Call of the West
| Call of the West | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1982 | |||
| Recorded | June 1982 | |||
| Studio | Hit City, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | New wave, dark wave, post-punk | |||
| Length | 40:48 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. (USA) Illegal (UK) | |||
| Producer | Richard Mazda | |||
| Wall of Voodoo chronology | ||||
| ||||
Call of the West is the second studio album by Los Angeles new wave band Wall of Voodoo, released in September 1982. The album contains "Mexican Radio", the group's most well-known song, which was released as a single and whose video received moderate airplay on MTV.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Classic Rock |   [2] |
| The Village Voice | B[3] |
In a 1982 Trouser Press review, Jon Young said, "[t]hey're dealing in pure hokum, for sure, but Wall of Voodoo has become very good at it. Atmosphere is all in these muttered tales of desperation and weirdness, suggesting Devo on a bad trip of no return. But Call of the West doesn't repel; it's spooky halloweenish fun."[4]
Track listing
All music composed by Wall of Voodoo. All lyrics composed by Stan Ridgway.
- Side one
- "Tomorrow" – 3:03
- "Lost Weekend" – 4:59
- "Factory" – 5:33
- "Look at Their Way" – 3:18
- "Hands of Love" – 3:54
- Side two
- "Mexican Radio" – 4:11
- "Spy World" – 2:41
- "They Don't Want Me" – 4:31
- "On Interstate 15" – 2:44
- "Call of the West" – 5:59
- The original cassette release of the album features a bonus track called "Exercise" at the end of side one, following "Hands of Love".
- In 2009, Australian label Raven Records reissued Call of the West and the first Wall of Voodoo album, Dark Continent, together on one CD, featuring a full color booklet with liner notes by Ian McFarlane. Both albums were digitally remastered.[5]
Personnel
Wall of Voodoo
- Joe Nanini – percussion, drums, voice
- Stanard Ridgway – vocals, words, harmonica, keyboards
- Chas T. Gray – synthesizer, bass, backing vocals
- Marc Moreland – 6- and 12-string guitars
Additional musicians
- Louie Rivera – percussion
- Richard Mazda – rhythm machine programming, bass guitars
Technical
- Richard Mazda – producer
- Jess Sutcliffe – engineer, mixing
- Robert Battaglia – mixing
- Avi Kipper – mixing
- Frank De Luna – mastering
- Stanard Ridgway – cover concept, design
- Scott Lindgren – cover concept
- Francis Delia – design, photography
- Paul Peterson – production design
- Stephen Sayadian – styling
- Carl Grasso – art direction, layout
- Marc Moreland – printing
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Billboard Pop Albums[6] | 45 |
Singles
| Year | Chart | Single | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Billboard Mainstream Rock[6] | "Mexican Radio" | 41 |
| Billboard Pop Singles[6] | 58 |
References
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Call of the West – Wall of Voodoo". AllMusic. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ Barton, Geoff (March 2010). "Wall of Voodoo - Reissues". Classic Rock. No. 142. p. 95.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (November 2, 1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- ^ Young, Jon (December 1982). "Hit and Run". Trouser Press. Vol. 9, no. 10. New York. p. 47. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Dark Continent / Call of the West (Media notes). Wall of Voodoo. Raven Records. 2009. RVCD-309.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c "Wall of Voodoo Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
