BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982
“Twilight Zone” is a 1982 hit by the Dutch band Golden Earring. It was written by the band’s guitarist George Kooymans, who got the inspiration from a book by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity. “Twilight Zone” appears on their 1982 album Cut. It was the group’s sole Top 10 Pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart, the band’s only No. 1 hit in America.
The spoken lines in the introduction, the first verse (ending with “the gun is still warm”) and the chorus are performed by Kooymans, while Barry Hay sings the lead vocal part for the verses throughout.
While the original album version runs 7:55 this US 7″ promo contains two unique edits of “TWilight Zone”.
SIDE A:
Twilight Zone (Long Version) 4:44
SIDE B:
Twilight Zone (Short Version) 3:59
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Mint (generic)
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Twilight Zone | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #10 |
| 1982 | Twilight Zone | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: 21 Records – T1 103 DJ
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Rock
CREDITS:
Engineer – John Kriek
Producer – Shell Schellekens
Written-By – G. Kooymans*
NOTES:
Promotional Copy Not For Sale
Special versions from the album “CUT”
Find The 7″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Thank you, it’s like you’ve read my mind – I’ve been hoping for this! The music video for Twilight Zone was great too, and a staple of MTV back in the day. I recall the band telling MTV news how inexpensive the video was – that the dancers were friends of their, etc. But it really holds up. Unfortunately every copy of the video I have seen has a glitch at 1:09. My memory tells me there was a jump-cut at that moment, and if so, my suspicion is that someone tried to “fix” the jump-cut, thinking it was a… Read more »
Thank you Paul!!!!
A song I have learnt to appreciate more over the years.
And despite only peaking at #10 for two weeks, it was ranked at #19 for the 1983 year-end list. How crazy is that?
Thanks mostly to its longevity. 15 weeks in the Top 40 and 27 weeks in the Hot 100.
All the best for your coming op, Paul. At least you have Livvy’s concert to look forward to before that!
Happy to see this re-ripped! Thanks.
Great song, real big success in the States to my surprise back then.
When The Lady Smiles was another Golden Earring single which got a fair amount of airplay on US radio and chart success (the video was banned in the US, too much sex and nudity, haha).
Thanks Stefano. My previous rip of this song I added these two edits as bonus track along with the UK 12″ which has the LP version. I have the 12″ of “When The Lady Smiles” although I don’t remember hearing it on the radio.
Oooo- do you have any plans to rip that When The Lady Smiles 12″? I have been looking for the extended version for quite a while now! Would be great to finally get my hands on a rip of that one!
JohanD
I plan to eventually JohanD.
Yeah, the 6:16 minute extended 12 inch version is quite rare. Would be awesome if you could post that one too! Could you keep this one in mind Paul?
Thanks for the unique edits. Always happy to round out the collection. Great 80s rock song 😎
You’re welcome Woz 🙂
So glad you posted this song Paul. It’s like some of your older posts are returning from the dead (files). Does this mean we might get Oingo Boingo’s “Weird Science?” I only ask this because it is one of my favorite Halloween party tracks and Mark Kamins did the remix along with those mischievous Latin Rascals slicing and dicing up a storm. If it isn’t planned, I can at least hope for next year. Back to “Twilight Zone.” Even though I love the album version, it’s great to have the shorter edits. I have a dear friend, who, unlike me… Read more »
Happy you like it Jeff. I have not yet decided on tomorrows post so you may be in luck 🙂
Oooooh!! I’m crossing my fingers!
Jeff
You’re welcome Dave. It’s one of my favorite songs 🙂