Man's first American release in 20 years,
Call Down the Moon arrived in 1995, the successor to 1992's brilliant
Twang Dynasty, and a worthy one at that. Almost half the album tracks find the band approaching the nine- or ten-minute barrier that, in the past, was always the hallmark of
Man at their most magical, while the song titles positively ooze the old spirit as well -- "Burn My Working Clothes," "The Girl Is Trouble," "Call Down the Moon" itself. Indeed, that latter cut might well have crept out of any past incarnation of the band you could dream of; it's a gliding slice of anti-gravity that lifts the album into the atmospheres that
Man have always been capable of reaching, but so rarely actually get to. Poor distribution and a shockingly bad cover do mar
Call Down the Moon somewhat -- considering it was a brand new album by a much beloved band, the package screams "cheap cash-in" so loudly that even loyal fans initially gave it a wide berth. Once you take the plunge, though, you'll never look back. ~ Dave Thompson