Golden Earring - Golden Earring (Remastered & Expanded) (1970/2026)

Founded in 1961 by George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen, Dutch rock band Golden Earring (or Golden Earrings, until 1969) started off as a beat band, experimented as a psychedelic quartet and finally became a heavy rock group. Their ninth album Moontan (1973) - including their classic track Radar Love - 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.

On The Double, Golden Earring(s)' very first double album, was released in April 1969, after the band had been working on it for about a year. The two records contain nineteen songs, each with its own style. From acoustic tracks like Angelina, Judy, and Murdock 9-6182 and the robust psychedelica of Backbiting Baby and Song of a Devil's Servant to the heavily orchestrated Just a Little Bit of Peace in My Heart, which was already released as a single in November 1968, reaching #2 in the Dutch Top 40. This song is now considered a bona fide Earring classic.

This expanded edition includes four bonus tracks: the single Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi Dong, with its B-side Wake Up-Breakfast, which gave the group its very first number one hit in July 1968. For the first time, the original stereo mixes of both tracks have been released. The single Where Will I Be, with the B-side It's Alright, But I Admit It Could Be Better, was recorded by the group in New York City in May 1969 and marked the very last recording the band made with drummer Jaap Eggermont.

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

"Golden Earring found the titular Dutch quartet forging the unique style that would later pay off in successful albums like Moontan and Cut. At this point, the group's sound is best described as post-psychedelic FM rock with a pronounced hard rock element (strong, gutsy guitar riffs about on this record – just check out "The Loner" or "Back Home"). A lot of the songs have the atmosphere and elaborate arrangements associated with prog rock, but the group keeps the arrangements and the running times tight (the album's lengthiest song is just a little over six minutes). The most overtly artsy track on the album is "Big Tree, Blue Sea," an energetic and complex rock tune that includes Jethro Tull-style flute and packs a dizzying array of tempo and stylistic changes into a tune only half as long as the average prog tune. Other highlights on Golden Earring include "This Is the Time of the Year," a song whose effect arrangement juxtaposes quiet verses with spare instrumentation with dramatic chorus powered by a powerful guitar riff and "Back Home," a solid example of the kind of good-time rocker that would dominate Golden Earring's late-'70s albums. The big problem for the group at this juncture is the lyrics: "I'm Gonna Send My Pigeons to the Sky" is an earnest but muddled stab at protest music whose lyrics fail to say much of anything and the powerful riffing of "The Loner" is undone by cartoonish, melodramatic lyrics. However, the strong music and the band's tight musicianship make up for this problem and Golden Earring remains a tight, tuneful effort that is well worth a listen for Golden Earring's fans."

Tracklist
01 Yellow And Blue (Remastered)
02 The Loner (Remastered)
03 This Is The Time Of The Year (Remastered)
04 Big Tree Blue Sea (Remastered)
05 The Wall Of Dolls (Remastered)
06 Back Home (Remastered)
07 See See (Remastered)
08 I'm Going To Send My Pigeons To The Sky (Remastered)
09 As Long As The Wind Blows (Remastered)
10 Back Home (US Single Version) (Remastered)
11 Holy Holy Life (Remastered)
12 Jessica (Remastered)