If you've been looking for a simple way to acquaint yourself with the soft rock stylings of the late Andrew Gold, Edsel may have just the set for you: a triple-disc, bonus-laden compilation of Gold's four albums for Asylum Records.
The singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist enjoyed his greatest successes as one of the pre-eminent smooth pop tunesmiths of the late '70s. "Lonely Boy" was a Top 10 hit in 1977, while follow-ups "Thank You for Being a Friend" and "Never Let Her Slip Away" enjoyed respective chart successes in the U.S. and the U.K. (the latter hitting No. 5 in England, while a cover of the former lives on in syndication as the theme to The Golden Girls). Gold's impressive CV also included songs for Leo Sayer ("Endless Flight") and Wynonna Judd ("I Saw the Light"), the band Wax with Graham Gouldman of 10cc (Gold had to turn down an offer to join 10cc in 1981, but the duo enjoyed great U.K. success with a Top 10 single, "Bridge to Your Heart") and a TV theme success of his own: "The Final Frontier," sung by Gold but written by actor Paul Reiser and Don Was, played over the opening credits to Mad About You for the majority of its seven-season run. It's an indelible musical legacy that, sadly, outlives Gold, who passed away in 2011.
Edsel's "four-fer" not only includes all four Asylum releases - 1975's self-titled debut, 1976's What's Wrong with This Picture? and 1978's All This and Heaven Too and Whirlwind - but a third disc includes all 20 bonus tracks included on the long out-of-print Andrew Gold remasters released on the Collector's Choice label in 2005. Alternate versions of "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You" are included, along with various gems that had never been released in any format before.
The clumsily-titled Andrew Gold/What's Wrong with This Picture?/All This and Heaven Too/Whirlwind...Plus is nonetheless a terrific value for fans of soft rock done right (even at a $25 import price for Amazon U.S. buyers). It's out September 30 and can be pre-ordered after the jump.
Andrew Gold/What's Wrong with This Picture?/All This and Heaven Too/Whirlwind...Plus (Edsel (U.K.), 2013)
Disc 1: Andrew Gold and What's Wrong with This Picture?
- That's Why I Love You
- Heartaches in Heartaches
- Love Hurts
- A Note from You
- Resting in Your Arms
- I'm a Gambler
- Endless Flight
- Hang My Picture Straight
- Ten Years Behind Me
- I'm Coming Home
- Hope You Feel Good
- Passing Thing
- Do Wah Diddy
- Learning the Game
- Angel Woman
- Must Be Crazy
- Lonely Boy
- Firefly
- Stay
- Go Back Home Again
- One of Them is Me
Disc 2: All This and Heaven Too and Whirlwind
- How Can This Be Love?
- Oh Urania (Take Me Away)
- Still You Linger On
- Never Let Her Slip Away
- Always for You
- Thank You for Being a Friend
- Looking for My Love
- Genevieve
- I'm on My Way
- You're Free
- Kiss This One Goodbye
- Whirlwind
- Sooner or Later
- Leave Her Alone
- Little Company
- Brand New Face
- Nine to Five
- Stranded on the Edge
- Make Up Your Mind
Disc 3: Bonus material
- Within a Word
- Sometimes When a Man's on His Own
- Broken Pin Ball Machine
- To Be Someone
- Ten Years Behind Me (Demo)
- Hang My Picture Straight (Live @ The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium - 1975)
- Lonely Boy (Original Version)
- Firefly (Early Unfinished Version)
- Gorilla Jam
- Feel It
- Hope You Feel Good (Live @ The Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles - 1976)
- Gambler (Version #1)
- Thank You for Being a Friend (Outtake)
- Dr. Robert (Live)
- Genevieve (Original Version)
- Still You Linger On (Alternate Take)
- Gambler (Version #2)
- Endless Flight (Live @ The Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, FL - 1978)
- The "In" Crowd
- Traffic Jam
Disc 1, Tracks 1-10 released as Asylum 7E-1047, 1975
Disc 1, Tracks 11-21 released as Asylum 7E-1086, 1976
Disc 2, Tracks 1-10 released as Asylum 6E-116, 1978
Disc 2, Tracks 11-19 released as Asylum 6E-264, 1978
Disc 3, Tracks 1-5 released on Collector's Choice CCM 05272, 2005
Disc 3, Tracks 6-11 released on Collector's Choice CCM 05282, 2005
Disc 3, Tracks 12-16 released on Collector's Choice CCM 05292, 2005
Disc 3, Tracks 17-20 released on Collector's Choice CCM 05302, 2005
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So happy to see that the supremely talented (it was in his DNA, read his Bio) Andrew (Andy) Gold is getting this re-release of his albums from the Asylum and Gold vaults. Good enough, but it would have been an even more special release of his oeuvre with many additional discs of the songs he was involved with as a player, arranger, engineer, and/or producer. This boy got around! And I imagine it would be a nightmare in licensing as his talents were spread out over several (!) record labels, here and abroad. Whew! The "Goldography" on his website (andrewgold.com) is extensive, to say the least! You'll be astounded. To say Andrew had a sense of humor is very understated....just look at the cover art for "What's Wrong with This Picture?" for starters (and enjoy the game created from this album art on his website). And find even more Gold Goodies (music and otherwise)via his website and YouTube channel, loving curated by his wife, Leslie Kogan, and associates. This, from his website,.....As longtime friend and Grammy-winning producer Peter Asher put it, "Andrew's talent was almost eerie. He was a self-taught instinctive musician who seemed to be able to play any instrument he had a mind to. He was a brilliant writer, a great singer, and a highly imaginative producer and arranger -- on top of being a multi-instrumentalist of the highest order. And he never failed to come up with something extraordinary every time he played."
Oh...almost forgot, he was also a man who loved holidays. His Halloween album is wonderful and in the early 90's he created two Christmas songs ("The Bells of St. Victor" and "On Christmas Eve") that should have been holiday releases for the Fab Four. No, really! Rock on, Andy, we miss you.
Great price on Amazon UK too. Certainly worth investigating if you enjoyed the more successful tunes. And Sean is totally correct, this guy was talented...and then some
Nice to see these back in print, but in addition, Rhino's 1997 Best Of has a few otherwise unavailable songs on their release. http://www.discogs.com/Andrew-Gold-Thank-You-For-Being-A-Friend-The-Best-Of-Andrew-Gold/release/2669904
Yes, great point, Bill! "King of Showbiz" is a alternate version....and "Mad About You" is fantastic!
Don't forget that his mom is the still very much alive Marni Nixon, who dubbed the leading actresses' singing voices in "The King and I", "West Side Story" and "My Fair Lady", to name but a few.
Yes, Suzanne, thanks. That was my inference with "it was in his DNA"........mother Marni Nixon and father Ernest Gold, the Academy Award-winning composer for the movie "Exodus." He once stated that his house was filled with music growing up and involvement was unavoidable. Ha! You must seek out his story on his website about meeting the Beatles at their Bel-Air hideaway as a young teen. Hilarious.
I'm anxiously awaiting this set. I have been collecting CDs by musicians associated with Linda Ronstadt, they were all very talented but Andrew Gold was special. I have the Rhino comp but stupidly procrastinated on the CCM reissues. Let's hope Edsel doesn't mess with the sound of these albums, they do not need to maximized, noise reduced or whatever, just straight transfers or CCM copies will do fine. Here's hoping!!!