MOONTAN

We've got this thing...

Most people know Golden Earring for their big hit Radar Love made popular from everything from huge amounts of airplay to appearances on The Simpsons and the like. Of course the band had many, many songs beyond that, despite how many people actually knew this fact, Moontan is their 9th album as they were founded sometime in the early 60s. The album itself has far better moments than just this one song as well, and people who are familiar with it often call it the band's most progressive album. Looking at the track listing that ProgArchives has for the album it's pretty easy to see that the American version of the album is completely different than other versions of the album. But it's impressive none the less.

Playing an excellent mixture of progressive rock and pure classic hard rock, this album can really catch your ear off first listen. Of course it opens with the hit tune, Radar Love, the pounding mini-opus with a driving bass and emotional voicing - and if you've only ever heard parts of this song and think it's a simple pop song do yourself a favor and really listen to it the first time you listen to this disc in its entirety, because it is very impressive in its whole form. Other songs on the first side prove to be just as impressive, and hey, there's only two of them. Candy's Going Bad is probably the most simple composition on the album, but it's still a good, lengthy hard rocker with an interesting story attached to it that makes it a worthy addition to the album. However, this is just where the album starts getting good, as from here on out no song will dip down bellow 8-minutes. Vanilla Queen is the next on the bill and it starts with a good 2-minutes of spaced out intro before it actually moves into the more hard rocking aspects. It falls back into a trance-like state just over the half way point and then takes a turn for the psychedelic once more as it moves into the brass and instrumental sections of the song.

And yet, the best is still to come as we move into the second side of the album. Big Tree, Blue Sea is disturbingly absent from the non-American version of the album, which is a shame, because this is likely the album's best individual song. Folk influences are abound in melody, but also in that Jethro Tull-like flute that's used throughout. Sweeping keyboards give a typically progressive sound to the album as well as it moves through some moments that could have been taken strait from Genesis's Trespass in their haunting tranquility, before moving back into moments of pure hard rock. An excellent number that does justice to owning one half of the second side. Are You Receiving Me is the final track by the American listing and also the longest. This one is powered by a Captain Beyond-like guitar riff and some excellent percussion, once again it moves through several moods, speeds and tones without ever slowing down the momentum of the track. This pulls together the final track of the album and makes for a satisfying finish.

If you've ever wondered about the reason for including Golden Earring on the Archives this album is probably not the only reason, but it serves as a great example. Multiple instrumental passages, complex arrangements, lengthy tunes, changes in speed and tone throughout each song - all the elements are there, and it even includes things like keyboards, flutes and brass instruments just to keep the people happy. Everything comes together so very well, and based on this one album it's actually a little difficult to see why the band wasn't added earlier.

All that aside, this is certainly an album worth getting. Any progressive fan will be able to appreciate this album to a very large degree, and if you're going to be getting further into the band this is probably the best way to start. In terms of 'progressive-ness' this one ranks among the classics, and in terms of quality it does just the same. 4 stars out of 5 for a very impressive album that's worth repeated listens. Make sure you check it out, because it's certainly worth the investment.

To most of the people who've heard of GE outside The Netherlands, this is probably through this album, but not under this wild cover. Returning to a more GE style (as in Seven Tears instead of Together), the group really put all of the chances behind them, and even used of nudity in that gothic cabaret dancer. Needless to say the artwork did not cross the borders easily (especially the WASP borders), but when it didn't, publicity stunts were managed and a different cover was used (one of an earring hanging from an ear), but the GE name made headlines, followed by an unlikely international hit called Radar Love. While the album named Moontan appeared more or less at the same time in the western world, it presented different track lists in different countries, some even boasting the oldie (but goodie) Big Tree, Blue Sea (from Walls of Dolls) to make this discovery album even stronger, but I will speak of the Dutch release.

As rapidly mentioned above GE returned to longer tracks, since it allowed them to exploit their real tightness and some really fine instrumental interplay and there are a couple beauties here, namely the 9-mins+ Are You Receiving Me?, where Barry Hay blows some real fine winds (his sax tone is slightly reminiscent of VdGG's Jaxon) and even a good accordion break while later Kooymans rips a mean solo, and Rinus' bass rules underneath it all. Another huge success is the strange and stuffed Vanilla Queen (the dancer on the sleeve?) with its weird synth slowly climbing up and down the sound barrier, while the middle section (with Kooymans' solo) is yet another beauty (GE was on top of its game), before veering downright odd with these female interventions and bringing back the music with distant strings and brass section to cap it all off. Very impressive, these guys outdid Alquin, E&F and came close to master like Focus and Finch or even Supersister.

OK, you've all heard the excellent driving anthem radar love, so I won't spend anymore time on it, except to tell you that drummer Cesar jumped from behind his kit over it to land in front during this track in concert, and while I don't think he still does in his late 50, this was one of those rare stunts that only Iggy Pop could've bettered. The rest of the album is generally good but lacks the spectacular aspects of these three tracks, although the US copies remedies to this by including Big Tree, Blue Sea, thus making the album a killer. But the original version of this album is a tad less brilliant but remains a must for 70's prog fans.

Moontan is largely considered to be the peak of the EARRINGS career and probably the most progressive album they recorded.

This can be attributed in the first place to three phenomenal extended heavy-prog songs: big hit Radar Love with its irresistable hook, wonderful multi-part composition Are You Receiving Me with its epic structure and some really nice jazzy sax soli and the symphonic sounding Vanilla Queen. I am especially attached to the second one, whose main theme with chorus contains a memorable riff that was used as a soundtrack on a TV sport show (Sportski pregled) in former Yugoslavia in my youth. Candy's Going Bad starts as an excellent arena-rock arouser while in the second part it melts into an instrumental prog ambience. Vince Taylor is an average rock tune which proved later to be one of their strongest live acts.

The only really negligable track is Suzy Lunacy, without which I might consider giving the all 5 stars rating. This review relates to the original Dutch release with above mentioned 6 tracks.

Everything considered, Moontan is a very good album that I can recommend to all prog lovers and especially to those who like hard rocking of the classic rock period. Not a full masterpiece but its best moments still sound today as fresh as before.

PERSONAL RATING: 4/5

P.A. RATING: 4/5

This was the first GE album I came in contact with back then. And it was quite a shock, I must say.

Some legendary tracks are featured here, and this album will be the showcase for their great live performances. From basic pop songs in their early days, the band has now evolved into a great hard- rock style tinted with special prog flavours (keys, flute, sax).

This album in a pure enchantment from start to finish. The catchy opening track ''Candy's Going Bad'' is a dual song: nicely rocking during the first half, it turns out into a psyche tune which holds a lot from the early Floyd. No more, no less.

The album goes on with the long ''Are You Receiving Me'', which is somewhat similar in structure. Barry Hay shows his musician facet perfectly during his sax parts. Maybe that this track is a bit over- extended, but again, it indicates that this band is much more than just a hard-rock band (this aspect is much more prominent during their live sets).

''Suzy Lunacy'' is probably not the best song from this work: a pleasant and straight pop-rock song. Still, the musical arrangement are above average.

What's coming next is absolutely brilliant. The whole of the original B-side, I mean. To have imposed the long ''Radar Love'' as a single (with no edits) was probably not evident in those days. Over six minutes of wild, yet beautiful hard-rock music. A musical delight, even after 35 years.

The band gets back to easier stuff with the revival ''Just Like Vince Taylor''. A nice homage to this rock'n'roll man.

The conclusion of this album couldn't have been better. Another long song which is IMHHO one of the best that they have ever written. Hypnotic theme, wild beat at times, infectious intro, passionate vocals, catchy chorus. The recurrent intro is absolutely splendid.

In the same way that Led Zep could do, the song evolves into some sweeter acoustic passages and builds up crescendo into another formidable instrumental part. A fantastic song indeed.

Five stars for this great rock album (but I'm biased, I confess).

Moontan is without question one of the progressive highlights of the 70's decade. An emphatic studio release with it's own identity in terms of sound. Golden Earring could not have gone higher than with Moontan. A mix of hard rock, psychedelia and straightforward pop makes for a highly satisfying listening experience.

Notably the world famous Radar Love stands out likea homing beacon ( excuse the pun) as far as commercial success goes,let's be honest, there are very few ' foot tapping' rock songs that can come close to being so effective in getting you up and groovin. There a not many people who have not heard this song before .It is so far reaching in popularity even almost forty years on. ' Candy's Going Bad' makes for a great opening song again pointing at one of GE's strengths namely the vocal department. ' Are You receiving Me' and 'Suzy Lunacy' are next and provide a great mix of good old fashioned rock and pop psychedlia. The highlights after the groundbreaking ' Radar Love' though has to be the closer ' Vanilla Queen' which to this listener marked one of the highest points musically for this band.

In summary this was a landmark release, musically, lyrically and vocally very much on top of it's game. An essential album for anybody seeking out those epic releases from way back when.Golden Earring managed to release at least one masterpiece.

3,5 realy

Moontan is considered the most acomplished GE album from their career, both musicaly and comercialy. Most of the listners, the ones not so familiar with GE catalogue overall and for those who progressive rock is a daylife style, consider this album a milestone of the ,70 music. To some point I,m agree, is one of the best , if not the best they ever done but I,m still more attracted to Walls of dolls then on this one, but this is seconded for sure in many ways. Despite the comercial succes of the album, to me they manage to become realy great on only couple of pieces like on The Vanilla Queen, without hesitation the best piece of the album and the most proggiers they ever done and Radar love, a hit that make them giants in thst period, the rst of the tracks are ok g good for sure, but they have that mainstream and accesible attitude, a thing that was not available on their selftitled album from 1970 aka walls of dolls. This album besides a very strong cover art is not in particular very exciting overall release, realy why is considered better then Together or Wall os dolls. Besides the good rocking tunes like Are You Receiving Me and Suzy lunacy, not mentioning here the last tune The vanilla queen, this album is fairly ok and nothing more, I think is little over rated IMO. Sometimes this album in manner of composing and atmosphere is similar with second album of Capability Brown (the one with red zipper lips on front cover) if any of you know this band, and I know some of you do, that mid comercial prog rock with catchy rock songs and energic moments. So, while is a good album to my ears, Moontan always remains a hit and miss album for me, and I,m not going witht he crowd and saying that is a masterpiece or something alike, is a fairly good album for sure with at least couple of songs being great, one of then a prog gem The vanillan queen and the other Radar love as major hit, the rest are nothing more then ok tunes.

Radar Love... and the rest!

"Moontan" is the best album from Golden earring featuring their most famous compositions especially th song that appears on countless rock compilations, 'Radar Love'. The guitar riffing and grooving rhythm is one of the most recognised rock anthems in the history of rock.

On this, their 9th album, there is a psychedelic heaviness in Golden Earring's music and all is enhanced by the lead vocals of multi instrumentalist Barry Hay who plays flute, sax and guitar. George Kooymans, is the main guitarist for the band. Rinus Gerritsen is on bass, and Keyboards to ensure the sound is always motoring along on a hook, and he is helped by the wonderful drumming of Cesar Zuiderwijk. Golden Earring certainly had a winner on their hands with this lineup and this album. In fact this is the one album that catapulted the band to worldwide success, and they were a one hit wonder in most countries, despite releasing many albums after "Moontan".

There are great songs on "Moontan". 'Candy's Going Bad' is a terrific opener with superb riffing and vocals. 'Are You Receiving Me' and 'Suzy Lunacy' are psychedelic and heavy, and then there is the extended version of 'Radar Love' which is far superior to the radio edit, with an extended guitar solo and that awesome pumping bassline. 'The Vanilla Queen' closes the album on a high note which is the proggiest song on the album and one of the most famous for the band and a live favourite.

To conclude, the album "Moontan" was a milestone for the band and still stands the test of time in being one of the greatest rock albums of the 70s.

This thing is not just ''Radar Love''.

Many newcomers to the band have heard the driving guitar proto-metal song ''Radar Love'', which laces itself with horns and synths halfway through, as their first Golden Earring tune. I happen to know longer a song they did in the 80's called ''Twilight Zone'', but then I heard ''Radar Love'', got turned on to this album and became hooked on the rest.

I practically know the entirely of MOONTAN from memory/by heart, so that means something in my variably expanding music collection. That instantaneous quality that good hard rock can give its listeners is right here, but there are plenty of eccentricities and depths to the tunes to the point where it bends backwards right into prog rock. Even if we get a boogie shuffle in ''Suzy Lunacy'' and a nod to the Rolling Stones in ''Just Like Vince Taylor''.

''Radar Love'' and ''Candy's Going Bad'' are the face-pounding hard rock tracks that give the album its edge; I already discussed ''Radar Love'', but ''Candy's Going Bad'' functions in similar terms excepting the last few minutes which diverge on a jazzy groove. The prog in the mix are the two nine minute excursions, and both deliver in both prog rock and hard rock. Both epics get strong when the instrumental sections are laid out, even if not much solo-y stuff is happen. Climaticizing these epics is crucial, and Golden Earring more than deliver especially on the sax-driven rising climax of ''Are You Receiving Me'', the overall best track on the album.

Those with the North American version are lucky enough to get a proggier version of MOONTAN, opting to extend an earlier epic ''Big Tree, Blue Sea'' (heavy Jethro Tull influence here) in favour of the two four minute songs. In either case, if you need a great album in the ''Prog Related'' section, get MOONTAN. The quality of the songs far surpasses my usual expectations of prog rock to the point where it's a firm essential.

This album from Golden Earring has many enjoyable elements that would appeal to lovers of progressive rock. It also has many moments that won't. I like several moments here (and two songs), but I'm not convinced that this is a prog-related masterpiece.

"Candy's Going Bad" Wah pedal, organ, and energetic vocals give a hard rocking performance. The ending features a groove of guitar harmonics, piano, and eerie sounds.

"Are You Receiving Me" Psychedelic guitar leads into a thudding bass and drum riff that sits underneath a solid vocal harmony. The brass and vocals are powerful, but the interlude is especially cool. Golden Earring has a solid bass player, and that comes into play in the middle of the track, which features bizarre guitar and light cymbal work. The saxophone is a great addition here.

"Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock)" This is a typical blues rock tune, like what ELP would interject into their albums.

"Radar Love" My favorite song from Golden Earring is admittedly such because of FM radio. It's a great song with vocals that are just so much fun to sing along to on the road with a gripping little bass line. I love the shuffling drums, the thudding bass, the bluesy guitar leads, the soulful vocals, and the wonderful interlude. Had a lot of fun with this one on the road.

"Just Like Vince Taylor" A 1950s rocker, this may make one do the twist despite the Elvis similarities revolving around a tragic death.

"The Vanilla Queen" This last song is somewhat psychedelic, but mostly another straightforward rocker. It features a swell twelve-string guitar interlude. The lead guitar is high and up there. There is a bizarre middle section, with vocal strangeness all about. A bass and guitar comes in after. The final section is the most progressive element of the album, and perhaps the most appealing..

There are(at least) two versions of Moontan. The later UK version has the tracks listed here. The original UK version (which I own, having bought it on the day it was released!) has the track order 1 Radar Love 2 Candy's Going Bad 3 Vanilla Queen 4 Big Tree Blue Sea 5 Are You Receiving Me. It omits by far the two worst tracks and adds a killer progressive track, so is far superior in my view. The cover (which shows a very scantily clad woman) caused outrage in the US (especially the Bible Belt) when initially released and was changed on later versions to one with a golden earring - whether they changed the inside (which shows a completely naked rear view of singer Barry Hay!) I know not, but I suspect that would have been even more outrageous to the righteous ones.

The album kicks off with Radar Love, a track that is a standard rocker but a classic and one of the best driving songs ever. Candy's Going Bad is also straight rock, about a middle class girl who turns to prostitution, to the horror of her parents. Then things get really interesting. Vanilla Queen is a wonderful track with a steadily building mood over a simple synth pattern - the cover art reflects the theme of the woman in question. There is an eerie middle section with wierd voices and sound effects which is very Floydian before the track builds back up, starting with acoustic guitar and introducing bass and the other instruments one at a time to a fade out with a string section. An amazing track.

The second side is two long, quite complex songs which have strong progressive elements and incorporate plenty of Barry Hay's excellent flute playing and sax by Bertus Borgers.

The musicianship and vocals are exemplary throughout, slide guitarist Eelco Gelling guesting on several tracks to back George Kooymans. The material is consistently strong and every track is a delight. Whilst not prog in the sense of Foxtrot or Close to the Edge, this has easily enough progressive elements to merit inclusion here, but it may be the only album of Golden Earring's that really does. As a rock album, it's a 5* masterpiece and essential to any serious music collection, but doesn't quite make that grade as a prog album, so only 4*. The later release with the tracks listed on this site would only be 3*, so hunt down one of the original vinyls at all costs. And get one with the original cover artwork too!

It's hard to believe that some bands have been around since the beginning of time, well rock 'n' roll time that is. GOLDEN EARRING is one of those bands who have literally been cranking out albums since the days when The Beatles were launching the British invasion to the Americas and they are still kicking around well into the 21st century albeit slowing down on their prolific discography. The band actually formed way back in 1961 in The Hague, Netherlands as The Tornados but soon changed to The Golden Earrings due to the former already being taken. 'The' was dropped in 67 and the plural 's' went bye-bye in 69. As you can imagine with a band's lifespan lasting over a half a century that the lineup would change significantly but vocalist / guitarist George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen who handles bass and keys have been around for the entire GOLDEN EARRING ride through the decades, centuries and yes even millennia!

While new bands were springing up by the second in the early 70s, by the time 1973 came around GOLDEN EARRING were releasing their 9th studio album MOONTAN which just so happens to be their most successful and most praised of their entire career worldwide although they were quite popular in their native Netherlands scoring an impressive amount of hits. While i'm not an expert in the GOLDEN one's discography i have heard a sampling of the singles and MOONTAN seems pretty much like business as usual for the group. Basically GOLDEN EARRING was the Dutch answer to the Rolling Stones and MOONTAN displays these hero worship tendencies perfectly right from the get go with the bluesy rocker 'Candy's Going Bad' that could easily pass as a B-side Stones track back in the day when the English music scene was hot and indubitably impacted their European neighbors to the east. Also obvious in the influence department from time to time is The Who, most clearly heard on the 'Just Like Vince Taylor' track.

Personally i find GOLDEN EARRING to be a somewhat mediocre band of only marginal interest. Everything i've heard from them (with a few exceptions) is quite derivative of the British invasion scene (Stones,Beatles, Who, Kinks) and you'd be hard pressed to even know they were Dutch unless you knew their history. So what in the world makes MOONTAN such the wonderful and the most celebrated album of their career? Well, standing tall above and beyond the call of duty are two tracks that are absolutely phenomenal and i'm sure any homo sapien who has listened to classic rock radio stations will recognize at least one of these tracks instantly. I'm talking, of course, about 'Radar Love' (can't help but hear the bass line when you read this, can you? :P) This of course was their hugest of hits charting in many countries worldwide and has even been covered a gazillion times by bands like U2, Sun City Girls, White Lion and even Def Leppard! OMG :o 'Radar Love' was their turning point when they finally learned how to tell a story with a clever bass line that was backed up by interesting musical interplay and brilliant with all kinds of twists and turns that make the track dance circles around the surrounding tracks.

The other outstanding track on MOONTAN is 'Vanilla Queen' with utterly brilliant oscillating synthesizer intro that was new wave before the term ever entered the vernacular and creates one of the most addictive melodies of their entire career and thus is my absolute favorite Golden Earring track EVERRRRRRR!!!!!! The new wave cedes into a rockin' chorus, an acoustic guitar segment and then delves into a satisfying symphonic rocker building up the tension until it crescendoes lasting a satisfying 9 minutes and 20 seconds. Every time i listen to this album i always want the album to be as good as these two tracks. Everything else just seems so uninspired compared to these gems of rock history. It doesn't help that 'Radar Love' has been played TO DEATH on the radio! It's almost like they've never recorded any other single. Personally i find this album overrated and don't enjoy listening to it. Unfortunately GOLDEN EARRING's most raved about album and my experience with their singles doesn't invite me to explore their music more. However, the two best tracks on here are brilliant but can be found on any greatest hits packages as well. Two brilliant classic tracks, many decent but uninspiring tracks. For me NOT worthy of being listed as #32 in Q & Mojo's '40 Cosmic Rock Albums' of all time. Get the greatest hits instead. That one has 'Twilight Zone!'

Review Nº 317

Golden Earring is a rock band which was formed in 1961 in The Hague, Holland. For over fifty years, Golden Earring has been probably the Holland's greatest rock band. They've managed to maintain their great popularity in many European countries all over these years. However, and strangely, their unique brand of Rock'n'Roll has largely been overlooked by the American audiences. Their career trajectory closely followed that of the similarly fated iconic U.K. rock band, Status Quo. From the flowery psychedelic rock band in the 60's to the more rock titans in the 70's and beyond that, Golden Earring still is active today, albeit slowing down on their very prolific and long career. However, the band has remained virtually intact throughout their entire career, in this way echoing the longevity of The Rolling Stones. These comparisons aside, Golden Earring has always done things their way. Maybe staying largely out of the spotlight in the U.S. has allowed the band to travel their own path and create music without having to cater to the American market like so many other bands have been forced to do. Ironically enough, the music that Golden Earring create has always been exactly what America likes, pure and honest Rock'n'Roll that acknowledges but never gives in to the current trends.

Golden Earring released their debut album 'Just Era-Rings' in 1965, their second 'Winter-Harvest' in 1967, their third 'Miracle Mirror' in 1968 and their fourth and fifth 'On The Double' and 'Eight Miles High', both in 1969. In 1970 they released 'Golden Earring', aka 'Wall Of Dolls', in 1971 'Seven Tears', in 1972 'Together' and in 1973 'Moontan'. Their classic albums of their golden era are three, 'Eight Miles High', 'Golden Earring' aka 'Wall Of Dolls' and 'Moontan'.

So, 'Moontan' is the ninth studio album of Golden Earring and was released in 1973. The line up on the album is George Kooymans (vocals and guitar), Barry Hay (vocals and flute), Rinus Gerritsen (bass guitar and keyboards) and Cesar Zuiderwijk (drums). Eelco Gelling (guitar), Bertus Borgers (sax) and Patricia Paay (vocals), participated as guests.

Released three years after, Golden Earring had finally settled down into the stable line up that heave remained the core of the band to this day, especially due to two clasic albums from them, their fifth studio album 'Eight Miles High' released in 1969 and their self-titled sixth studio album also known as 'Wall Of Dolls'. With 'Moontan', Golden Earring delivers pretty much what most people want from an early 70's guitar oriented rock album, namely big riffs, musical pyrotechnics, extended song structures, killer choruses, and no small amount of virtuosity, without sounding like that they were just demonstrating how many notes they could play in a set amount of time. In reality, 'Moontan' never loses sight of the fact that the rock music should be fun and entertaining, and as a result of that, each of the six tracks on the album are absolutely vital to the balance and the general vibe of one of the frequently forgotten rock gems of that era.

'Candy's Going Bad' rocks hard. The riff rolls over everything like a steamroller, bluesy in its simplicity. The chorus is awesome, very catchy and ful sounding. Beautiful bass and keyboards really bolster the sound. This is a very good track. 'Are You Receiving Me' is one of the two best tracks on the album. The choruses are very good. I'm not a big fan of rock horns in general, but they really work on the choruses of this song, adding pomp to the already bombastic chorus. The song features a very long and great instrumental. This is really a great track. 'Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock)' is the only weak track on the album. A bluesy acoustic guitar is backed by a drunken piano and a wobbly bass. It's not bad but, in my humble opinion, it fails to stick out. 'Radar Love' is a classic rock radio staple with influences of bands like Steppenwolf and The Doors. It's an enjoyable, if somewhat repetitive and maybe a too long song. Despite that and a few faults, it's still quite a good song. 'Just Like Vince Taylor' reflects Taylor's popularity in the continental Europe. Slightly cliche, it's a very European interpretation of the early British R&B. It sounds somewhat inauthentic and dated, but it has its own European flair and charm. Still, it's a good track too. 'The Vanilla Queen' is the most prog rock track on the album. It's drenched in synths, fantasy based lyrics, and gentle acoustics. This is really a great classic of an era where the grandiosity in music was accepted and revered. It's an amazing track that closes the album in a perfect way.

Conclusion: 'Moontan' is a very good album, really. It's legitimately a great classic rock album of the golden era of the 70's that certainly retains its great charm even today, particularly for those of us that are partially to the classic and prog rock music. While Golden Earring are not a band who are name dropped with any regularity, many of their albums, and particularly 'Eight Miles High', 'Golden Earring' and 'Moontan', deserve to be reassessed as great rock classics of the 70's. You can easily find them and I would recommend picking them up, particularly 'Moontan' is a great starting point to discover the discography of a much underrated and somewhat forgotten band. As a conclusion, 'Moontan' is a necessity for Golden Earring fans, and a worthwhile listen for anyone interested in 70's rock at its most adventurous.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

I must admit I had no idea how many albums this band has put out or the fact they formed in The Netherlands in 1961! Originally they called themselves THE TORNADOS. First studio album was released in 1965 by which time they had already changed their name to GOLDEN EARRING. "Moontan" is their ninth studio album released in 1973. I have a feeling that cover sold a few copies to teenage boys over the years. Mind you it's not the only cover they used for this one and to confuse matters more there are different track listings depending on the copy you have. I have the U.S. version with five tracks. Yes this band probably has the ultimate Classic Rock song in "Radar Love". For someone like me who has spent a great deal of time listening to my music while driving I must admit this is one of the ultimate driving tunes. Just that relentless beat along with the vocals and lyrics makes this my favourite track on here by far. Honestly for me the good music ends when that opener finishes. Just not into this record at all surprisingly. The guitarist and horn player composed the music and that sax player adds flute. Some keyboards and moog from the bass player. We get a few guests adding slide guitar, vocals and additional sax. One of the sad things for me in a way was that even "Radar Love" has become stale to me after all these years.