do. The bass also sounds very loud in the beginning, in order to achieve the single handed playing. But maybe you are correct.
Good analysis Fil.
Edit: You are correct, I commented too early, after continuing to watch, I saw him with his cuff-links. lol
This is completely out of context, but I stumbled upon a TV-program the other night featuring the band 10cc. They had several "hits" in the seventies but is today largely forgotten, which I think is unfair. I therefore propose that you analyze a performance of their well know hit "Wall street shuffle", a musically really interesting song IMHO.
Music and films bring back great memories.
Afternoon Fil. Lucky song to check all "your" boxes. lol. You know your stuff. 👏 Oh Fil I try to understand but I guess my brain doesn't comprehend not being a musician. You make me wish I was. I usually watch more than once to try & get some of what your explaining..and of course to see that oh sweet smile of yours. Have a good, rested, healthy day, love ya❤😍😙
I really enjoyed your breakdown of the notes and cords. Never had seen this live version until tonight. Michael looks frustrated.!
I didn’t know the singer played bass in this band and that’s kind of my jam . It’s a shame it’s not quite live . Thanks for the breakdown.
Thanks, I never really listened to their music, so I can't say what they've done for me. But your analyses of the situation is always worth the watch. And I pick up on the history of musicians.
👍
You are right that the bass track and drums weren’t always synced up to the video, I think this bass was over dubbed for the video, I think the video editing was just off on the drums.
I have seen them play numerous times in the 80’s and 90’s. In all those instances everything was live, warts and all. Michael’s voice and bass playing were intense for sure. Sometimes he would punch the heck out of that bass. One time his pulling on the strings with his right hand was strong enough to break a string. That is really saying something on a fretless instrument. He played and sang with a passion that’s greatly missed.
I had the extraordinary pleasure of seeing The Call playing backup for Harry Dean Stanton, at the UT Austin Student Union Pub, in 1988. I still have the t-shirt: Harry Dean Stanton and The Call - You're the Broken Lightbulb At the End of the Hallway of My Heart Tour! And if you can find any live performance video of HDS singing and playing, that should really go on your list for analysis!
Cool!
This video is a doctor'd up performance with a backing track, but I would like to point out that there are no frets on his "fretboard" and he did perform live with his fretless and can been seen in other videos!!!!!! Singing and playing fretless so effortlessly is AMAZING! Unfortunately, I did not get to see them live back in the day.
Great band, with the always wonderful vocals by Michael Been, his intense songs & powerful performances. I miss them.
I have all their albums including Been's solo album & his work with members of Moby Grape on a separate album. The vocal nuances that he adds are something you don't often hear in the way today's vocalists sing.
The Call had instrumental additions on some albums by the actor Harry Dean Stanton & The Band's Garth Hudson.
I always knew this song from "The Lost Boys". Great to hear the original.
Thanks, Fil. I’ve heard of the lost boys probably from my daughter. I’ve not heard this song. Thank you for the analysis!
I remember listening to this song by The Call in the 80s....great band! I also really enjoyed Tim Capello’s cover of this song in The Lost boys! Brilliant Fil! Cheers Mario! 😀👌🤘
some issues with his fingering no matching his licks, glad you brought this up
Hi Fil! This band would have been more my daughter’s music, but then I influenced her music! I remember a lot of the music she followed in college. I have come around to even like a lot of it! I have to admit this band isn’t bad! Thanks for allowing me to learn even more about all music! Much appreciated! I do remember this being out! Have a great week! My daughter will pay major bucks to see bands like U2...I seem to remember her following bands like Cranberries, B52, Goo Goo Dolls, Dave Matthews....that type of music...I know some I do enjoy! ✌️. Btw...I did go with my college age son, and his buddy to see Insane Clown Posse in concert...does that count with me being flexible!? lol
Check out their album Into The Woods. Hope this finds you well
Good performance, (even if there was some instrumental disagreements) and your analysis was very thorough, and an entertainment bonus. TY Fil !! 🤟
My music teacher would flip out if I used my thumb like that on the bass.
Still great song great chorus and hook 👍🏻😎
I agree that this is a sync track, but Michael often does the thumb over the top thing in live performances too.
Interesting. There's so much to learn. Ah well, I've got the rest of my life to do it in.
I hadn't heard of this band but they're quite good and the singer has a great voice. I saw the 'Lost Boys' when it came out too but don't remember this song.
PS. I was asking you about left-handed guitars. I saw another Curt Cobain video and he was playing an acoustic upside down this time.
I could be wrong… but it appears Michael keeps adjusting the volume knob on his bass. That would be an instinctive thing when you are playing and can’t hear anything or you lost signal (at least for me). If he’s at a low volume or no signal at all to allow the pre recorded backing track to play… I feel it would be sheer instinct to grab the volume knob out of habit an instinct to turn up! He was great… it was a crime whoever was in control of that performance to have a backing track!
Love this song
Fil I notice the lack of bass playing, thought it was ninja picking, Don't recall hearing the Call at all, Great one Fil expanding music appreciation word wide, Jeff in LA USA
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PHIL!!! Check out the guitarist in the Celtic Band called IONA. His name is Dave Bainbridge. Check out one of his live solos in the video Live In London. I think you will appreciate his phenomenal guitar work.
I was drawing a blank on this one..lol..saw the movie too..lol...really liking these lyrics.. timely..good choice..🙂👍♥️♥️♥️
How about an analysis of Greg Lake's performance of "Still, You Turn Me On'" from the 1974 California Jam? His vocals and guitar are spot on!!!
YES! YES! And YES. I have requested for Fil to analyze ELP, especially Greg some time ago. Being the 50th anniversary, it is appropriate. Also suggested Knife Edge. 🤘🏻❤️✌🏻
Couldn't figure why I knew the song but not the band. The Lost Boys was a movie my daughter and i rented often back in the day. Favorite part was tim cappello but that's another story ;). Recently, I have being wondering if a bass has ever been used by a band for playing lead. Justin Johnson plays papa was a rolling stone on a bass and it sounds awesome. Thank you, Fil
I'd say the police did. Walking on the Moon is definitely bass driven.
A curious little tidbit.
Rock!
:-)
Pretty sure they didn't mime live. There is another explanation for your summation. Having seen this band standing a couple of feet in front of Michael Been at a couple of those shows. My guess is the music was "sweetened" up in post production. I have seen the man snap bass strings on more than one occasion and this was not a one off song on a TV show. It was part of whole live set that I have on video cassette somewhere in my house. My guess is he made a mistake or the bass was out of tune (since he plays a different bass during the show instead of his trusty Ampeg violin head bass) and figured it wouldn't be used in the subsequent MTV show Live At The Ritz, thus the goofy motions. Then they found out that they could overdub the bass part in post production.
R.I.P. MB.
There are better cuts/versions of the song (I went and listened to a couple.) I realize the request was to explain the odd strumming/bass technique. Does this song sound like the 80's or is it the feel of the 80's that fits this song? In any case the song says "80's" all over it. Michael was only 60 when he died of a "heart attack". I do wonder if he noticed any heart issues earlier in his life? Oddly Michael was previously in a band named "Aorta" (I went and looked at his "Wiki" page.) Thanks Fil.
They had some great songs!
Fil, consider doing an analysis of Paul Revere an the Raiders a super garage band.
Fil, How about taking a look Rhiannon Giddens, an amazing african american singer, song writer and musician. Her slave songs are very relevent to the moment and her voice and songs are powerful. She also sings in gaelic and is wonderful on the kazoo. Grammy award winner and recipient of a MacArthur genuis fellowship.
She's a plagiarizer. "Julie" is a ripoff of "Pretty Polly".
I thought she was an actress. I saw her on “Nashville” and thought her character was boring. Then someone said she was also a singer. I checked her out and thought she was a better singer!
This sounds a lot more new wave than they look.
The Call were a fantastic band that never hit it big. They had some great supporters behind them like Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, The Band, and U2. I think one thing that kept them back was their image (or lack of one.)
Thanks for admitting things that are obvious but,to non-musicians like me,still interesting to know!
Great analysis Fil. I'm a heavy metal junkie but I always loved this song. Speaking of heavy metal please do some Megadeth.
The classic 80s snare sound was created by Phil Collins and is referred to as gated reverb. It's just reverb with a noise gate. I'm not familiar with the noise aspect mentioned, though I'm not a drummer or a sound engineer
Great singing voice he had! Do you think Michael is playing on the
backing track?
Michael beens gregarious personality made him fast friends with other rock stars peter gabriel, u2, jim kerr of simple minds, and all the memmber of "the band" michael actually named his son levon after levon helm