Customer Reviews

Continuing Story of Radar Love

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am very picky about my music, and Golden Earring is one of my "top five" bands. My only explanations of why they were never huge in the US, would be lack of exposure, and that they are not a top 40 "trendy" band. I really enjoy bands that can have multiple leads being played simultaniously, much like the self titled album by Blind Faith, or The Who's Quadraphenia album. Golden Earring has this talent, and they are great to listen to. I Personally do not think that they need a greatest hits album, as two of their original albums could be considered greatest hits albums.....those being "Moontan", and "Switch". If you like bands like Pink Floyd, Blind Faith, Cream, The Who, Jethro Tull, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, then you NEED some Golden Earring in your collection. You can find Moontan at a good record store on CD. I recently acquired Switch on CD, I had to have it imported from Russia. Their music is thought provoking and inventive, some of it is ingenious in its' simplistic, clean style. Radar Love is the worst song on the Moontan album, and it is the only song that most Americans are familiar with. To sum this review up, I would Recommend this album to anyone, but if you are like me, you would appreciate the original albums in addition to this one. Want to listen to something new, a fresh hard driving sound that puts you in that fully content listening zone? Check out Golden Earring.

An absolute fanatastic band, with a great sound. acoustic as well as electric. Songs as "she flies on strange wings" and "the devil made me do it" are GREAT. Golden earring is more much more than just "radar love" and "twilight zone"!!

This is probably one of the best "greatest hits" CD's that I own.
Growing up I of course remember hearing "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone" on the radio and grew to find that they have much more than that. I am incredibly surprised that Golden Earring weren't more popular here in the U.S.A. When I first picked this up on cassette back in the day I wore out 2 copies of it. I eventually got a CD copy of it and still can't stop listening to it. Just by listening to this so many times has persuaded me to buy all of their other music. Although this collection leaves off material from a few albums it doesn't really matter. They have enough material to make another collection of the songs they left off this one. I am hooked on several songs from this CD. Some of them being "Vanilla Queen", "Candy's Going Bad", "Ce Soir", "Clear Night Moonlight", "Mad Love's Coming" and "Leather". I am disappointed that their albums "Switch" and "Grab It For A Second" are not yet available on a CD. I still own both of those on vinyl. But all their other albums are available on CD. Some other very good albums by Golden Earring are "To The Hilt", "Cut", "No Promises No Debts" and "Prisoner Of The Night". Three of those four albums have songs that were not included on this collection. If you liked "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone" you gotta check out the "continuation".

Why the Golden Earring never had the big Breakthru in the rest of the world is a shame. They should have been one of the biggest bands in the world cause music doesn't get much better than this. They scored their first no 1 hit in Holland in 1965 and in 1999 they are still at the top with their new material. Their unplugged albums Naked truth and naked too are so good every music lover in the world should have them, and this album here is also one of the best.Though they had some hits all over the world they still haven't achieved to stay at the top, and don't ask me why cause I don't understand at all. In Holland they are the biggest band for almost 35 years already and I think they will at least be for the coming 10 years so the rest of the World: buy their stuff you won't be dissapointed. Maybe their big breakthru has yet to come, they deserve it.

Golden Earring is one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. Anyone that understands music beyond what is popular or on MTV and that has listened to Golden Earring knows what a great band this is. This CD set is limited and gives the listener the "radio hits" of a song's respective era. You haven't really listened to Golden Earring until you have turned up "Love is a Rodeo" or "Sue Leen" on your stereo.

I will never understand why this band did not take off in the USA. It baffles me. Their guitar playing and lyrics are excellent. Barry Hay is a vocalist who reminds me very often of Roger Waters, though Hay has actually been around a bit longer.

I would urge all people who are interested in Golden Earring to seek out their actual albums instead of some greatest hits "showcase" that could never do this band justice. Start with Moontan, of course. Then, in this order, get Switch, Seven Tears, To The Hilt, and then Contraband. After you have done that, feel free to peruse their other 30 or so albums that they have. That is right. They have released over 30 albums though most of them did not make it to the American shelves for any significant amount of time.

Golden Earring's music has that "driving" feel to it. It is very steady and has a pulse that throbs throughout the song. There is a lot of texture in their music that goes unnoticed by the average listener. Often, you have to listen to a song a few times to really hear the magic. If you have a pair of high quality headphones you will also come to appreciate the ultimate studio prowess of this band.

Please research this band and enjoy their music. The reason that I gave this album 4 stars is because the distributor has left out a wealth of Golden Earring's music that should have been included.

The Continuing Story of Radar Love is a 12-song hits collection from rock band Golden Earring, containing both the 70s rock staple "Radar Love" and the full eight-minute version of "Twilight Zone." These two songs are the most notable on this compilation and both cracked the Top 20, with "Radar Love" hitting number 13 in 1974 and "Twilight Zone" peaking at number ten nine years later. The other ten songs on the album consist of long, heavy guitar-filled runs that surround obscure lyrics, the best of which are "The Vanilla Queen" and "Mad Love's Comin."

TWILIGHT ZONEMany American music fans had forgotten about Golden Earring after "Radar Love," but the Dutch group hung around and remained popular around the world as it performed its mix of hard rock with other sounds and subsequently created many albums worth noting. Their consistent hard work paid off when the group released the major hit "Twilight Zone," a rocker that paired edgy lyrics to a hard-hitting, slick rock sound, not unlike the much newer song "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down. I guess you could say these guys had thirty minutes of fame, having had two big hits nine years apart. "Twilight Zone" seems to be a story about paranoia, desperation and betrayal. It paints a lonely portrait of "a double-crossed agent, all alone" who is trying to carry out a mission only to find himself betrayed at every turn: "Help, I'm stepping into the twilight zone/This is a madhouse/Feels like being cloned/My beacon's been moved under moon and star/Where am I to go now that I've gone too far?" The music replicates the angry tone of the lyrics by mixing certain melodies that build from a meditative mood to an angry boil with a swirling chorus that consistently shifts direction conveying the frenzied confusion of the agent. Golden Earring's recording of "Twilight Zone" is equal parts hard rock and heavy metal. Anchoring the song is George Kooymans' angry, somewhat bluesy guitar work in conjunction with pulsating synthesizer lines that add a futuristic mood to the recording. Drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk adds plenty of exciting percussive frills, providing a major contribution to the song's scorching instrumental break. Singer Barry Hay provides an exceptionally emotive performance with a gruff vocal that enhances the song's mixture of anger and paranoia. This is a thrilling rocker that became an major U.S. and international hit.

Hearing this collection of rock songs from the 70's and 80's, I think Golden Earring is a highly enjoyable and overlooked rock band. I always liked "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone" (the LONG versions of course!) I think it's strange how Golden Earring only had two bigs hits. One, a jazzy/hard rhythm rock song with cool drumming from the 70's that ALL the teens were rocking out to at the time, and a decade later they had another hit (a new-wave, and almost DANCE-like hit from the 80's). Weird how the same band had success with only two songs, and those two songs happened to be quite different from each other.

Hearing the music on this CD, I think Golden Earring has a few problems. When it comes down to it, however, those problems don't matter because this is just great rock and roll with touches of diversity and plenty of mood shifts in every song.

I like the direction this band took in the 80's. Instead of releasing generic hard rock music (which seemed inevitable since most hard rock bands were doing it) they instead went in the direction of creating catchy new-wave melodies. It was a great move I think.

Expect to hear a LOT of different touches of creativity on this CD. "The Vanilla Queen" has a few different parts, starting out with a psychedelic-like verse melody, then a soft Pink Floyd-like guitar solo follows, and then a brass instrumental bit to finish off the song. Cool song, probably my favorite on here. "Quiet Eyes" has a dark chorus, though a song like this might be too 80's-ish for some. "Lost And Found" has an excellent bouncy guitar riff, "The Devil Made Me Do It" is VERY catchy with a bit of jazz thrown in (but a song you will either love or hate) and "Leather" is a nice blues rocker, very much like Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way".

"She Flies On Strange Wings" begins with a very beautiful vocal melody (which appears again halfway through) "Mad Love's Comin" has GREAT vocals that might remind some of Duran Duran, and has a totally weird musical section at the end. I love how Golden Earring just throw in WEIRD things whenever they feel like it. It's one of those songs that builds and builds and keeps your interest the whole way... then suddenly, before it's over, something weird happens. I don't know what it is, but I like it. "Candy's Going Bad" might sound like early punk to some. It's catchy like punk music.

Matter of fact, I think you will find that every song has something strange and cool to keep your interest. You won't be able to predict how ANY of the songs go (except maybe "Quiet Eyes") because some musical idea will come along in every song and it will catch you off guard and make you go "whoa, that's neat!"

And the sound of this music is very very good. If you like the sound of 70's hard rock (Deep Purple for example) you'll like this.

I was, like most US music fans, only familiar with "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone", and I thought they were both great. I do remember owning "To the Hilt" when I was in high school in the 70s, but I don't remember the specific songs. I remember that I liked it, though.

I picked up this CD a few months ago on the strength of the 2 "hits". The more I listen, the more I like every song on here. Sometimes I love the sound of "Mad Love's Coming", and sometimes I'm really into "Candy's Gone Bad". "Ce Soir" was one of the weakest, I thought, but something about it resonates in my memory and I'll find myself popping this into the CD player just for that song. GE is a talented group musically, and their lyrics are thoughtful and intriguing. Not unlike a Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, or Thin Lizzy, and yet, not like them. They've got an artsy-sound at times, but some real pop hooks. If my review seems unclear, it's only because the music isn't easy to catigorize in a few short words. If you're looking for something different, keep an open mind and try this or their original "Moontan" CD. Don't be as close-minded as some people who think of them as "just another 2-hit wonder".

Great Album. 'Vanilla Queen' and 'She Flies on Strange Wings' would be just two of the best tracks. However where are they're earlier tracks? Like ..'Crusin' Southern Germany', 'Buddy Joe', 'From Heaven from hell' The albums 'Seven Tears' and 'Together' don't seem to be available on CD.

The Dutch band Golden Earring is known to most Americans only by their two big hits (in the USA) "Radar Love" (1974) and "Twilight Zone" (1983); a few may also be familiar with "Candy's Going Bad" and "Vanilla Queen." In other words, they only have two recognizable songs to most Americans, which explains the numerous complaints by reviewers here concerning the less-than-stellar material on this CD aside from the two familiar songs.

I say: The disk is worth purchasing just for "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone;" the CD is cheap and you get two of the greatest songs ever penned in the history of humanity! "Radar Love" is a powerful tune about the profound psycho-spiritual connection a man has with his babe; this is related as he's cruising down the highway. Unfortunately, it ends tragically. This number features a stand-out brief drum solo in the latter half of the song. "Radar Love" is so emotionally potent it gives ya friggin' goosebumps!

"Twilight Zone" is no less great. The song is, evidently, about a lonely, paranoid double-crossed agent who experiences betrayal at every turn. I can't relate to the lyrics but the song itself, and its execution, is nothing less than magnificent.

Once again, these are two of the best songs ever composed in the history of the world; for this fact alone there's no way I could give this disk less than 5/5 Stars.

Yet, there are a few other good tunes here as well, most notably "Candy's Going Bad," a potent piece about a girl falling into prostitution and her parents inevitable negative reaction. This is a great song, almost on the level of the two hits. "Candy's Going Bad" was redone by the Columbus, Ohio band The Godz in the later 70s, which is a heavy metal version of the song and even better than the original! If you've never heard The Godz' rendition of "Candy's Going bad" sell everything you have and get a hold of it! It was featured on their first album (circa 1977/78), which I don't think is available anymore. However, you'll find it on the release The Godz "Power Rock from the USA" (What horrible title!). Let me tell ya, in the late 70s The Godz were as hot as bands like Van Halen and Aerosmith in Ohio/Pennsylvania; it's a real mystery to me why they never really took off and became as universally popular as those bands, or at least as popular as lesser known bands from the era, like Scorpians, Accept or Judas Priest. But I digress...

There are a couple of other notable songs on this disk: "Vanilla Queen" and "She Flies on Strange Wings." These songs, and the others on the CD, have a weird & dated vibe, so I can see why some reviewers pan them. Still, I find the entire disk a pleasant listening experience. Like everyone else I bought the disk specifically for "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone" (and "Candy's Going Bad") but also occasionally enjoy digesting the other songs as well. They all pale by comparison, of course, but that's just the way it is.

One notable thing I love about Golden Earring is their larger-than-life bass playing. Their drumming is superb as well. I also like the fact that their songs all sound DIFFERENT; I hate it when you buy a CD and the songs are too samey-sounding (e.g. Evanescence).

Needless to say, "Radar Love," "Twilight Zone" and "Candy's Going Bad" are absolutely MANDATORY songs for EVERYONE, whatever your musical tastes. They're all available on this 'greatest hit's' disk.