Calling Out of Context

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.

Production

The songs selected for Calling Out of Context were recorded by Russell at his home and various studios between 1973 and 1994. 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 1994. Calling Out of Context contains many previously unreleased tracks, including several songs from Russell's scrapped Corn album.

In addition to singing and songwriting, Russell played many of the instruments on the album, including cello, percussion, guitar, keyboards, and vocals.^[1] Many of the tracks feature percussion & drum programming from Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed, as well as synthesizers & trombone playing by Peter Zummo.^[1] Both Ahmed and Zummo were longtime collaborators with Russell. Noted vocalist Jennifer Warnes contributed singing to "That's Us/Wild Combination".^[1] Steven Hall contributed electronic drums to the record.^[1]

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.^[2] The compilation producers were Melissa Jones, Steve Knutson, and Russell's longtime partner Tom "Sisu" Lee.^[1]

Reviews

Calling Out of Context received mostly positive reviews, including from Pitchfork Media.^[3] AllMusic gave the album 3 1/2 out 5 stars, noting, "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."^[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Arthur Russell.

1. "The Deer In The Forest Part 1"-1:35
2. "The Platform On The Ocean"-8:04
3. "You And Me Both"-3:45
4. "Calling Out Of Context"-5:45
5. "Arm Around You"-6:32
6. "That's Us/Wild Combination"-6:58
7. "Make 1,2"-2:49
8. "Hop On Down"-6:02
9. "Get Around To It"-4:58
10. "I Like You!"-5:00
11. "You Can Make Me Feel Bad"-1:28
12. "Calling All Kids"-7:15

Technical personnel

• Art Direction, Design – Melissa Jones (2)
• Compilation Producer – Melissa Jones (2), Steve Knutson, Tom Lee (3)
• Executive Producer [Compilation Executive Producer] – Steve Knutson
• Liner Notes – Steve Knutson
• Mastered By – Ray Janos
• Photography [Cover Photography] – Jeanette Beckman
• Producer, Mixed By – Arthur Russell, Killer Whale (tracks: 1, 2, 4)
• Technician [Post Production And Digital Transfers] – Mikel Rouse (tracks: 3, 5, 6, 9 to 12)
• Words By, Music By – Arthur Russell

Notes