Customer Reviews

Paradise in Distress

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the latest CD of one of the greatest rockbands in the world. Barry Hay, Cesar Zuiderwijk (one of the worlds finest drummer), Rinus Gerritsen & George Kooymans, they know how to rock, they know how to blow your ears from your head, and to build a party with the audience. Electrical & Acoustic. I've seen them a couple of times live here in the Netherlands (yes, they are still touring), and if you want to hear quality and years of experience in music, for heaven sake, BUY THIS ONE !!!

Otherwise it will be Paradise in distress.

BTW. This CD is dedicated to one of the finest rock-DJ, the Netherlands ever had, Alfred (Big Bad Al) Lagarde.

I just got this & it is by far the best album that Golden Earring has ever made. The songs are absolutely amazing. Dutch author Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema had a hand in writing 6 of the tunes & that appeared to have really rejuvinated the band.

If you are a Golden Earring fan, you know the story. These guys know how to rock. They always followed the music trends, although not so closely to be hugely popular in America. If you like Blue Oyster Cult, and Rush, then this is the album for you.

this is absolutely my favorite golden earring record. layer, upon layer of sound that is always fresh. moontan is still better song for song but, this is nearly twice as long. the title track is their best song since radar love. evil love chain, the fighter, one night without you, dejavodoo, bad news to fall in love, all great songs. finishes strong with desperately trying to be different, and gambler's blues. one more thing. this is a great concept album. the best since the who's quadrophenia. they sound as if they had a blast making this. buy it and enjoy

Golden Earring just keeps on coming and coming.Thank you for that.I do not know any other band that has been so consistent.
I have followed this band since I saw them opening for King Crimson in 73.Ehh I guess I should say something about the music here.It is classic GE with 2 wordsmiths(Hay and Roelfzema)and Kooymans ripping great catchy melodies.Rinus and Cesar are all over the place(in a good way),there is horns galore, soul back-up
singers and me on the couch loving every minute of it

Golden Earring has been my favorite rock band since I bought Moontan in 1973. I have gobbled up anything I could find since. While this latest release has grown on me, i admit it is not my favorite. So what! it is still a great disc and has some new sounds. My favorite track is probably desperately trying to be different. One complaint I have frrom this and the much superior Bloody Buccaneers Cd is that it's recorded at too high a level. It blasts at only 9 o'clock on the volume, and I have a expensive system

Ever since I bought the 'Moontan' album in 1974, it has been the standard that all other Golden Earring albums have been judged against. Though some others were nearly as good, none had surpassed it in my opinion. UNTIL NOW!!!
'Paradise in Distress' isn't as flawless as Moontan was, but all in all it is a superior album. The whole concept of the album is wonderfully explored in the diverse lyrical and musical styles that the disk presents - from the tongue-in-cheek gospel of the title song to the dingy streetwise world of '42nd street' to the desperate cravings of 'Evil Love Chain', this disk is a roller coaster ride of musical poetry.
'One Night Without You', 'Bad News to Fall in Love', 'Whisper in a Crowd', and 'Desperately Trying to be Different', in addition to the tracks mentioned earler, are all standouts, but just about every song on here is worthy of many listenings (with the possible exception of 'Deja Voodoo'.
Golden Earring has put out a lot of great music in their long career, much of which was ignored by the public and the press. The sad part is that this, too, never was a blip on the radar (Love?) here in America. What a pity. Either way, if you're reading these reviews, my advice is to give this disk a few spins. You'll be hooked!

Basically, Paradise In Distress is full of either mediocre songs or songs that are fantastic when performed live. There's a lot to listen to here, but most of it is pretty luke warm. I prefer Last Blast Of The Century because it contains version of some PID songs that blow the studio versions out of the water. Let's look at some of the tracks:

Evil Love Chain-the studio version falls flat. The Last Blast version ROCKS-it blows the studio version out of the water. I much prefer the sound of the guitar and the horns on the Last Blast version.

Paradise In Distress-a great song, but I think I slightly prefer the Last Blast version.

Deja Voodoo-not worth listening to at all. Worthless. One of their worst songs in my opinion.

Bad News To Fall In (With A Mean Mother F**ker)-a pretty good song that's not available on any live albums

Whisper In A Crowd-a great song, that's pretty much equal in quality with The Last Blast version (although I think that version once again gets a slight edge)

Desperately Trying To Be Different-this one does absolutely nothing for me.

The Fighter-The Last Blast version is much better

The Apocalypse, Darling, Fluid Conduction, and 42nd Street are all either avarega or luke warm. Take My Hand, Close My Eyes and One Night Without You I never listen to, even on Last Blast Of The Century.

Overall, there are some good songs here, but there are more average or poor tracks to be found here than there are great. The title track and Whisper In A Crowd are hands down the highlights here, but I give the slight edge to the Last Blast versions. I think you'll find that many of the songs are better on Last Blast Of The Century. Golden Earring is better live than in the studio and this album proves it.

I recommend the following GE albums:

Last Blast Of The Century
Bloody Buccaners
The Continuing Story Of Radar Love
Naked III (their new acoustic album)
Millbrook USA
NEWS(espescially if you're into 80's music like me)
Together

and if you're interested in 60's music (I'm not, personally), On The Double is their best of the decade