Search - Golden Earring :: On the Double

Turning point for dutch rockers

hans van dongen | new zealand | 05/17/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My interest in the Earring was reignited after the release of the Naked Truth, their early nineties unplugged album. During my childhood in Holland they were a household name and i remember all the hits, but am unfamiliar to other recordings from this early period.I've started collecting a lot more of their work and I have to say that the late seventies/eighties hardrock period doesn't really do it for me, I see a lot more creativity in the later sixties and first half of the seventies period. On the double marks the start of that period. It came out after the Beatles released their White album,(also a double album and after all the Earring were OUR beatles!!) which just like this one contains a very broad selection of songs and it is impossible to describe the style. What you will hear is a band looking for new things but still used to play poppy sixties songs.
Production quality varies from song to song, but some songs really stand out and show how talented these guys were back then.
3 songs alone make this album more than worth it's while
1. Just a little bit of peace in my heart; a huge hit in the Netherlands, fantastically sung by George Kooymans and featuring brilliant orchestration.
2.Murdock, an acoustic ballad with emotional vocals by George Kooymans
3.The Grand Piano, a beautiful piano ballad with powerful vocals by Barry Hay and interestingly written by bass player Rinus Gerritsen.
To summarize: this album marks a turning point in the history of
this band and is a must for every fan, if you haven't heard it, it will definitely surprise you as it's full of real gems and it's probably not what you expect to hear."

Early Earring

Eric Olson | Kennewick, WA | 10/13/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking for hard gelled performances like Radar Love or Twilight Zone, this isn't it. But this is an excellent example of Golden Earrings transition from a poppish early sixties sound into a mainstream mid-sixties rock sound. Not quite there but almost. Hays and Kooymans writing skills start to develope here. As with all collectors of Golden Earring this is a must have."