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Track Listings
| 1. Call The Doctor |
| 2. Hubcap |
| 3. Little Mouth |
| 4. Anonymous |
| 5. Stay Where You Are |
| 6. Good Things |
| 7. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone |
| 8. Taking Me Home |
| 9. Taste Test |
| 10. My Stuff |
| 11. I'm Not Waiting |
| 12. Heart Attack |
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Amazon.com
Sleater-Kinney's musical manifesto is a wake-up call to not only the old boy network, but to young women who find themselves increasingly at odds with it. Helmed by Corin Tucker (Heaven's To Betsy) and Carrie Brownstein (Excuse 17), this trio is not only furious and formidable, but genuinely significant. On a musical landscape populated by open sewers like The 7 Mary Bush Pilots Idiot-Grunge Revival or Hootie's Home for the Terminally Bland and Sensitive, Tucker's spine-shivering voice shrieking "I wanna be your Joey Ramone / Pictures of me on your bedroom door" cracks through the narcotic haze of mediocrity like a rat tail on a bare bottom. When she declares herself "The Queen of Rock & Roll," I'm inclined to smile and think "If only." Cultural importance aside, this rocks. Their eerily dead-on Sonic Youth snippet in "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" had me checking the credits for a Kim Gordon cameo, while "Little Mouth," "Stay Where You Are" and the incendiary title track are some of the most raging chunks of punk found around these parts since Greg Sage shook the rain off his rubbers. More than recommended: required. --John Chandler
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By D. Mok
Format:Audio CD
Call the Doctor is the blinding work of genius that was the true signifier that Sleater-Kinney had arrived.
This was the band's critical breakthrough and, not surprisingly, also the band's strongest collection of songs until The Hot Rock.
It always pays to put some thought and muscle into your songwriting and this album is proof. Corin doesn't have to scream as much to be heard (when she does, though, on "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone", it arrests your attention because she isn't doing it on every song anymore); arrangements and performances can be subtle (eg. on that simple two-note riff to the bridge of "Call the Doctor", the quiet guitars on the verse to "Joey Ramone", the backing vocals on "Stay Where You Are", the sparse, effective "Hubcap"), and the band shines through with unshowy, rock-solid prowess.
To call this "punk rock" is too simple. Both Call the Doctor and The Hot Rock transcend the punk roots of Sleater-Kinney's individual members into something far more lasting and evocative. For all the yelling and controversy the riot grrls aspired to (eg. Tribe 8's ridiculous, sensationalistic act, Bikini Kill's mouthy Kathleen Hanna, Courtney Love baring her breasts left and right), this is the truly worthy legacy left by the female punk movement: Brilliant music that makes you feel the beating of your own heart; messages that transcend gender lines; full-fledged proof that women are equals to men in rock, without ever having to say anything overt about it. Sleater-Kinney don't mouth off with empty slogans -- it shows you what it means, and convinces you by its undeniable ability.
This was the band's critical breakthrough and, not surprisingly, also the band's strongest collection of songs until The Hot Rock.
It always pays to put some thought and muscle into your songwriting and this album is proof. Corin doesn't have to scream as much to be heard (when she does, though, on "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone", it arrests your attention because she isn't doing it on every song anymore); arrangements and performances can be subtle (eg. on that simple two-note riff to the bridge of "Call the Doctor", the quiet guitars on the verse to "Joey Ramone", the backing vocals on "Stay Where You Are", the sparse, effective "Hubcap"), and the band shines through with unshowy, rock-solid prowess.
To call this "punk rock" is too simple. Both Call the Doctor and The Hot Rock transcend the punk roots of Sleater-Kinney's individual members into something far more lasting and evocative. For all the yelling and controversy the riot grrls aspired to (eg. Tribe 8's ridiculous, sensationalistic act, Bikini Kill's mouthy Kathleen Hanna, Courtney Love baring her breasts left and right), this is the truly worthy legacy left by the female punk movement: Brilliant music that makes you feel the beating of your own heart; messages that transcend gender lines; full-fledged proof that women are equals to men in rock, without ever having to say anything overt about it. Sleater-Kinney don't mouth off with empty slogans -- it shows you what it means, and convinces you by its undeniable ability.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Shon Downing
Format:Audio CD
Before I begin, I must let you know where I am coming from, I am a gay African-American male, very much into punk/alternative/whateva it's called these days. My introduction to SK came at a time when I was invovled in a BAD relationship and I happened to hear some talk about how good it was, so I decided to check it out.
IT IS BETTER THAN GOOD! It's EXCELLENT! From the stanza of "Call The Docotor" ... "they want to socialize you....dignify, analyze, terrorize you" I was hooked! Who wouldn't be? SK personifies all the emotions of any under-dog of society (or so they make us out to be), no matter who they may be (female, abused, ethinic, etc.) and screams, plays and ROCKS them into a complete fruition of being. This band should have gotten a Grammy for this fine example of punk rock agression mixed with sympathetic/empathetic emotion.
Then I heard "Good Things" and my world transformed. I instantly related the song to my current state and found the strength to move on to something more productive and healthy besides a messed up (I'm being quite tame) realtionship. "Getting better, worse, I cannot tell..." says it all. "Why do good things never want to stay?", well, I guess I will never know the answer to that, but thanks to SK I know that even the bad has an alternate side that will sometimes purge itself out. "This time I wiil be alright, this time I will be ok..." are words that I will take with me to my grave.
This band was able to transcend pure enlightment to me in the course of a CD....do I need to say more? Did I mention the other songs? I don't even need too.
Just buy it! It's well worth it!
IT IS BETTER THAN GOOD! It's EXCELLENT! From the stanza of "Call The Docotor" ... "they want to socialize you....dignify, analyze, terrorize you" I was hooked! Who wouldn't be? SK personifies all the emotions of any under-dog of society (or so they make us out to be), no matter who they may be (female, abused, ethinic, etc.) and screams, plays and ROCKS them into a complete fruition of being. This band should have gotten a Grammy for this fine example of punk rock agression mixed with sympathetic/empathetic emotion.
Then I heard "Good Things" and my world transformed. I instantly related the song to my current state and found the strength to move on to something more productive and healthy besides a messed up (I'm being quite tame) realtionship. "Getting better, worse, I cannot tell..." says it all. "Why do good things never want to stay?", well, I guess I will never know the answer to that, but thanks to SK I know that even the bad has an alternate side that will sometimes purge itself out. "This time I wiil be alright, this time I will be ok..." are words that I will take with me to my grave.
This band was able to transcend pure enlightment to me in the course of a CD....do I need to say more? Did I mention the other songs? I don't even need too.
Just buy it! It's well worth it!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Call the Doctor was the first Sleater-Kinney album I bought, and now I own them all and I've seen them in concert twice. Simply: if you're even considering buying this album, you should do it. It's virtually unparalleled as punk-pop, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a song with more energy than "Little Mouth", or a song that grows on you the way "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" will. If you've never heard Sleater-Kinney, their honesty and energy will blow you away. If you have, this record isn't as polished as The Hot Rock or Dig Me Out, but this album is distinguished from the others by the complete absence of filler -- every one's a keeper, and if a gem like the title track or the ones mentioned above happen to stand out, it's not for lack of competition.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I got this cd, not even a week ago now, and I can't not be listening to it. Even when I'm out to dinner with my friends, the songs are stuck in my head for hours on end. I wasn't sure that I would like it as I'm a devoted fan of The Hot Rock (don't buy the reviews that it's not a phenomenal album, it grows on you like ivy and takes over your entire being). I think at this point my roommate can sing along with me, and she does not enjoy SK to the point that I do. This album is pure heaven. period end of story. I dare you to listen to it and not fall in love.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Sleater-Kinney is a band I can only talk about using superlatives. Easily the best all-female band in the history of rock. In my opinion the best rock band of the past decade based on actual output (I defy anyone to name a band that has produced six albums as great as Sleater-Kinney has in the past ten years; Belle and Sebastian can come close, but too much of their work of the past five years has been uneven). They were originally viewed as the best of the second wave of riot grrrl bands, but I think that has obscured just how extraordinary this band is. Our society tends to marginalize too many women artists and performers by relegating them to "Female" status, much as I did in the second sentence of this review. Mind you, they are the greatest female rock band ever, but there is a sense in which that helps obscure just how great they are. Radiohead is a great band, but their output from 1996 to the present is not nearly as impressive as Sleater-Kinney's.
CALL THE DOCTOR is my favorite Sleater-Kinney album, but that isn't to say anything bad about the five albums that came after. Employing the Pitchforkmedia rating system, I would give around a 9.4 to CALL THE DOCTOR, and between 8.0 and 9.2 to the next five (which is actually pretty close to what Pitchfork gives them, which, again, no other band I know can match). Other people will prefer ONE BEAT or THE WOODS or DIG ME OUT, but I just like the hooks of CALL THE DOCTOR a bit more than the others. But I truly do consider all six of their post-debut albums--CALL THE DOCTOR (1996), DIG ME OUT (1997), THE HOT ROCK (1999), ALL HANDS ON THE BAD ONE (2000), ONE BEAT (2002), and THE WOODS (2005)--to be absolutely essential. Read more ›
CALL THE DOCTOR is my favorite Sleater-Kinney album, but that isn't to say anything bad about the five albums that came after. Employing the Pitchforkmedia rating system, I would give around a 9.4 to CALL THE DOCTOR, and between 8.0 and 9.2 to the next five (which is actually pretty close to what Pitchfork gives them, which, again, no other band I know can match). Other people will prefer ONE BEAT or THE WOODS or DIG ME OUT, but I just like the hooks of CALL THE DOCTOR a bit more than the others. But I truly do consider all six of their post-debut albums--CALL THE DOCTOR (1996), DIG ME OUT (1997), THE HOT ROCK (1999), ALL HANDS ON THE BAD ONE (2000), ONE BEAT (2002), and THE WOODS (2005)--to be absolutely essential. Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth it, but not my favorite
I mainly bought this album so I could have a copy of "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" and I definitely got that. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than good...
CALL THE DOCTOR: This album is a masterpiece of all things sonic, queer, and emotion excavation. It's really that simple. Read more
Published on September 25, 2010 by Holly Robbins
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite Sleater Kinney by leaps and bounds
Maybe I started out in the wrong place with Sleater-Kinney, but after being underwhelmed by "Dig Me Out" and "The Hot Rock" I was about to give up on the band. Read more
Published on September 4, 2008 by Josh L. Patrick-Riley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Totally rocks. Doesn't do much else, but doesn't need to
Take Cheap Trick, Patti Smith, the Ramones and feminist rage and put them in a blender, and this is what you come out with. Read more
Published on December 9, 2007 by finulanu
4.0 out of 5 stars
Call the Doctor ...Punk Rock to Stop my Heart
Sleater-Kinney one of the better Punk Rock Bands of the 1990s. These Girls have something to say.. hailing from Olympia- They're an All - Girl later 'riot grrrl' act inspired by... Read more
Published on May 3, 2007 by Chris G.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding! An Impassioned Call to Arms--4.5 stars!
This is one of the craftiest, most intelligent and still downright behind-kicking albums that I've ever heard. Read more
Published on March 27, 2007 by D. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars
the sound of a great band coming into its own
S-K's first album has one great song ("Slow Song") but Call the Doctor is the one where you hear them separating themselves from the rest of the riot grrrl pack. Read more
Published on March 22, 2006 by Ryan M. Moore
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's a very good thing ...
First, a word to all those morally opposed to punk rock music: I feel your pain. I used to be one of you.
But then I bought CALL THE DOCTOR (on a whim). Read more
But then I bought CALL THE DOCTOR (on a whim). Read more
Published on January 20, 2006 by M. Carter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Close to Perfection!
My introduction to SK came at a time when I was invovled in a BAD relationship and I happened to hear some talk about how good it was, so I decided to check it out. Read more
Published on July 28, 2003 by Shon Downing
4.0 out of 5 stars
Overall it's average, but it's got one KILLER song
This album is on the whole just OK. I don't think that the song quality is even throughout the album. Read more
Published on July 17, 2003 by Sannah Zay
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