Thank You for Being a Friend: Best of

 (10 customer reviews)

for singles fans to buy this CD: 1) The long version of Lonely Boy. The radio station issued 45 sounds like a bad edit at the end and cuts a great guitar lick from Gold. 2) Never Let Her Slip Away. One of those singles that got lost in the glut of releases in the late 70's. Gold's a real talent, and the liner notes reveal many facts you'll be surprised to learn. There's more to his story than Thank You For Being A Friend.

I first discovered AG thru the Ronstadt records in the mid 70s, which were largely him on guitars and keys (You're No Good, Heat Wave, When Will I be Loved). His incredible gifts made these songs stand out.When he released his first couple of solo albums I was all ears and as a guitar player, strived to duplicate his sound. The songs were simple, musically very rich, and very listenable. After his 4th album, Whirlwind, I kinda lost track of him. I recently hooked up w/ him again, and listened to a lot of his 90s stuff, which is a bit more complex, but still great. After a couple of listens, songs like KING OF SHOWBIZ and CAN ANYBODY SEE YOU are right up there w/ LONELY BOY and HEARTACHES IN HEARTACHES. All are included here. The (at this point) happy postscript is I met the man, and am now playing in his band! He really is brilliant. Dont let the simple melodies fool you- the chords underneath are complex and many. BUY THIS CD!!

I just found out that Andrew Gold passed away; I feel terrible about it. Andrew was a recognized talent in the show business industry who worked alongside some of the best of them! The quality of the sound here is quite good; and we get a number of songs all of which demonstrate Andrew's incredible command of his repertoire and his creativity as an artist as well. He sang everything with all his heart and soul; and just one listen proves it as you listen to this album.

There's really not a bad track in the lot. "Final Frontier" (the theme from "Mad about You") starts off the track set with Andrew performing at his usual very best; and the musical arrangement is great! Andrew seemingly effortlessly handles complex tempo and key changes although of course it really wasn't all that easy; Andrew Gold's talent always carried him through. "Thank You for Being a Friend" is so much more than just a theme song for "The Golden Girls;" this is a splendid evergreen tune that charms me...Read more