"Call the Man" is a song by Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

, recorded for her fourth English-language album, '' Falling into You'' (1996). It was released by Columbia and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

, as the fifth and last single outside of North America on 9 June 1997. "Call the Man" was written by Andy Hill and

Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (27 December 1943 – 14 November 2024) was an English poet and songwriter. He was best known as a co-founder and lyricist of King Crimson. Their debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the fi ...

, who had previously written Dion's 1995 smash hit " Think Twice". The song was produced by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

, who had also worked on her previous pop single, " It's All Coming Back to Me Now". Its music video was directed by Greg Masuak.

Background and release

The single was released during the second European leg of the Falling into You Tour and peaked at number eight in Ireland and number 11 in the United Kingdom, where it has sold over 80,000 copies. On 17 April 1997 Dion performed "Call the Man" with a 30-voice gospel choir during the World Music Awards ceremony. She was the big star of that evening, winning three awards: Best-selling Canadian Female Singer, Best-selling Artist and Best-selling Pop Artist, after selling over 25 million albums in 1996. It was the second year in a row that Dion has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Dion performed the song during her 1996/1997 Falling Into You: Around the World tour. In 2008, "Call the Man" was included on the European version of '' My Love: Ultimate Essential Collection''.

Critical reception

Pip Ellwood-Hughes from Entertainment Focus declared the song as a "huge sing-a-long anthem". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' named it an "epic

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

". British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it a score of three out of five, describing it as " Streisand-esque warblings from Dion on this emotive

-produced ballad", and "not as memorable as ' Think Twice'." Bob Waliszewski of '' Plugged In'' wrote that "Call the Man", "which praises a nameless individual capable of calming the chaos and confusion in life with “love beyond repair,” could easily be interpreted as a song about

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

." '' Ealing Leader'' noted that Dion is "in sad, wistful mood for this potent ballad". Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic described it as a "long and brooding epic

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

is full of theatrics and drama".

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Call the Man" was directed by Greg Masuak in 1995 and already used for two other songs in edited versions: "

Je sais pas "Je sais pas" (meaning "I don't know" in French) is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her thirteenth studio album, '' D'eux'' (1995). It was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman and J. Kapler, and produced by Goldman and Erick Benzi. The so ...

" and " Next Plane Out".

Formats and track listings

* European CD single #"Call the Man" (Radio Edit) – 4:15 #"Medley Starmania" (Live) – 6:33 * UK cassette single #"Call the Man" (Radio Edit) – 4:15 #"Medley Starmania" (Live) – 6:33 #"

Because You Loved Me "Because You Loved Me" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion on her fourth English-language studio album, '' Falling into You'' (1996). It was released on 19 February 1996 as the first single in North America, and as the second sin ...

" (Live) – 4:49 * European/UK CD maxi-single #"Call the Man" (Radio Edit) – 4:15 #"Medley Starmania" (Live) – 6:33 #"If We Could Start Over" – 4:23 #"Refuse to Dance" – 4:23 * UK CD maxi-single #2 #"Call the Man" (Album Version) – 6:08 #"Little Bit of Love" – 4:26 #" Did You Give Enough Love" – 4:20 #"Because You Loved Me" (Live) – 4:49

Personnel

According to the liner notes of ''Falling Into You'' *

– Lead Vocals *

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

– Keyboards and drum programming * Ottmar Liebert – Acoustic guitar and solo *Shelton Becton – Backing Vocals *Sharon Bryant-Gallwey – Backing Vocals *Angela Clemmons-Patrick – Backing Vocals *Curtis King – Backing Vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 1996 songs 1997 singles 1990s ballads Celine Dion songs Music videos directed by Greg Masuak Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Jim Steinman Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Songs with lyrics by Peter Sinfield Songs written by Andy Hill (composer)