Reconciled

Description

Reconciled is the fourth album by the American rock band The Call, released on Elektra /Asylum Records in 1986, a division of Warner Communications. “I Still Believe” was covered by Russ Taff the following year on his self-titled album.

Michael Been, chief songwriter and lead singer of The Call, seems poised to join the ranks of such spiritual visionaries as Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) and Bono (U2). ‘Reconciled’, the band’s debut on Electra Records, follows a string of critically acclaimed but, alas, modestly selling records for Mercury. Been’s previous songs were fairly apocalyptic and grim in nature. Even the band’s minor success, «The Walls Came Down» from ‘Modern Romans‘, could hardly be considered upbeat. Although still a bit dour, ‘Reconciled’ contains Been’s most intensely personal and, yes, uplifting songs to date.

The music of ‘Reconciled’ can best be described as insistent. All nine songs are built around variations of the same theme – a throbbing bass and pounding drum track that is overlaid with sheets of synthesizers and basic guitar fills. This austere backdrop allows you to become fully enraptured by the searing intensity of Michael Been’s voice.

While contemporaries such as Bono and Kerr are often either too joyously abandoned to translate their emotions into lyrics or else intentionally oblique, Been is painfully forthright with his thoughts. Eight of the nine tracks are sung partially, if not completely, in the first person. They tell the story of a man who has unquestionably encountered a life-changing force and is struggling to come to grips with the alternative future available to him. In the lead-off track, «Everywhere I Go», Been calls upon that life-changing force to “raise me up (and) keep that promise that you made.”

Also, consider lines such as “I feel ecstatic, I feel transformed” («Blood Red [America]»); “I wanna know what kind of spell I’ve fallen under” («The Morning»); “How am I to face what I cannot describe” («Oklahoma»); “Either with or without reason, love has paid the price for you” («With or Without Reason»); and “Watch the stars fall from the sky/ Wait until the ocean dry up/ But even then, I still feel loved/ Even so, I still feel cared for” («Even Now»). Suffice to say, Been is a terrific wordsmith who has managed to capture the essence of what is, for many of us, an indescribable experience.

Kudos should also go to guest stars Robbie Robertson, whose scalding slide guitar distinguishes «The Morning», and Jim Kerr, whose ethereal background, vocals float above Been’s murkier lead on «Sanctuary». Band members Scott Musick (drums), Tom Ferrier (guitar), and Jim Goodwin (keyboards) admirably construct the “wall of sounds” that frames Been’s incisive lyrics.

The resilient themes on ‘Reconciled’ have several Christian stations adding it to their playlists as well as leading AOR stations across the nation. Would that we all could testify, “Through the pain and through the grief/ Through the lies and through the storm/ Through the cries and through the wars/ I still believe.” [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, May 1986]

Dating from ’86 and ’87 respectively these two albums must surely stand as seminal. Since they were both released on a secular label, I reckon it’s safe to say they were widely missed out on by the Christian community which is a shame, but you now have a chance to catch up with them on CD. Michael Been is probably without equal as a chronicler of the struggles of faith – «I Still Believe (Great Design)» is (rightly) reckoned by our esteemed editor as a classic (as recorded by Russ Taff and originally from ‘Reconciled’). The band have always been held in great esteem by their peers and a number of them turned out for the recording of ‘Reconciled’ – Robbie Robertson of The Band (who The Call have been compared to), Peter Gabriel (who called them the future of American music) and Jim Kerr all help out. Critics of artists working in the secular field should listen to these albums – Michael Been’s lyrics are very personal, rather than evangelical, but he has never shied away from talking about his faith. For example, «Everywhere I Go» is basically a contemporary Psalm 139 and «With Or Without Reason» reminds us that love has paid the price for you. Personal favourites are «The Morning», the apocalyptic «Oklahoma» and «Even Now», where Michael Been really shows his expressive vocals. “Into The Woods” is basically a metaphor for the dark night of the soul and the second and last album for Elektra is a stark and honest exploration of this. The subject will obviously not appeal to everyone, but those who struggle with their faith at times, like myself, will find much to identify with here. Even in the darkest moments here, though, there is always hope, as the conclusion of the title track reveals, “Sinless child can you save me/ Guilty man, freedom is yours.” Standouts are the title track, «It Could Have Been Me» (a reminder that there are always people both better and worse off) and the mystical «In The River», which is as perfect an example of American Gothic as I can find. [James Lewis, Cross Rhythms, December 1998]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/reconciled/1656072648)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Everywhere I Go” – 4:18
A2. “I Still Believe (Great Design)” – 5:30
A3. “Blood Red (America)” – 3:42
A4. “The Morning” – 4:40

Side Two
B1. “Oklahoma” – 4:18
B2. “With Or Without Reason” – 4:02
B3. “Sanctuary” – 3:57
B4. “Tore The Old Place Down” – 4:12
B5. “Even Now” – 4:32

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Elektra Records. Re-issued by Music on Vinyl in 2023 as a Limited Edition LP of 1500 individually numbered copies, pressed on 180g purple coloured vinyl. Available at Bandcamp: https://thecall.bandcamp.com/album/reconciled-into-the-woods-remastered