Golden Earring have been a Dutch institution for much of their career, and with this album, it was arguably their break-out performance internationally.
Written by: gdmonline
ALBUM: Moontan
LABEL: Polydor (Netherlands), Track (UK)
SERIAL: 2925 017, 2406-112
YEAR: 1973
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: The Netherlands
LINEUP: Barry Hay – vocals, flute * George Kooymans – guitar * Rinus Gerritsen – bass, keyboards * Cesar Zuiderwijk – drums
Additional Musicians: Eelco Gelling – guitar * Bertus Borgers – saxophone * Patricia Paay – vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Candys Going Bad * 02 Are You Receiving Me * 03 Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock) * 04 Radar Love * 05 Just Like Vince Taylor * 06 Vanilla Queen
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Golden Earring were a Dutch institution for much of their career, and with this album, it was arguably their break-out performance internationally. Though GE toughened up their sound as they wound their way through the 70’s, you can still hear traces of their 60’s pop legacy still hanging on for dear life.
It’s represented in their writing style and guitar sound. Still ‘jangly’ and pop oriented, George Kooymans perhaps not yet having discovered the distortion pedal to fatten up his overall sound. That’s understandable, because ‘Moontan’ is the band’s ninth album, since first starting out in 1965 under the GE banner.
The Songs
The two songs that are well worn familiar tunes to most of us are the opener ‘Candy’s Going Bad’ and the fourth track ‘Radar Love’, both having being covered by many other artists over the years. I guess if that’s the ultimate form of flattery then I’m sure the band will take it any day of the week, so long as the royalties keep flowing in.
Those two iconic songs need no introduction really, I needn’t say anymore. ‘Are You Receiving Me’ is a throwback to Golden Earring’s 60’s origins, the brass work punctuating the song making it more of a pop excursion than hard rock. So too the twangy country-styled rock of ‘Suzy Lunacy’ which didn’t set my candle alight unfortunately.
‘Just Like Vince Taylor’ is a song which is a tribute to the former British rockabilly icon from the 60’s, the song itself close in style to The Rolling Stones. If you listen closely to the lyrics of ‘Vanilla Queen’, you’ll notice it could be about Marilyn Monroe, but according to Barry Hay, it’s not, despite the audio references contained within. It’s a softer ballad mostly coupled with poignant moments.
In Summary
Not surprisingly, the album went #1 in the Dutch homeland, while it made it to #12 in the US Billboard album charts. ‘Radar Love’ has been the most successful song for the band making it to #13 in the US singles charts, and there is evidence to support the fact that this song has been covered officially in over 300 different cover versions. As said before, the ultimate form of flattery.
The album would pave the way for several more incursions into the charts, with a flurry of album releases over the years. In fact as at 2012, Golden Earring have just released a new studio album, the tackily titled ‘Tits And Ass’, so all is going strong for this long serving iconic Dutch band it would seem.
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
