Call of the West
1982 studio album by Wall of Voodoo
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Call of the West is the second studio album by American rock 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.
| Call of the West | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1982 | |||
| Recorded | June 1982 | |||
| Studios | Hit City, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Post-punk[1] | |||
| Labels | I.R.S. (USA) Illegal (UK) | |||
| Producer | Richard Mazda | |||
| Wall of Voodoo chronology | ||||
| ||||
It was the final Wall of Voodoo album to feature drummer Joe Nanini and frontman Stan Ridgway, who both departed the group along with subsequently-added keyboardist Bill Noland the following year.[2]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Classic Rock |  [4] |
| The Village Voice | B[5] |
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."[6]
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.[7]
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, Genny Schorr – styling
- Carl Grasso – art direction, layout
- Marc Moreland – printing