''Let the Day Begin'' is an album by the American band the Call, released in 1989. The band's former label, Elektra Records, declined to release the album. The album peaked at No. 64 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The title track peaked at No. 42 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The band promoted the album by touring with the Peregrins. ''Let the Day Begin'' has sold more than 300,000 copies. The title track climbed the charts, but, because MCA elected to switch pressing plants, there were no singles in stores. According to Michael Been: "There wasn't any foul play, though. It was just that MCA was switching over pressing plants, and they hadn't printed up enough copies of the single—only 100,000, I think. And the record went to number one, and all of a sudden, there weren't any in the stores—they'd all been sold. It took five weeks for the company to be able to get back to the point where they could start printing copies again, and in those five weeks, well—you live or die in this business." The title track was used as a campaign theme song for

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

's 2000

Presidential Campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

Production

Recorded in six days with minimal overdubs, the album was produced by bandmembers

Michael Been Michael Kenneth Been (March 17, 1950 – August 19, 2010) was an American rock musician who achieved critical attention and rotation play on MTV in the 1980s with his band The Call. He later released an album of his solo work and toured with hi ...

and Jim Goodwin. The Call did not use headphones in the studio, instead choosing to set up a

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

. "Watch" was cowritten by Been and the actor

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...

; the two met while filming '' The Last Temptation of Christ''.

Critical reception

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' concluded that "because ''Let the Day Begin'' was recorded with a minimum of fuss to capture what the band sounds like in concert, the rousing title track, the cautionary guitar-laced tale 'You Run', the Doors-like 'For Love' and the lovesick 'Surrender' possess a rhythmic kick lacking on some of the band's previous albums." The '' Orange County Register'' noted that the album is concerned with "a search for inner meaning and the struggle for communication between people ... Although the LP has its strident moments, tracks like 'You Run', 'Surrender', and the hymnlike 'Uncovered' make up for it." The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' thought that "these are tight, muscular workouts, nearly strangled by the glaringly short leash of rhythmic structure." ''

The Capital Times ''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a digital-first newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. The o ...

'' deemed the album "worth a listen, especially for those who find the lyrics of most 'Christian rock' too simplistic." The '' Deseret News'' declared that "the Call's thoughtful, thought-provoking style is full of heartfelt messages in songs that are fervently spirited and spiritual, but secular nevertheless."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote that "the album consists of some of The Call's strongest material and the undercurrent of optimism and big arena rock hooks results in it being their best bid for wider success."

Track listing

Personnel

;The Call *Michael Been - guitar, bass guitar, lead vocals *Tom Ferrier - guitar, vocals *Jim Goodwin - keyboards, vocals *Scott Musick - drums, vocals with: *

- harmonica on "For Love"

References

{{reflist 1989 albums MCA Records albums The Call (band) albums