Golden Earring - new boxset "The Complete Studio Recordings"

As I said, I don't think they have any real bad albums (though stuff like Grab It For A Second is pretty below average IMO). It's just that their late 60's/early 70's output is so incredibly strong - and the same goes IMO for their "recent" output, if you want to call post-1991 "recent"

The solo album "Jojo" by George Kooymans is also highly recommended, as goes for the debut by Barry Hay's Flying V Project.



Barry Hay - Wait A Minute - RTL LATE NIGHT

 

Not a fan of "To the Hilt?" Awe man...that is probably their most prog album..dark and adventurous.

I have all of their DVD's too and none of them have English subtitles in the interviews!!! What a bummer that the US audiences doesn't seem to be a big factor in these things.

 

For me the golden periods are Miracle Mirror - Switch and then Bloody Buccaneers - Tits 'n' Ass. To The Hilt is not bad, but I wish it was more focused like Switch. Same goes for Contraband btw.

 

To the Hilt is my favorite GE album!

I think I have everything I need by this band (8 Miles High - Contraband) and will pass on the box unless the mastering job is better than the Red Bullets I have. They are pretty good though.

 

Dutch originals can still be had for cheap in the Netherlands. And the 60s ones sound terrific in mono. Winter Harvest, although it's not their best, is probably my favorite (sounds kind of like a lost Beatles record).

 

So, I've been living with this box for a little while and all this music is finally clicking. Switch and To the Hilt finally make sense now. It's really moody and adventurous.

The biggest surprise to me is how much I'm liking the late 70's-early 80's material. They transitioned into their own proggy version of Cheap Trick (at least to my ears). There are so many great songs on each record.

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get into these guys- or at least understand what they're about. How does a band with 29 CDs worth of material remain a (relative) secret?

Moving through their catalog is a study in shifting musical trends, production and you can even guess how the drugs changed.

Any fan of rock or prog should give these guys some attention. I'm hooked.

 

For the people who are thinking a box set of Golden Earring's complete studio recordings is too much or would like to find out which period they like most, I advise to purchase the 2cd 'The Devil Made Us Do it' with 35 years of Golden Earring songs (there is also a limited 4cd version of that compilation, but that one is really rare)

That 2cd set is mostly easy to get at EBay, full with their best songs and.... is sonically speaking (!) the best compilation album of Golden Earring to get (has even a great average of DR11, which is not bad for a compilation album out of 2000...)



Right now I see even this 2cd album for $10, shipping costs included!

 

there are NO live albums clouding up this wickedlookiwg set !!!??? I....am......IN !

will check prices and buy this afternoon. whhoooo hoooo no live tripe to clutter up a nice cd set. !!!!

if i want life, ill buy a ticket ! live albums are a joke, and money grab )

 

The 4 CD set is excellent, I did not know they did a condensed version.

 

The 2cd version are all singles. The 4cd version has sometimes the longer album versions (p.e. 'She Flies on Strange Wings' and 'Radar Love') and many, many extra tracks, especially from more recent albums.
I notice, by the way, at EBay there is right now even the rare 4cd album compilation album of The Devil Made Us Do it' to get for just $24 (+ $12 shipping costs). Fort the fast ones!

 

The 1977 live album is absolutely devastating and a necessary addition to the collection.

 

The Naked Truth is essential too IMO. The 2nd and 3rd part are less interesting, though still worth having.

 

I really liked the song When the Lady smiles, remember thinking MTV was gonna promote it hard with the world primer video showings, but I think it dropped quick. I wouldnt mind hearing everything from 69-88 but after that I cant imagine much being worth it just by virtue of the fact that most stuff by bands around that long start to drop off in quality. I had some live album by them with She flies on strange wings and8 miles high on it but forget the name, think it had a blueish cover

 

Not with the Earring. They had a total rebirth in the 90's after producing some (IMO) overly slick 80's records like The Hole and Keeper Of The Flame. As I've said before, there's very little quality drop between their 70's output and now.

 

just made purchase. looking forward to it. also bought the john denver completer rca box, i was hammered, and found a good price. probably present it to me Mum. she likes J denver.

 

Exactly. Most of the stuff they released in the 90s and 2000s is very good.

 

After putting some time in, To The Hilt has officially melted my brain!

Also, I'm surprised how much I like the late 70's -early 80's material. There is a great cheap trick vibe happening with the songwriting during that era, and they manage to work up some great songs on each record.

The pre 'on the double' releases are charming. I haven't made it to their 90's material yet as I'm stuck on that dark, mid late 70's vibe of Switch, To the Hilt and Prisoner of the Night.

There's so much to love.

 

I'm a bit late chiming in but I had to report my finding on the general sound quality of this set. It is IMO terrible. Most discs sound bright and muffled at the same time. Often sounds like Dolby NR encoded tapes played back without Dolby on and a blanket thrown over the speakers and the whole thing then compressed to death. I'm glad I kept all my vinyl copies of whatever I had.

What a truly wasted opportunity.

 

I'm delighted to have picked up this box by a band I had only fleetingly heard back in the day. As a young man I tended to be 'Oh no not Golden Earring!'
However via hearing a couple of albums properly I splashed out on the box and am loving it! What an underrated band, great musicians.

My favourites are Wall Of Dolls, Seven tears, Together, Moontan, Contraband, No Promises No Debts, but there's a wealth of other good stuff in here, as most CDs have at least 4 or 5 good tracks.
I really hate 'Grab it for a second' though, sounds like Jimmy Iovine is trying to turn them into a CBGBs band.

Pity they didn't include the live albums in the set but completist that I am I will probably try to get them anyway. Having got both versions of Moontan, I have more love for the US version as Big Tree Blue Sea is a genuinely ace track. But, there's so much more to the band than Radar Love...so much more.

Have a great weekend
Slim Zooms

 

I have the box set & an old Canadian vinyl copy of 'Moontan'. I had always assumed that they just used the 1970 version of 'Big Tree Blue Sea' from the 'Golden Earring' album for the North American version of 'Moontan'.

However, upon further review, the two tracks are not the same. The 1970 version clocks in at 6:11 and the 'Moontan' version is 8:15 and doesn't appear on the box set, not even on one of the bonus discs.

Is this a later recording from the 'Moontan' sessions? An alternate mix from the 'Golden Earring' sessions? Does anybody know more about this?

 

It’s a completely new recording with an extended flute section. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the album, and far better than the previous version in my opinion.

 

Still can't figure out why they were not bigger in the US than they were....oh well I still have a lot of their stuff.

 

They used to play in the US quite a bit back in the period between Radar Love and the Twilight Zone, I think back then they were part of the Leber Krebs or whatever they were called management group.
Usually as an opening act for Ted Nugent, Aerosmith etc. I saw them 4 or 5 times including some solo shows in clubs like the Agora and 3,000 or so seat theaters. From what I read somewhere a tour opening for Brownsville Station was a nightmare and the last straw for them touring the US.
Very unfortunate for US as they were always great. Sure wish they would come back sometime.
The box set though is absolutely essential. The gift that keeps on giving. The mastering is kind of all over the map but 90% or more of that box is going to be tough to find.

 

Well, when they did have a major breakthrough with the Moontan album in 1973, it wasn’t until 1975 until the next album, Switch, came out. It was too long between albums back then, and too different a direction. I love Switch...but it killed their momentum. So did To The Hilt...which I also love.

 

Stylistic changes work for some bands but not for others I guess,i have everything from Moontan to No Debts,after that I just didn't care for what they were doing.