Golden Earring - Kill Me (Ce Soir) - studio version (on Dutch TV) + live at Winterland, 1975

[highplainsdem]

One of Golden Earring's hits that I realized I hadn't yet posted here when I saw it on a list of 5 great Golden Earring songs that a rock journalist in Boston wrote about, which I posted at https://www.democraticunderground.com/103495621 . (I'll put his comments and the AllMusic review below the videos.) This is from their 1975 album Switch, which topped the Dutch charts but didn't do nearly as well in the US and Canada, probably because it was too different from their classic 1974 (1973 in Europe) album Moontan with its megahit "Radar Love."

This single peaked at #6 in the Netherlands, where it was apparently released under the title "Ce Soir" if the single sleeve shown here - https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Golden+Earring&titel=Ce+soir&cat=s - was the only one used. Not sure it was, since the Dutch TV show TopPop has the four-word title, though they misspelled the French word Ce. The album track has the complete title.

TV appearance, lip-synching the studio version:

Live at Winterland, 1975, and four minutes longer than the studio version. Love this band...

What Jim Sullivan, that Boston journalist, said about this song:

https://rockandrollglobe.com/rock/golden-earring-five-great-songs/

“(Kill Me) Ce Soir” from Switch – This came out seven years before John Lennon’s murder but the scenario is eerily prescient: “Ce soir, ce soir, assassination d’un rock and roll star.” The language is different (French) and the setup is different. The star is Vick Timms and he’s written this song called “Kill Me” – how pre-Richard Hell! – and he is indeed shot on stage. Then the story shifts to the rape of America by Richard Nixon (“recorded on tape”), then to Jesus’s crucifixion (who, like Vick Timms, spun out his own version of “kill me”). Sang Hay: “He had nothing to lose/He was king of the Jews/Secured his place in history.” Another haunting song.

AllMusic review of the album, mentioning this song:

https://www.allmusic.com/album/switch-mw0000455263

After the success of Moontan, Golden Earring could have easily parlayed its success into international stardom by continuing to play up that album's commercial elements. Instead, the group did an about-face, pursuing uncommercial song themes and pushing the prog rock side of its sound to the fore (this move included the addition of Dutch prog rock keyboardist Robert Jan Stips, formerly of Supersister, to the lineup). The band even lampooned the sexy cover art of its recent hit album with a similar cover that replaced the gorgeous showgirl on Moontan with a marionette. The result is an album that lacks the consistent sound and coherence of Moontan, but makes up for it with an adventurous spirit and plenty of instrumental firepower. Highlights include "Love Is a Rodeo," a tune that starts as a thrilling guitar rocker before taking a sudden left turn into a finger-snapping instrumental coda dominated by synthesizer, and "Kill Me (Ce Soir)," a mystical epic that starts with a pulsating bassline and builds to a thunderous, orchestrated climax as its lyrics present a surprisingly incisive portrait of how society inevitably destroys its idols. A downside is that, by encompassing so many different styles, the songs lack the logical flow that would allow Switch to feel like a full, cohesive album. Another problem is that the lyrics have a bitter and defensive tinge (especially on "The Switch," a hard-edged explanation of the group's artistic rationale) that sometimes sits at odds with the exciting quality of the music. Despite these problems, Switch remains a solid album that Golden Earring's fan base will enjoy; the disc might also appeal to adventurous fans of prog and hard rock.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

1. Ever heard this cover?

&ab_channel=RazvanMinca

[highplainsdem]

2. Yes, and had planned to include it, but forgot while I was getting

those quotes to post, lol.

Thanks for posting it!

It's a good cover, but not up to the original.

Steve Harris is a huge Golden Earring fan, and especially a fan of bass player Rinus Gerritsen. He's in a documentary on Earring that I'll be posting about.

http://rockandrollgarage.com/5-bassists-that-iron-maiden-steve-harris-listed-as-influences/


https://www.loudersound.com/features/iron-maidens-steve-harris-8-songs-that-changed-my-life

Golden Earring are one of my favourite bands of all time, and [bassist] Rinus Gerritsen was a massive influence on me, so I could pick any of their songs, but I thought I wouldn’t choose the most obvious one, which is Radar Love, of course. Hardcore Maiden fans will know that we covered Kill Me Ce Soir as a B-side [on 1990’s Holy Smoke single], but I’ve gone for Twilight Zone here, for the vibe. It’s showing my age here, but I first saw Golden Earring in 1973 at the Rainbow in London, when Lynyrd Skynyrd supported, and they were just unbelievable. I remember the music press giving them a hard time because everyone was excited about Skynyrd at the time: Skynyrd are a great band, but Golden Earring were on a different level.

https://reverb.com/news/interview-iron-maidens-steve-harris

Oh, yes thanks. What about Rinus Gerritsen, the Golden Earring bloke, what was he like?

I'd always liked his style, I've been a fan for years. Every album they make I still go out and buy, and they still write great songs. First time I saw them was '74 at the Rainbow—they had Lynyrd Skynyrd supporting, and it really pissed me off, because although I like Lynyrd Skynyrd and they were very good, the reports tended to give them a better write-up than Earring. And there was no comparison. Not being biased, but when Earring came on it was just amazing. Skynyrd were great too, but the reviews pissed me off.

What was Gerritsen's solo like back then?

He just did stuff that I'd never seen before, really out there. He used some different sound effects, which I'd never really heard too much before, but just his style of attack, it was really different. The sound he had was sort of toppy, a sort of grunting sound [laughs], with a lot of top. I liked that. In a way that's the sort of sound I go for live—not the same as him, but along the same lines.

[BigOleDummy]

3. Switch

Switch was always a favorite album of mine. Gold from start to finish. I confess to liking GE's earlier work the most.