Golden Earring - Cut (1982) plus bonus singles

 (Netherlands 1961 - Present)

Best known in the U.S. for its hard rock material, Golden Earring has been the most popular homegrown band in the Netherlands since the mid-'60s, when they were primarily a pop group.

The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist George Kooymans and bassist/vocalist Rinus Gerritsen, then schoolboys, in 1961; several years and personnel shifts later, they had their first Dutch hit, "Please Go," and in 1968 hit the top of the Dutch charts for the first of many times with "Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong," a song that broadened their European appeal.

By 1969, the rest of the lineup had stabilized, with lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Barry Hay and drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk. They experimented with their style for several years before settling on straightforward hard rock initially much like that of the Who, who invited them to open their 1972 European tour. Golden Earring signed to the Who's Track label, which released a compilation of Dutch singles, Hearing Earring, helping the group break through in England.

Golden Earring in early 80's

1974's Moontan LP spawned the single "Radar Love," a Dutch number one, U.K. Top Ten, and U.S. number thirteen hit. The group toured America opening for the Doobie Brothers and Santana, but the lack of a follow-up ensured that their popularity remained short-lived in America, even though they remained a top draw in Europe over the rest of the 1970s. 

1982 saw a brief American comeback with the album Cut and the Top Ten single "Twilight Zone," but as before, Golden Earring could not sustain its momentum and faded away in the U.S. marketplace. All of Golden Earring's basic lineup has recorded as solo artists in Europe. "Radar Love" enjoyed a second round of popularity when pop-metal band White Lion covered the song in 1989.

The Album
Unfortunately, many people, including a good number in the rock and metal world have Golden Earring down for being one hit wonders. They only know “Radar Love.” While I never had them down for that, I didn’t realize that they have an extremely rich discography which I am salivating over having a listen to. Some will argue that they are two hit wonders because of the single from this album in 1983, “Twilight Zone.” Believe me, the “Cut” album alone is too good to dismiss Golden Earring as such.

Without any of the flowery wording, let’s just say that “Cut” is a very good hard rock album. One could go as far as to say that they are melodic hard rock in respect to the album. The horns in the opener, “The Devil Made Me Do It” remind me slightly of their all time classic but there is some good rock to be had. The next three tracks are all melodic hard rock tracks with “Baby Dynamite” being the best of them. “Lost and Found” is more of a straight forward rock tune with some decent harmonizing by the band. I think “Chargin’ Up My Batteries” influenced later new wave artists but I can’t quite put my finger on who would sound like the song and “Secrets” is just simply a good closer.

Normally, I get a little nervous when the hit single is the best track on the album. If you heard “Twilight Zone” back in the day, please forget the shortened down radio/MTV version. The proper version (the album version) is nearly eight minutes long and with some really cool long guitar solos. It makes a catchy radio oriented song that much better. Hey, there’s even a bass solo in it. A great song but while it is the best track on “Cut,” it doesn’t stand so far above the other tracks that it diminishes them. What this combo does is make the album that much better.[extract from 80smetalman.wordpress]

Although Cut is not Golden Earring's best album, it does feature the killer track "Twilight Zone" that resurged my interest in the band back in the 80's.  I was already a fan having grown up with "Radar Love", a regular on most radio stations, but it had been a long time between drinks.  Of course I bought the "Twilight Zone" single but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the album version was even better, when the owner of my favourite Import Shop in Melbourne played it for me. Needless to say, I walked out of the shop with Cut tucked safely under my arm and it's this vinyl, from which this post originates and still in its shrink wrap

Freshly ripped to FLAC and not a crackle to be heard, this post also includes full album artwork and label scans.  As a bonus, I am also including a rip of my Twilight Zone single, which also includes the
non-album B-side entitled "King Dark".  I have also managed to source another non-album B-Side called "Shadow Avenue" (the flip side to "The Devil Made Me Do It")

I plan to post a few more Golden Earring LP's in the near future, so stay tuned.

Tracklist

01 The Devil Made Me Do It 3:20

02 Future 5:20

03 Baby Dynamite 5:10

04 Last Of The Mohicans 4:40

05 Lost And Found 3:55

06 Twilight Zone 7:55

07 Chargin' Up My Batteries    4:15

08 Secrets 4:00

09    Twilight Zone (Bonus Single Version)   4:45

10    King Dark (Bonus B-Side Single)    3:29

11     Shadow Avenue (Bonus B-Side Single)   3:52

Golden Earring Are:

George Kooymans: Lead Guitar, Vocals

Barry Hay:  Vocals, Guitar

Rinus Gerritsem: Bass, Keyboards

Cesar Zuiderwuk:  Drums

Golden Earring Link (219Mb)