Golden Earring - Moontan - remastered & expanded - 2CD - release date: 10 September 2021

GOLDEN EARRING
MOONTAN - REMASTERED & EXPANDED

10 September 2021

• New expanded 2CD edition of the 1973 classic Golden Earring album, featuring the worldwide hit Radar Love
• For the first time ever remastered from the first-generation master tapes
• Featuring 9 previously unreleased mixes/different versions
• Featuring 6 bonus tracks, including Big Tree, Blue Sea (1973 version) and Instant Poetry
• Including a 32-page booklet with a new essay, memorabilia, and photos



Founded in 1961 by George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen, Dutch rock band Golden Earring (or Golden Earrings, until 1969) started off as a beatband, experimented as a psychedelic quartet and finally became a heavy rock group. Their ninth album Moontan (1973) hit the international album charts and is the band's most successful album in the United States, being the only Golden Earring album to be certified Gold by the RIAA.

The single Radar Love reached #10 on the Cash Box Top 100 and #13 in Billboard in the United States. It also hit the Top 10 in many countries - including The Netherlands (#1), Spain (#1), Germany (#5), United Kingdom (#7), Canada (#10) and Australia (#10) - and consequently became a bonafide international classic rock song.

In June 2020, the original mastertapes of this classic album were unearthed for a long-awaited remastered edition - 48 years after its original release.

Alongside a fresh remaster from the IBC Studios first-generation album masters, six bonus tracks have been added, including the 1973 remake of Big Tree, Blue Sea that was added to the UK and US editions of the original album, the original single versions of Radar Love and Candy’s Going Bad, the B-side The Song Is Over and the 1974 single Instant Poetry.

In addition, a second CD entitled The Moontan Sessions features nine previously unreleased mixes/different versions that give insight into the whole production process of the album. Taken from a variety of archive tapes, these include the original basic recordings of Radar Love, The Song Is Over, Are You Receiving Me and Vanilla Queen, taped in early 1973 at Phonogram Studios in Hilversum (The Netherlands), which were overdubbed and finished at London’s IBC Studios in July 1973.

All tracks have been 24 bit/192 kHz remastered from the original mastertapes.

A special 2LP edition of Moontan (remastered & expanded) released by Music On Vinyl will follow in early 2022.

This 2CD edition of Moontan starts off a special series of remastered & expanded albums by Golden Earring, overseen by Red Bullet catalogue and band archivist Wouter Bessels.

TRACKLISTING

CD 1: Original album version remastered plus bonus tracks
1. Candy’s Going Bad 6.13
2. Are You Receiving Me 9.32
3. Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock) 4.26
4. Radar Love 6.26
5. Just Like Vince Taylor 4.22
6. Vanilla Queen 9.19
BONUS TRACKS:
7. Big Tree, Blue Sea (1973 version) 8.12
8. Candy’s Going Bad (single version) 2.52
9. Radar Love (single version) 3.45
10. The Song Is Over 4.52
11. Instant Poetry 5.08
12. From Heaven, From Hell (1974 version) 6.05

CD 2: The Moontan Sessions
1. Vanilla Queen (early version) 10.03
2. Radar Love (basic track) 6.27
3. The Song Is Over (basic track) 5.14
4. Are You Receiving Me (basic track) 9.30
5. Candy’s Going Bad (rough mix) 4.06
6. Vanilla Queen part 1 (rough mix) 5.36
7. Just Like Vince Taylor (alternate mix) 4.27
8. Big Tree, Blue Sea part 1 (rough mix) 3.14
9. Radar Love (instrumental mono mix) 6.30

Moontan (remastered & expanded) will be released by Red Bullet Productions on 10 September 2021 and will be available through all renowned worldwide music dealers and online shops.

 

And here we go! Great news for us GE fans. Very much looking forward to this (and future releases).

Is there any chance this will be available in a high resolution digital format as well?

Exciting!

 

Amazing news. Never expected this to happen, especially the release of outtakes/demos/etc. Can't wait. And in only two weeks!

 

Oh hell yes! Quite possibly a top 5 album of all time for me. Bring it on!

 

Incredible album. The word "remastered" makes me hesitate, however. Have to wait until I hear about the sound quality.

 

As a big fan of the Golden Earring 70's albums, I've been waiting for this for a long time. Finally we get to hear other takes, mixes etc.
I've always found it strange that there are 1000's of bootlegs of the Beatles and Stones with this kind of tracks, but that there were never before this kind of recordings for the Earring bootleg collectors to be found (there are plenty of live recordings)
The reason for this was (I heard a few years ago) that the master tapes of the old albums could no longer be found in the archives, and had probably been lost in a fire at some point. But luckily there is now this, and this seems to be a new series, so who knows what else awaits us ;-)

 

Hi,

Check out the comments about the Focus 50 Years box that I have curated and remastered last year.... and then post any additional comments about 'remastered'. Thank you

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

Hi,

Whoever told you that the Earring master tapes were destroyed, is completely wrong and has no knowledge about the archives of the band.
100% fake news (luckily)!

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

Psyched for this release... all time classic album!

 

No offense intended good sir. I've just been burned too many times.
If this is well mastered, I'm there.

 

A surround mix would have been a dream come true. One of my all time favorites.

 

I have that set and it sounds excellent

Nice eq and not one of those over compressed remasters that are so common these days

I will definitely be getting this Golden Earring set

 

so you remastered this new Golden Earring release? Can you share any war stories? Where were the tapes discovered? What did you change, enhance, focus on in the process?

 

Awesome news. I had wait so long to hear Golden Earring in pristine sound. The original Polydor LPs and CDs sound good, but a little muffled to me.

I hope more Golden Earring albums will come... Eight Miles High, Switch, Contraband.

If Golden Earring got the same treatment like the amazing Focus box set, they will be the new reference, and my Polydor CDs can rest... incl. my MCA CD of Moontan.

Vanilla Queen without brass.... very nice!

 

I see that a 1974 version of From Heaven From Hell is listed as a bonus track. Very interesting!

 

Hi,

Yes, I have produced, curated and also remastered this release.
See above - the official release info at the start of this thread - for the technical info about the remastering process and the source of the tapes. More information is included in the 32-page booklet of the 2CD.

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

@Slim Zooms @vinyl diehard

 

Hi,

Where did you read that Vanilla Queen doesn't contain brass?

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

@Wouter, I think the story of the lost or burned archive came from a interview with Rinus, I will have a look if I can find it..

 

This was only my speculation. I thought the rough mix is without the brass section.

 

Het werd tijd voor de Earring Wouter! Ben jij ook verantwoordelijk voor de mastering van de vinylversies via MOV begin 2022?

 

Hi,

No, there's an early version of the whole track and a rough mix of the first part included - see the tracklisting stated at the start of this thread.

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

Hi,

English language please...

Yes I also did the mastering of the vinyl edition - forthcoming in early 2022 - in close cooperation with vinyl cutter Rinus Hooning @ Record Industry.

Best wishes,
Wouter

 

Ik vind het soms leuk om de mede forumleden aan het werk te zetten, in het Nederlands, is potverdikkie een Nederlandse groep... beetje plagen mag toch wel?

 

Wonderful, Rinus and Wouter for the 2022 MOV vinyl mastering.