PARADISE IN DISTRESS

Wow.Has it already been 10 years ago,I picked up this cd. Jaizus. Having been a diehard Golden Earring fan since '74,I am a lucky guy that these boys are still around and still putting out above average material. Ok,we got 14 tracks here and it probably should have been 10 or 11 for a better average.But hey,with cd having room for 80 minutes and these days there being several years between releases,this is the norm.

After Love Sweat,the covers album ,GE return with a vengence,with some extremely well crafted songs.Ofcourse ,the days of prog Earring are long gone.But hey.Here they still are.

Everybody are on fire here,with great instrumental passages and splendid lyrics.

Barry is getting help here with a gent called Rolfzeama,and yes they got some good ones here.

Title track is a dandy.Taking a swipe at tele evangelists ripping off the faithful poor souls. 'Devil just bought a penthouse in heaven'.This track kind of reminds me of the 'Devil made me do it' from Cut.Horns galore,but we also get here a gospel backup singers filling in for good measure.

'Evil love chain' for an example,about love gone mad.'She's mean when she's happy' 'She looks like a princess,she's Dracula's daughter".

All in all.Golden Earring is one outstanding band.They are going going and going on.Bless the dearly.A few years from this one ,they will release Millbrook USA,which is also great. Will there be more?,I sure hope so.

Now,we are coming to the rating. I really,really want to give this one 4*.But,but,there is no prog here.But what we got is very well crafted music,that any Golden Earring fan should not miss. 3 bright shining stars for the band that just won't stop.

The eighties and the nineties were not really the best decades for this good band (except ''The Hole''). How will they close the old millennium?

This album is very long (almost seventy minutes) which is considerably more than usual for GE (even in the nineties, their albums clocked at an average 40 to 45 minutes).

This work opens on some negro-spiritual affair ''Paradise In Distress'' which leaves me breathless. What's this??? The first song that is worth a mention is the very good and punchy ''Evil Love Chain'': GE as we all like them. Rocking band with Barry in top form. At least they still know how to write good old rock music. It is not obvious while you listen the syrupy ''Darling'' or ''One Night Without You''.

The band also pursues its inclination for funky-disco beats during ''Take My Hand?'' and later on during the weak ''Déjà Voodoo''. I have never been a fan of these diversions in their repertoire and this particulars one won't change my mind to tell you the truth.

As usual as well, while GE expands their composition, we often get a better song. It is fortunately the case with ''The Fighter''. A fine and emotional vocal intro and an upbeat main section (featuring even some obvious keys!). The whole is very melodic and should be consider as the highlight from this ''Paradise?''.

Under these circumstances, the rock ballad ''Whisper In A Crowd'' can also be considered as above average, even if these AOR sounds aren't my cup of tea (same applies to ''Bad news?''.

There is little interesting stuff on this album so far. It would inevitably gained in being shorter. Still, the band has placed one excellent song towards the end of the album (this is a habit of theirs): ''42nd Street'' is another powerful rock tune which sounds from another era, but this sort of song is always welcome!

Actually, the last third of the album is much better and saves this work from the one star rating. There is no musical revolution with ''Fluid Conduction'' but the band signs again a very decent rock track which could please any of their fans. Their melodic work we all appreciate is given a second birth. Nice!

If ever you like ''Dire Straits'', there are good chances that ''Desperately Truing To Be Different'' will please you. Not bad at all I must say: it is kicking, rocking very well. I told you: the closing parts of this album deserve a listen (Gambler's Blues'' also deserves a mention and is actually more a heavy rock song than a blues one).

There are too many weak songs to make this a good album. Two stars is my rating (let's call it five out of ten).