"Calling All Angels" is a song by American rock band

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...

. It was included on the band's third studio album, '' My Private Nation'', and produced by Brendan O'Brien. It features

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cu ...

on pedal steel guitar. The song was the first track to be released from ''My Private Nation'', on April 14, 2003, and peaked at number 19 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It also topped three other ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts: the

Adult Alternative Songs Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

, and

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data System ...

listings. Outside the US, the song entered the top 40 in Australia and New Zealand.

Background

"Calling All Angels" was inspired by a conversation singer Pat Monahan had with his therapist. Monahan said, "She said, "Just remember that we are made up of angels and traitors, and the angel is the one that says, 'You're beautiful and you can do anything you want,' and the traitor is the one that says, 'You're ugly and you can't get anything right.'" And so that song just came from that conversation of, if we all called our angels, what a cool life this would be for all of us."

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews from rock critics, with Ken Tucker of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' giving the song a B+ and calling it "an anthemic hymn to commitment...that builds steadily to a gloriously clanging climax." Matt Lee of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

was less impressed, describing the track as "pedestrian, the vocals soulless, even more so than" the band's biggest hit single, "

Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) "Drops of Jupiter", initially released as "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)", is a song written and recorded by American rock band Train. It was released on January 29, 2001, as the lead single from their second studio album, ''Drops of Jupiter'' (2001 ...

Awards and nominations

The recording was nominated for two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

s at the ceremony held in February 2004. In the category Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group, it lost out to "Disorder in the House" by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

and

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include " Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and "Roland the Headless Tho ...

. In the category Best Rock Song, the winner was "

Seven Nation Army "Seven Nation Army" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, ''Elephant'' (2003). V2 Records released the song to American alternative radio on February 17, 2003, as the lead single ...

" by

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wi ...

Track listings

European CD single # "Calling All Angels" (radio edit) – 3:51 # "For You" – 3:04 European maxi-CD single # "Calling All Angels" (radio edit) – 3:51 # "Fascinated" – 3:26 # "Landmine" – 3:49 # "Calling All Angels" (video) Australian CD single # "Calling All Angels" (radio edit) – 3:51 # "Fascinated" – 3:26 # "For You" – 3:04 # "Landmine" – 3:49

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

In 2016, the song was used in the US version of '' The Passion''. It was sung by Jencarlos and appeared of the official soundtrack album. It was sung in the story when

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

(Jencarlos) prays in the Garden of

Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great reso ...

. The tempo was slowed, several lyrics were changed, and the third verse was entirely cut to fit the theme of the scene.

In popular culture

"Calling All Angels" is an unofficial anthem of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

baseball team, and is played at

Angel Stadium Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...

before every game while the video screen shows a montage of the team's history. In addition, the band performed it live prior to the Home Run Derby of the 2010 All-Star Game, which was held at Angel Stadium.

References

External links

Single release info from discogs.com
{{Authority control 2003 singles 2003 songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Songs written by Pat Monahan Train (band) songs