The Call Up Promo Video

Clash clash clash. ¡VIVAN LOS NORTEAMERICANOS DEL IMCT Y LAS BRIGADAS DEL CADILLAC NUEVO!
Marky Dread
User avatar
Messiah of the Milk Bar
Posts: 58888
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by Marky Dread »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 8:52pm
While I'm not keen on the "Hup-2-3-4" lyric—it's a bit too easy in its mocking—there's something very haunting about "Fifty-five minutes past eleven." Is it resignation or warning? Joe's delivery sounds more the former, but this was also a period when the nuclear disarmament movement regained some momentum with Reagan's (impending) election. Either way, there's an immediacy there, that this—the song, the subject—matters. It was, in its own way, a very 1960s kind of song.
Yes it has the feel of a protest song because it was just that with the Anti draft record label. I love the line "there is a rose that I want to live for, although god knows I may not have met her". It is really optimistic amongst the gloom of the track. I like that marine chant and think it really helps build up the track.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Low Down Low
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 4922
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 9:08am

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by Low Down Low »

Marky Dread wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 8:57pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 8:52pm
While I'm not keen on the "Hup-2-3-4" lyric—it's a bit too easy in its mocking—there's something very haunting about "Fifty-five minutes past eleven." Is it resignation or warning? Joe's delivery sounds more the former, but this was also a period when the nuclear disarmament movement regained some momentum with Reagan's (impending) election. Either way, there's an immediacy there, that this—the song, the subject—matters. It was, in its own way, a very 1960s kind of song.
Yes it has the feel of a protest song because it was just that with the Anti draft record label. I love the line "there is a rose that I want to live for, although god knows I may not have met her". It is really optimistic amongst the gloom of the track. I like that marine chant and think it really helps build up the track.
I love that last verse, its at that point that The Call Up goes from being a very good song to a sublime one I think. There's a lovely sense of wistfulness in Joe's delivery that suits the theme of the song and creates the perfect mood. Agree with the 60s take, there's a kind of nostalgia vibe to it, even though it's dealing with present fears. I think Joe was great at setting moods in songs like that, the same with the likes of Broadway and Corner Soul.

101Walterton
User avatar
The Best
Posts: 21973
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 5:36pm
Location: Volcanic Rock In The Pacific

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by 101Walterton »

I always said Joe was better than Jona Lewis!!!

Marky Dread
User avatar
Messiah of the Milk Bar
Posts: 58888
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by Marky Dread »

101Walterton wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 10:48pm
I always said Joe was better than Jona Lewis!!!
Kilburn and the High Roads also had a song called The Call Up.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

bazarboy75
User avatar
Graffiti Bandit Pioneer
Posts: 2149
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 6:31pm

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by bazarboy75 »

I like this track even it's a bit repetitive and the vid is not there best
I red an itw of Joe from 1984 that track was not "really a track" (remember what was his spirit in 1984)
it was just scratch ideas and the rythm guitar was play by a friend of him who came by the studio
at the end Mick made his thing and voilà
So the 1984's Joe was not happy at all about this track
So that strange that it became a single with a promo video (??)

WestwayKid
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 6704
Joined: 20 Sep 2017, 8:22am
Location: Mill-e-wah-que

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by WestwayKid »

Low Down Low wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 9:36pm
Marky Dread wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 8:57pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 8:52pm
While I'm not keen on the "Hup-2-3-4" lyric—it's a bit too easy in its mocking—there's something very haunting about "Fifty-five minutes past eleven." Is it resignation or warning? Joe's delivery sounds more the former, but this was also a period when the nuclear disarmament movement regained some momentum with Reagan's (impending) election. Either way, there's an immediacy there, that this—the song, the subject—matters. It was, in its own way, a very 1960s kind of song.
Yes it has the feel of a protest song because it was just that with the Anti draft record label. I love the line "there is a rose that I want to live for, although god knows I may not have met her". It is really optimistic amongst the gloom of the track. I like that marine chant and think it really helps build up the track.
I love that last verse, its at that point that The Call Up goes from being a very good song to a sublime one I think. There's a lovely sense of wistfulness in Joe's delivery that suits the theme of the song and creates the perfect mood. Agree with the 60s take, there's a kind of nostalgia vibe to it, even though it's dealing with present fears. I think Joe was great at setting moods in songs like that, the same with the likes of Broadway and Corner Soul.
I've always like the song - if anything - just for the vibe. It kind of has this menacing roll to the music and I like the way Joe sings it. Definitely agree on the last verse. Mood of the song - I think - goes well with the time in which it was recorded and released. I look at it more than just an anti-draft song - because there was not a draft in the UK or the US by 1980. I hear it more as an anti-militarism song: a call to stand up against the saber rattling of leaders like Thatcher, Reagan, Brezhnev and more. When I think of it that way - the song becomes really kind of powerful - set against that almost druggy groove they put down. Joe sounds weary, but defiant. Not sure if it made sense as the lead single for the LP - but then again, did much make "sense" about S!?
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

101Walterton
User avatar
The Best
Posts: 21973
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 5:36pm
Location: Volcanic Rock In The Pacific

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by 101Walterton »

bazarboy75 wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 2:08pm
I like this track even it's a bit repetitive and the vid is not there best
I red an itw of Joe from 1984 that track was not "really a track" (remember what was his spirit in 1984)
it was just scratch ideas and the rythm guitar was play by a friend of him who came by the studio
at the end Mick made his thing and voilà
So the 1984's Joe was not happy at all about this track
So that strange that it became a single with a promo video (??)
I’d suggest the repetitive was intentional to capture the military / marching vibe?

WestwayKid
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 6704
Joined: 20 Sep 2017, 8:22am
Location: Mill-e-wah-que

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by WestwayKid »

101Walterton wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 2:29pm
bazarboy75 wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 2:08pm
I like this track even it's a bit repetitive and the vid is not there best
I red an itw of Joe from 1984 that track was not "really a track" (remember what was his spirit in 1984)
it was just scratch ideas and the rythm guitar was play by a friend of him who came by the studio
at the end Mick made his thing and voilà
So the 1984's Joe was not happy at all about this track
So that strange that it became a single with a promo video (??)
I’d suggest the repetitive was intentional to capture the military / marching vibe?
I think you’re right about that. I think it is supposed to have that marching vibe. Just listened to SS version and there are some very interesting sonic details right below the surface. A really interesting and maybe overlooked track.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble

bazarboy75
User avatar
Graffiti Bandit Pioneer
Posts: 2149
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 6:31pm

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by bazarboy75 »

About the repetitive stuff "in 1mn everything is say" if you see what i mean
I agree about the "sonic detail" you mentionned and i think that the Mick Jones magic touch here
Thx to him
I've got that maxi with tirc+radio clash+the call up+the cool out and i remembered listened to the call up with headphone and clearly hear Mick Jones voice during a chorus like i never hear him before

afther say that i'm not against repetitive music and i think the cool out is a great track

Last edited by bazarboy75 on 22 Nov 2017, 4:33pm, edited 1 time in total.

Marky Dread
User avatar
Messiah of the Milk Bar
Posts: 58888
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by Marky Dread »

bazarboy75 wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 4:24pm
About the repetitive stuff "in 1mn everything is say" if you see what i mean
I agree about the "sonic detail" you mentionned and i think that the Mick Jones magic touch here
Thx to him
I've got that maxi with tirc+radio clash+the call up+the cool out and i remembered listened to the call up with headphone and clearly hear during a chorus like i never hear him before

afther say that i'm not against repetitive music and i think the cool out is a great track

Yeah I agree this is what I'm saying further up the thread.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

TeddyB Not Logged In
User avatar
Graffiti Bandit Pioneer
Posts: 2013
Joined: 06 Feb 2009, 8:42pm

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by TeddyB Not Logged In »

bazarboy75 wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 2:08pm
I like this track even it's a bit repetitive and the vid is not there best
I red an itw of Joe from 1984 that track was not "really a track" (remember what was his spirit in 1984)
it was just scratch ideas and the rythm guitar was play by a friend of him who came by the studio
at the end Mick made his thing and voilà
So the 1984's Joe was not happy at all about this track
So that strange that it became a single with a promo video (??)
Ivan Julian out of the Voidoids wasn’t it?

Marky Dread
User avatar
Messiah of the Milk Bar
Posts: 58888
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by Marky Dread »

TeddyB Not Logged In wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 7:05pm
bazarboy75 wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 2:08pm
I like this track even it's a bit repetitive and the vid is not there best
I red an itw of Joe from 1984 that track was not "really a track" (remember what was his spirit in 1984)
it was just scratch ideas and the rythm guitar was play by a friend of him who came by the studio
at the end Mick made his thing and voilà
So the 1984's Joe was not happy at all about this track
So that strange that it became a single with a promo video (??)
Ivan Julian out of the Voidoids wasn’t it?
Yes it was. Don't think he was credited though.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Heston
User avatar
God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
Posts: 38356
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: North of Watford Junction

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by Heston »

Marky Dread wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 7:12pm
TeddyB Not Logged In wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 7:05pm
bazarboy75 wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 2:08pm
I like this track even it's a bit repetitive and the vid is not there best
I red an itw of Joe from 1984 that track was not "really a track" (remember what was his spirit in 1984)
it was just scratch ideas and the rythm guitar was play by a friend of him who came by the studio
at the end Mick made his thing and voilà
So the 1984's Joe was not happy at all about this track
So that strange that it became a single with a promo video (??)
Ivan Julian out of the Voidoids wasn’t it?
Yes it was. Don't think he was credited though.
I thought he got a mention in pamphlet that came with the album, couldn't be sure though.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

Marky Dread
User avatar
Messiah of the Milk Bar
Posts: 58888
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by Marky Dread »

Heston wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 7:26pm
Marky Dread wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 7:12pm
TeddyB Not Logged In wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 7:05pm
bazarboy75 wrote:
22 Nov 2017, 2:08pm
I like this track even it's a bit repetitive and the vid is not there best
I red an itw of Joe from 1984 that track was not "really a track" (remember what was his spirit in 1984)
it was just scratch ideas and the rythm guitar was play by a friend of him who came by the studio
at the end Mick made his thing and voilà
So the 1984's Joe was not happy at all about this track
So that strange that it became a single with a promo video (??)
Ivan Julian out of the Voidoids wasn’t it?
Yes it was. Don't think he was credited though.
I thought he got a mention in pamphlet that came with the album, couldn't be sure though.
Yes you are correct mate. Ivan is listed on the fold out lyric sheet under 'guest musicians'. However it does not tell you what he played on. I think it's The Call Up and Ivan Meets G.I. Joe.

Not really sure how much of his guitar work can be heard in the mix tho'.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

matedog
User avatar
Purveyor of Hoyistic Thought
Posts: 25804
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: 1995

Re: The Call Up Promo Video

Post by matedog »

Marky Dread wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 8:32pm
Low Down Low wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 8:22pm
Marky Dread wrote:
21 Nov 2017, 5:53pm
I love The Call Up it's a great track. Just needs a different mix.
Out of curiosity marky, what would you like to see different about it? Personally I cant think of any other way I'd want to hear it, but maybe that's just because I'm so used to it the way it is.
That is an easy answer. Just listen to the remix The Cool Out and that shows you just how powerful the track could have sounded . The single sounds flat.
Not having the dead vocals and lazy same melody throughout vocals helps Cool Out as well.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Post Reply