Calling Out of Context | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | March 16, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 1985–1990 | |||
Genre | Synth-pop [1] | |||
Length | 60:11 | |||
Label | Audika Records (US) Rough Trade (UK) | |||
Arthur Russell chronology | ||||
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Calling Out of Context is a compilation album of songs written and recorded by experimental musician Arthur Russell. It was released on March 16, 2004 by Audika Records in the United States and by Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom. Nearly all of the songs included on Calling Out of Context had never been previously released in any form.
The songs selected for Calling Out of Context were recorded by Russell at his home and various studios between 1985 and 1990. The tracks were taken from Russell's unreleased 1985 album Corn and a later unfinished album for Rough Trade Records. [1] Some of the songs, including "That's Us/Wild Combination", were meticulously reworked and rerecorded dozens of times by Russell, up until his death in 1992.
In addition to singing and songwriting, Russell played many of the instruments on the album, including cello, percussion, guitar, keyboards, and vocals. [2] Many of the tracks feature percussion & drum programming from Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed, as well as synthesizers & trombone playing by Peter Zummo. [2] Both Ahmed and Zummo were longtime collaborators with Russell. Noted vocalist Jennifer Warnes contributed singing to "That's Us/Wild Combination". [2] Steven Hall contributed electronic drums to the record. [2]
This was the first album released by Audika Records, and was done so after obtaining the exclusive licensing agreement with the estate of Arthur Russell to issue previously unreleased and out of print material from the musician's vast archive. [3] The compilation producers were Melissa Jones, Steve Knutson, and Russell's longtime partner Tom "Sisu" Lee. [2]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
Pitchfork | 7.9/10 [1] |
PopMatters | (very favorable) [5] |
Stylus | A− [6] |
Calling Out of Context received positive reviews. AllMusic critic Andy Kellman noted that "with the many hats Russell wore, Calling out of Context should hammer home the fact that he was also a dynamite writer of heart-on-sleeve love songs -- not just a formidable cellist and innovative disco producer." [7] PopMatters wrote that "Calling Out of Context demands that the world take pause and recognize the contributions Russell made to the disparate genres of dance, disco, dub, and experimental music. His absolute fearlessness in lending his own unique style to even the most unlikely sound combinations is peerless." [8] Stylus wrote that "criminally overlooked for far too long, Russell is finally getting his due," calling him "a genius—never to be recognized in his own time, but to be enjoyed by generations to come." [6]
All songs written by Arthur Russell.
Charles Arthur Russell Jr. was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa, whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. After studying contemporary composition and Indian classical music in California, Russell relocated to New York City in the mid-1970s, where he became involved with both Lower Manhattan's avant-garde community and the city's burgeoning disco scene. His eclectic music was often marked by adventurous production choices and his distinctive voice.
Daniel Earl Hartman was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including The Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wringer, Last Wing, and Orion. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature". "I Can Dream About You", his most successful song, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985. The James Brown song "Living in America", which Hartman co-wrote and produced, reached No. 4 on March 1, 1986.
Disco is the first remix album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 17 November 1986 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI America Records in the United States. Disco consists of remixes of tracks from the band's debut album Please and its respective B-sides. The album includes remixes by Arthur Baker, Shep Pettibone and the Pet Shop Boys themselves.
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Take Me Home is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on January 25, 1979, on Casablanca Records. After her last three studio albums sold poorly, Cher made a brief commercial comeback with Take Me Home. The album reached number 25 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart. The RIAA certified it gold on May 17 of that year for the sales of 500,000 copies in the US.
The World of Arthur Russell is a compilation album by Arthur Russell, released in 2004 on Soul Jazz Records.
Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse was a British blues rock studio group formed in 1966. They recorded three songs, which were released on the Elektra Records compilation What's Shakin' in 1966. A possible fourth song remained unreleased.
Peter Laurence Gordon is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist and experimental composer, whose influences include jazz, disco, funk, rock, opera, classical and world music. He has released several albums and composed scores for film and theater, and he has also toured and re-interpreted the music of Arthur Russell, on whose compositions he played, as well as that of Robert Ashley.
Longing is the unreleased ninth studio album by Dusty Springfield, recorded in 1974 and planned for release the same year as her second LP for the ABC Dunhill Records label. Most of the Longing recordings were mixed and released much later on the compilations Simply Dusty (2000) and Beautiful Soul: The ABC Dunhill Collection (2001).
A Tom Moulton Mix is a 2006 compilation released by Soul Jazz Records. The album contains disco music that had been mixed by Tom Moulton, ranging from artists from such as Eddie Kendricks, Andrea True Connection, Isaac Hayes, and Grace Jones. The tracks are predominantly pulled from unreleased, acetate and promotional singles of several artists.
Peter Zummo is an American composer and trombonist. He has been described as "an important exponent of the American contemporary classical tradition." He has called his own work "minimalism plus a whole lot more."
The Last Dance is the fourth EP and seventh overall release by English post-rock and experimental rock band Disco Inferno. The EP was the band's third release to develop their innovative production and sample-based approach. After initially recording sessions for the EP with their original producer Charlie McIntosh, the band's label Rough Trade Records were unsatisfied with the sessions and instead the band worked with a new producer, Michael Johnson, famous for his work with New Order. His production ethic included a period of pre-production, the first time the band had used this process.
Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, first released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1996. Although the compilation, which reached #22 on Billboard's R&B chart and #84 on Pop, was given the "Vol. 1" tag, it remains without a sequel to date.
Lafayette Afro Rock Band was an American funk band formed in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York in 1970. Shortly after their formation, they relocated to France. Though little-known in their native United States during their recording period, they have since become celebrated as one of the standout funk bands of the 1970s and are particularly noted for their use of break beats. The band also recorded under the names Ice, Crispy & Co., Captain Dax, and others.
World of Echo is the second studio album by American musician Arthur Russell, released in 1986 on Upside Records in the US and in 1987 on Rough Trade Records in the UK. The album is composed primarily of Russell's vocals, cello playing, and percussion, which are prominently treated with effects such as delay and reverb.
Disco Not Disco 2 is a compilation album from the Disco Not Disco series released by Strut Records in 2002. As with the first compilation, this album focuses on the experimental side of disco and punk genres and underground music scene in general. The second volume is oriented more towards electro and dancemusic. It features electro pioneer Alexander Robotnick, post-punk and dance-rock music groups like Laid Back, Material and The Clash, Can, and Arthur Russell.
24→24 Music is a 1981 album by Dinosaur L, the disco project of American musician Arthur Russell. Enlisting a variety of musicians, Russell recorded the album in 1979 primarily at Blank Tapes studio in New York. It was released on Sleeping Bag Records, the label started by Russell and Will Socolov, and accompanied by the single "Go Bang! #5."
Picture of Bunny Rabbit is a 2023 compilation album representing some of the last studio session work by American experimental musician Arthur Russell. The album continues a series of archival releases from record label Audika, with this collection containing recordings that were made for World of Echo. It has received positive reviews from critics.