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Thread: Golden Earring fans

  1. #1
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    Golden Earring fans

    I'm just looking for any fans of Golden Earring around here. I would consider myself a fan but not an mega super duper fan (I don't have all of their albums). I have everything they did from 1969 to 1982. My favorite era would be 1972 through 1975 or so.

    As a kid in the late 70s, I was struck at very young age with that awesome bass sound on 'Moontan' and I always admired the drumming on that one. Still do!

    One thing I am curious about. The American version of 'Contraband' was called 'Mad Love' and contained a track not on 'Contraband' called 'I Need Love'. To my knowledge that track never made a CD release. Did it?

    A few years ago I first heard the non-album song 'Instant Poetry' and 'Holy Holy Life' and really liked them a lot. 'Instant Poetry', I'm assuming, was recorded during the 'Moontan' sessions. At least it sounds like it to me.

    I'm not so sure I'd call them a Prog band but I consider some of their early 70s output to fit right in with the genre ('Big Tree Blue Sea', 'Are you Receiving Me?', 'She Flies on Strange Wings', 'Eight Miles High', 'Switch', 'Ce Soir').

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    Member georob's Avatar
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    Big (but relatively new) fan here. There was a chat on the Steve Hoffman forums not too long ago about GE releases. Apparently there is out of print box set that contained a lot of non-album trx and hard-to-find trx. You may find your Contraband-era cut was carried in the box set. Of course, being as it's apparently our of print now doesn't exactly help :-)
    You may want to check the GE site to see if they have a track listing for the box set.

  3. #3
    My girlfriend said she really liked "Radar Love" but didn't know anything else. Well, like the Stones or the Pretty Things, Golden Earring have a long history to explore! While Moontan is a near-perfect album I like a lot of the psychedelic stuff just as much.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by clarkray View Post
    One thing I am curious about. The American version of 'Contraband' was called 'Mad Love' and contained a track not on 'Contraband' called 'I Need Love'. To my knowledge that track never made a CD release. Did it?
    The only CD I know that has it is the 4 disc box set The Devil Made Us Do It. Beware: there’s a 2-disc reduction of the box set with the same title and cover. This does not have the song in question (it’s on disc 4, along with a bunch of rarities, including Barry Hay and George Kooymans solo tracks). The box set is in a “longbox”-style package.

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  5. #5
    I like them a lot...one of the "feel-good band" for me...never dissapoints.. but not big enough fan to dig into those fine details...

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    Until deep into the eighties, they were a great single band, but practically all the albums have a lot of weaker moments, i.m.h.o. The one really great album they made is "Moontan".

  7. #7
    To put it like this: if you're a fan of "thinking man's heavy rock" àla BÖC or UFO and haven't yet heard Moontan, then you're in for a damn fine treat.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

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    I have two albums by them - one is the LP of the European version of Moontan and the other is the CD of the US version of Moontan ! Great stuff in both formats, but not sure if I should get anything else given that I enjoy the prog side more than the heavy side ...

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Forester1 View Post
    the LP of the European version of Moontan and the other is the CD of the US version of Moontan![...] not sure if I should get anything else given that I enjoy the prog side more than the heavy side ...
    Actually, the first two albums they did with ex-Supersister keysman Robert Jan Stips - Switch (1975) and especially To the Hilt (1976) - feature a bit trickier arrangements than their previous work. The problem is a somewhat lack of memorable melodic ideas and sometimes a sense of the uninspired in those efforts. They weren't entirely convincing as a "prog per sè" kinda group.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  10. #10
    Their new album is called "Tits n Ass". I'm serious. It is quite good but not progressive.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Forester1 View Post
    I have two albums by them - one is the LP of the European version of Moontan and the other is the CD of the US version of Moontan ! Great stuff in both formats, but not sure if I should get anything else given that I enjoy the prog side more than the heavy side ...
    For a Prog fan, I can recommend their album 'Eight Miles High'. I consider it pretty proggy and it includes a killer extended psychedelic version of the Byrds song 'Eight Miles High'. The whole album is very enjoyable for a Prog fan.

    http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...be.M2I0ieGDf7Y

    Otherwise, there are no full Prog albums but there are a number of songs that they've done on other albums that a Prog fan would enjoy. Here's some:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6aQx57KBUY

    here's the full Switch album which has quite few moments of Proginess: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx0Zu38HflU

    here's the full To The Hilt which has some nice weird Proggy stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu1TVHlG8zs

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMOEXHkbgXg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6xnQKnpjFc

  12. #12
    Their live album from the 70's absolutely smokes!

  13. #13
    Member Joe F.'s Avatar
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    I have everything from Eight Miles High through Grab it for a Second.

    My favorites are:

    To The Hilt
    Moontan (US version)
    s/t (Wall of Dolls)
    Live
    Seven Tears

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Forester1 View Post
    I have two albums by them - one is the LP of the European version of Moontan and the other is the CD of the US version of Moontan ! Great stuff in both formats, but not sure if I should get anything else given that I enjoy the prog side more than the heavy side ...
    Try To the Hilt, it’s as close as they came to full-blown prog. The pre-Moontan albums of the 70s will probably be worth it for the occasional stab at a Jethro Tull kind of sound in between their attempts at aping Led Zeppelin. (I’m selling them short; I do rather enjoy those albums but none are anywhere near as good as Moontan).

    A big problem with them is their tendency to have one or two excellent songs surrounded by humdrum mediocrity. Switch has the regrettably unsung classic “Kill Me (Ce soir),” but with the possible exception of “Plus Minus Absurdio/Love Is a Rodeo,” the rest of the album’s a wash. Contraband has one of the band’s greatest songs ever in “Mad Love’s Comin’,” complete with guitar riff to die for, but the rest of the album...meh!

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  15. #15
    Ordinary Idiot Superfly's Avatar
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    One of my top ten favorite 'rock' bands for sure. I have 16 of their albums plus the 4 disc boxed set. They hit a bit of a slippery patch in the mid 80's to the mid 90's but regained their footing and the last few albums have been exceptionally fine. I think George Kooymans is one of the most overlooked guitarists in the rock world.
    Last edited by Superfly; 08-08-2013 at 08:00 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe F. View Post
    I have everything from Eight Miles High through Grab it for a Second.

    My favorites are:

    To The Hilt
    Moontan (US version)
    s/t (Wall of Dolls)
    Live
    Seven Tears
    Why do you prefer the U.S version of Moontan to the European version? Just asking because I want to know which is the best version to purchase.

  17. #17
    Ordinary Idiot Superfly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JIF View Post
    Why do you prefer the U.S version of Moontan to the European version? Just asking because I want to know which is the best version to purchase.
    The US version has a different track listing than the Euro Version and a better song in Big Tree Blue Sea.
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    Member Joe F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JIF View Post
    Why do you prefer the U.S version of Moontan to the European version? Just asking because I want to know which is the best version to purchase.
    Quote Originally Posted by Superfly View Post
    The US version has a different track listing than the Euro Version and a better song in Big Tree Blue Sea.
    Exactly. I have both versions, but there are a couple of weak tracks on the Dutch version (Just Like Vince Taylor & Suzy Lunacy) that were removed for the US version and replaced with a reworked Big Tree Blue Sea (which is also on an earlier Dutch album).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe F. View Post
    Exactly. I have both versions, but there are a couple of weak tracks on the Dutch version (Just Like Vince Taylor & Suzy Lunacy) that were removed for the US version and replaced with a reworked Big Tree Blue Sea (which is also on an earlier Dutch album).
    Agreed. I did notice that the European version I got of 'Moontan' on CD had better sound (to me anyway -- clearer) than the U.S. MCA CD. Just sayin'. But, not having the reworked 'Big Tree Blue Sea' is a big mark against it. The original 'Big Tree' is neat to hear but the reworked is much more interesting.

    The European version has a much better album cover too (just do a Google search for 'Moontan' album cover). The European version has the barely covered show girl.

  20. #20
    Ordinary Idiot Superfly's Avatar
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    The US version of Moontan also had the nude cover, but was pulled from the shelves within a month due to complaints. I bought one as soon as it came out and still have it.
    "The Bill of Rights says nothing about the freedom of hearing. This, of course, takes a lot of the fun out of the freedom of speech." - Pat Paulsen

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    Quote Originally Posted by Superfly View Post
    The US version of Moontan also had the nude cover, but was pulled from the shelves within a month due to complaints. I bought one as soon as it came out and still have it.
    She's not technically nude -- she's got small pasties and patches over her "fun" bits. But, yes, that was too racy for the American label so they published the close up of the ear with the gold earring. From what I've read (although I can't find the source now), the cover for the next album, 'Switch', is a reaction to that. It shows a marionette of the show girl with the same white background which is supposed to represent that the band had been treated as puppets by allowing the 'Moontan's' cover to be changed. I don't know how true that is but it looks likes there's some meaning behind it.

  22. #22
    Superfly said ;One of my top ten favorite 'rock' bands for sure. I have 16 of their albums plus the 4 disc boxed set. They hit a bit of a slippery patch in the mid 80's to the mid 90's but regained their footing and the last few albums have been exceptionally fine. I think George Kooymans is one of the most overlooked guitarists in the rock world.

    I have all their albums and I most definitely agree that George Kooymans is overlooked.

  23. #23
    Agreed. I did notice that the European version I got of 'Moontan' on CD had better sound (to me anyway -- clearer) than the U.S. MCA CD. Just sayin'.
    The Redbullet edition is the one I have, it’s remastered and has nice sound. One big gripe I have about the Redbullet editions is that their transfers of the album covers is absolutely deplorable. Especially Together looks like an out of focus colour copy of an inkjet printout on plain white paper.

    Quote Originally Posted by clarkray View Post
    She's not technically nude -- she's got small pasties and patches over her "fun" bits. But, yes, that was too racy for the American label so they published the close up of the ear with the gold earring.
    Actually, I think the real problem they had was the back cover of Barry Hay’s naked ass. This was in those pre-NYPD Blue days before you could just show nude butt anywhere.

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    I just got Moontan on vinyl on too long ago.

  25. #25
    The B-side of Twilight Zone (which is a pretty cool track in it's album form, apart from the inexplicable intro) was a non-album track called King Dark, which I've always dug. As far as I know, King Dark has never appeared on CD, though you can find it easily on Youtube:


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