In July, Esoteric Recordings will release “Lonely Boy: The Asylum Years Anthology”, a new seven-disc box set featuring the music of US singer-songwriter Andrew Gold, As the title suggests, this set is concerned with the years Gold was on the Asylum label, which was between 1975 and 1980. It contains remastered versions of the four studio albums recorded in this era, a disc of outtakes and unreleased recordings, a live CD and a DVD with promo videos and Old Grey Whistle Test appearances.
During this period ‘Lonely Boy’ from 1976’s What’s Wrong With This Picture was a top ten hit in America (an ‘original version’ of this song is on CD 5) and Gold enjoyed three top 40 singles in the UK, including ‘Never Let Her Slip Away’ with Freddie Mercury provides the high pitched backing vocals on Never Let Her Slip Away (from All This And Heaven Too which peaked at number five in the summer of 1978.
The live CD is largely unreleased and the DVD in this box set features 13 performances from two Old Grey Whistle Test appearances and six promo videos. Andre was a total powerpop genius and besides his own stuff, he made other artists work better by playing on, producing and/or arranging their records & being in their band, especially notably Linda Ronstadt…
In the early 1980s, after the Asylum Years, Gold worked with Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman on 10cc material and of course after that Andrew had a successful period in the band Wax (with Graham Gouldman), enjoying a big hit across Europe in 1987 with ‘Bridge to Your Heart’. A similar genius offkilter arty pop approach & warped humour…just got an Omnivore CD of unreleased demos from 1973, pre-Asylum, and his genius was apparent then…too bad he’s been gone almost a decade… an opportunity was missed when Andrew Gold didn’t join 10cc. Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman did ask him, but for one reason or another, Andrew didn’t take up the offer. A latter day three man 10cc with possible appearances by Kevin and Lol would have been interesting.
Andrew Gold died in 2011 after being diagnosed with kidney cancer.
Lonely Boy: The Asylum Years Anthology is released on 24th July 2020. Andrew Gold’s recorded legacy is now celebrated with this boxed set featuring 73 tracks on six CDs, including the albums Andrew Gold, Whats Wrong With This Picture, All This And Heaven Too & Whirlwind; all newly re-mastered from the original Asylum Records master tapes, along with a disc of out-takes and rarities from the album sessions and a CD comprising 18 live tracks (17 previously unreleased) drawn from a concert at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles in 1977 and a BBC TV concert recorded in London in November 1976 for the classic series The Old Grey Whistle Test. It also includes an additional 80 minute DVD (NTSC – Region Free) featuring six promotional videos, the complete BBC Old Grey Whistle Test concert recorded in November 1976 and broadcast in March 1977 & a special Andrew Gold feature from the show first broadcast in 1978 – all of which are previously unreleased
The Fat Angel Sings 