Sunday, December 27, 2020

The Golden Earrings - Sound Of The Screaming Day (1968)

To close my short series on 70's Dutch rock bands we have perhaps the best-known band from Holland after Focus. Golden Earring formed in The Hague in 1961 as the Golden Earrings (the definite article was dropped in 1967, while the 's' was dropped in 1969), and achieved worldwide fame with their international hit 'Radar Love' in 1973, reaching the top ten in the UK. But it had been a long journey to reach those heights, releasing numerous singles during the previous eight years, to little acclaim outside their native country. The Golden Earrings were formed by 13-year-old George Kooymans and his 15-year-old neighbour Rinus Gerritsen, and were originally called The Tornados, until they realised that the name was already taken by the 'Telstar' hitmakers, and so it was changed to the The Golden Earrings. Initially a pop-rock band with Frans Krassenburg on lead vocals and Jaap Eggermont on drums, they had chart success in Holland with their debut single 'Please Go', recorded in 1965, and following a change of recording venue to the Pye Records studios in London, they hit number 2 in the Dutch charts with 'That Day'. In 1967, Barry Hay replaced Krassenburg as lead vocalist, and the classic Earring line-up was in place. By 1968 their pop-rock sound had progressed to full-blown psychedelia, with the release of their 'Eight Miles High' album, featuring an 18-minute version of the title track, but this post examines the lead-up to that new direction, with all their non-album singles and b-sides, from that debut in 1965, to the first blossomings of psyche on 'Sound Of The Screaming Day' in 1967. As a bizarre interlude it also includes their version of the Coca Cola jingle 'Things Go Better', and it's similarly themed b-side, but they give it a professional make-over so it stays on the album.  



Track listing

01 Chunk Of Steel (b-side of 'Let's Go' 1965)
02 That Day (single 1966)
03 The Words I Need (b-side of 'That Day')
04 If You Leave Me (single 1966)
05 Waiting For You (b-side of 'If You Leave Me')
06 Daddy Buy Me A Girl (single 1966)
07 What You Gonna Tell (b-side of 'Daddy Buy Me A Girl')
08 Don't Run Too Far (single 1966)
09 Wings (b-side of 'Don't Run Too Far')
10 Things Go Better (single 1966)
11 Rum & Coca Cola (b-side of 'Things Go Better')
12 Sound Of The Screaming Day (single 1967)
13 She Won't Come To Me (b-side of 'Sound Of The Screaming Day')
14 Together We Live, Together We Love (single 1967)
15 I Wonder/Preview Together We Live And Love (b-side of 'Together We Live, Together We Love')
16 Remember My Friend (b-side of 'Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart') 


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5 comments:

  1. PaulMay 31, 2019 at 11:55 AM

    I would argue Golden Earring and Shocking Blue are the two most famous Dutch bands outside of the Netherlands. I don't think Focus is as well known.

    Also, nice cover! It looks exactly like the albums of the time.

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  2. pjMay 31, 2019 at 12:04 PM

    In the UK Focus were one of the biggest prog-rock bands of the early 70's, whereas Golden Earring didn't hit it big here until 'Radar Love' in 1973. Not sure if it was the other way round in the US, but it sounds like it might have been. Similarly with Shocking Blue, who had just the one top 40 hit in the UK with 'Venus', and yet were massive in other countries like France and Belgium.

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  3. PaulMay 31, 2019 at 12:53 PM

    Yeah, I'm looking at this from a US perspective. Over here, Focus is really only known for one hit, "Hocus Ponus." Shocking Blue is also pretty much known for just one hit, "Venus," but it was a massive hit (which keeps getting covered). And over the decades they've grown in stature for their other songs, for instance Nirvana covering one of their songs, while Focus has stayed obscure.

    Golden Earring, by contrast, is known almost entirely for two hits, "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone." But both of those were really big and still get played a lot.

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  4. MJConroyAugust 10, 2019 at 4:51 PM

    The album cover is from then - it is the cover of their 1st release in the U.S (but their 2nd album back home!)

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  5. retteketedAugust 25, 2019 at 7:04 PM

    The Biggest raritie from The Golden Earrings is " Not To Find " ( b - side from the rejected second single " Lonely Every Day (1965) )
    The best band from The Netherlands ( IMHO ) is Brainbox featuring Jan Akkerman and Kaz Lux .

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