Customer Reviews

Eight Miles High

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

 

 

One of my favorite things about Golden Earring is how, in the 70's at least, they were one of the best examples of a hard rock band experimening with some of the most bizarre sound effects and other musical ideas, and because the band was really talented, they were able to put those experiments to good use at least 99% of the time, such as at the very end of "Candy's Gone Bad" with the piano and drum work, which is *excellent*.

On Eight Miles High, one of their earliest albums, you're not getting nearly as much experimenting as you'd hope, that is, assuming you went into this album under the same assumption I did- that being their willingness to throw in some of the most highly unusual sounds and combining them with their distinctive rock style, giving listeners really fascinating results. Sadly, this album avoids that special high mark of creativity.

Instead, Eight Miles High is a pretty ordinary rock album, and dare I say, even derivative of the Jimi Hendrix and Santana camp for the most part.

This version of "Eight Miles High" is 20 minutes long, and though it has its moments with the occasional catchy guitar riffs giving the jam a few bursts of energy from time to time, the fact remains the Byrds version is without a doubt the superior song. This version would sort of be like Grand Funk Railroad attempting the same thing. I love GFR, but they were no jam band. Some good guitar solos, riffs, and songwriting aside, but certainly no JAM band.

The same can be said for Golden Earring, at least for this outing. Underwhelming.

However, none of this changes the fact Golden Earring is quite possibly one of the most underrated rock bands from the 70's. Their ability to experiment cannot be denied, and it's a total shame it HAS been denied for as long as it has, as radio stations continue to torture us with "Radar Love" 20 times a day (a song I love by the way, but surely it's not the best song the band ever made).

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with this album. Besides the almost twenty minute long cover of The Byrd's Eight Miles High, "Landing" and "One Huge Road are great songs with some nice rocking out on the guitar, and "My Everyday's Torture" is slower and moody, but still good. "Song Of A Devil's Servant" is the low point of the album. This album has a more basic "American" feel to it. Too bad there's only a few songs, since "Eight Miles High" took up so much space.

So I started out with Golden Earring's "The Devil Made Me Do It", an extensive collection of some of their greatest hits. If you only listen to that CD or just know Radar Love or Twilight Zone, then you would never know that this amazing music exists. Its experimental to say the least. The instrumentals are by far the highlight of this CD. There is extensive soloing on their cover of the Byrd's "Eight Miles High". The best songs on the CD are Eight Miles High, Everyday's Torture, and Song of the Devil Serpant. If you want to hear some of the best instrumental stuff out there, then I recommomend this CD.

as far as i'm concerned,this was the beginning of the majesty of golden earring,and not a bad start at that!!.best songs are "everyday's torture","one huge road" and "landing".they are uriah heep-ish and i can see where the heep comparisons started at,on this album only in my opinion.they would branch out by next album (my personal favorite)called "golden earring" and subsequent albums would get better and better until a grinding halt on "no promises,no debts"(one of the worst albums i've ever heard).

I'm not a Golden Earring fan, but I am a Byrd's fan. So I was intrigued about GE covering 8 Miles High with a 19 minute version. GE does a nice job with it. They add a few extra lyrics but nothing damaging to the song. The cd only has five tracks, and frankly, the other four aren't bad. If you like the Byrds this CD is worth the cost, as is the Husker Du ep with a punk version of 8 Miles High.
Also, check out the Byrds 16 minute version on "Untitled:

After years of pop and Dutch bubblegum,GE tried something
else which would be the beginning of the Moontan era(which
would arrive 4 years(ca. 3 records later)).This is a humble beginning and for completists only.The Byrds*Eight miles
High* 19 min.long is pretty good.

Golden Earring (or Earrings as they used to be known) is without a doubt the Flagship of Dutch pop music and is still going strong today. This album is however one of their weaker efforts, which can't be saved by the (famous) title track (originally by the Byrds) which used to be a big live favourite for the Earring.
If you're new to the Earring you'd be better of with the 2CD (or the 4CD boxed set of ) 'The Devil Made Us Do It'.

I wanted very badly to like this disc but alas after 6 months
I have to say that it is difficult to listen to with one exception which is 'One Huge Road'. So, I have to agree that it is for completionists and the very curious. The 'Golden Earring' disc is a much more satisfying place to start for me although historically eight miles high did bring them much notoriety. The song Eight Miles High is like a great garage band going on too long for my taste.

The 19 minute version of 8 Miles High is worth the price of the album alone! The rest of the album is all right, but sounds a bit dated. Kick back, put on the headphones, fast forward to 8 Miles High, and Enjoy!