MIRACLE MIRROR

More late sixties pop driven tunes with only the occassional hint of prog leanings. Similar to the Byrds, early Strawbs with a bit of folk or even early David Bowie! Barry Hay's vocal very much prominent and apparent even back in 1968. There are many pleasant tracks, interspersed flute playing and accoustic work. Hints of pop psychedlia on Mrs. Fortune's Wife, the cleverly crafted Born A Second Time and the uncannily Davied Bowiesque Must I Cry. Again great flute work supplied by Barry Hay. I would recommend this work for completionists only and those seeking similar progressive material to early Bowie. The music stays true and shows hints of more powerful music to come from this highly prolific band.

IMO, there is a major line-up change for this third ''Golden Earring'' album. Barry Hay is taking over the lead vocals and won't pass them to any other one so far. It is a major improvement for sure.

This album also sounds more achieved than their first two. The ''Beatles'' filiation is almost gone for now. The band sounds finally more personal (even if ''Circus.'' still sounds somewhat Beatles-ish).

It would of course being a nonsense to consider this album as groundbreaking for rock music, but again: you should consider the continental-European rock scene in those remote days to acknowledge that those Dutch guys were rather promising even if the worse is also present on this album ('' Crystal Heaven'').

Some songs are quite tranquil or childish (''Sam & Sue'', ''I've Just Lost Somebody''). It is a given that the best of ''Golden Earring'' has not yet arrived. But most of big names didn't mature in '68, right?

Some tracks do show some interesting angles like the Far-Eastern ''Mr. Fortune's Wife'' and the elaborate ''Who Cares''. More in . ''The Who'' style to be honest. But I wouldn't complain. Would you? Probably one of the best songs out of this album. Remember: 68 was the year of release!

This album is more elaborate, better constructed than their first two. Some fine fluting (''Born A Second Time'') could almost sound prog, but don't be too close looking to the genre we all love even if it might sound to the early Tull.

Don't get me wrong: this is not a great album. Not even a good one IMHHO. But it deserves a listen, no doubt. Let's not forget the start of Barry. ''The'' Golden Earring voice for the decades to come.

Two stars.

Their third studio album, following Winter-Harvest a year before, Miracle Mirror is a real sign of the times on the international music scene. Perhaps gone are the days of Pop-Rockin' Nederbeat for Golden Earring, and here we are, in full(er) Psychedelic swing.

Our album starts with the slow, fuzzy intro of "The Truth About Arthur", which features some really nice guitar work. Interesting vocal melody, to say the least: it's very minimal, almost Proto-Punky. The chorus features some nice group vocals. I'm not a huge fan of this'n though... Up next is "Circus Will Be In Town In Time"... And with that news, I can only say just how much of a relief that is to hear hahaha! This is a sort of post-Dylan acoustic-led ballad. The one melody line is very familiar, and I wish I could place it. As some other songs to follow, this melody reminds me of early Bee Gees. The verses are the strongest parts of the song, for sure.

Up next is "Crystal Heaven", a sort of R'n'B feel calling back to their Nederbeat, in my mind. It's still in the vein of Psychedelia, though. Pretty good chorus, which features a stabbing horn section. After the second chorus there's this really interesting instrumental section. It's hard to describe, but it has an interesting array of horns. Pretty good overall. More of a Rock thang on "Sam and Sue", it's reminiscent to me of the Nazz. The chorus on this one is very nice. It's more a Garage Rock thing, if you didn't get the Nazz implication, and in that, the production is a tad wanting, if anything. Next is some solid Psych Pop on "I've Just Lost Somebody", and [now not so] interestingly enough, the first band that comes to mind is the Bee Gees. I've mentioned it before, but if fans of Psych Pop and Psych Rock somehow don't know Bee Gee's First in the least, it is seriously one of my favorites of the genre. This song features some lovely vocal harmonies and a fuller orchestration of instruments: Quasi-Baroque Pop? It's low and slow, but the strongest song thus far (probably why I know it from one of their compilations already).

"Mr. Fortune's Wife" gives us some "Sha la la la"s over a nice Rock beat. The drums are... so nice! Very of- the-time drumming, with sweet tom rolls and dramatic play. The new(?) best song on the album to this point? I just really wish this song in particular were on Spotify. Until a sudden break, the organ sounds almost Eastern European in tone in the first half. Straight-ahead and upbeat all throughout. Definitely check it. Next, "Who Cares?" is, of course, markedly melancholy. More a piano-fronted number, this also features some really cool drums. Nice group vocals. Really cool, really groovy bass, too! Nice Psych-Pop-Rock! "Born a Second TIme" is in stark juxtaposition, a more balladic acoustic number with... what sounds like harp? I'm totally unsure what that is aside from guitar. It all features some very pretty, fairly bucolic flute playing as well.

Next is the rockin' "Magnificent Magistral". This has a sort of jangle in the guitar, but the rest of the instrumentation is straight-ahead and on the heavier side. Great riffs, great, crisp lead vocals, and once again it features nice post-Beat drumming. So tasty. Another juxtaposition in the softer, more Psychedelic "Must I Cry?" This is a steady Rock track with another lovely, jazzy flute solo toward the end. "Nothing Can Change This World of Mine" has a very cool, middle-period Pink Floyd feel. Like totally something that could have been on either Obscured by Clouds or Atom Heart Mother. The melody, though, is unmistakably '60s. Undoubtedly. Definitely one of the strongest tracks. Finally we have "Gipsy Rhapsody", with some fitting instrumentation in the intro especially. It's very upbeat and, I guess, mystical? This track has more strings than most others. Good melodies and fun, I would say, Moody Blues-esque instrumentation and composition. Awesome album closer.

I have to say that I'm now (further) surprised by these lower ratings on here. I don't know if people who rate these albums in these not-quite-Progressive categories (I wanted to use the prefix "extra" but didn't want to confuse anyone) just are unaware of how it works. We should be rating based on the greater scope of Rock music in these cases, not just the specifically 'progressive' idiom on which the site focuses... I know I do just genuinely love this kind of music, this era of Rock in general (especially the early Guitar Pop of the post-Beat world and Psychedelia), but... I don't know. I'm not saying people have to agree. Just surprised.

True Rate: 3.5/5.0