David Essex's sixth album was released in fall 1977, at a time when his good looks and glam reputation could scarcely have been less fashionable -- and the new album's flowery cover art wasn't likely to alter that.
Step inside, however, and Gold & Ivory is a revelation, one of Essex's overall strongest albums yet, without ever taking the one step toward greatness that his past efforts managed.
In fact, the attendant hit single, "Cool Out Tonight," was one of the weakest releases he had ever put his name to.
The likes of "Britannia," "Back Street Crawler," or, best of all, "Whole Lotta Monkey" would have been far better suited to pursuing the punks and new wavers of the day up the chart, and the fact that there were so many possible hits on the record only testifies to its strength.
As usual with Essex, there is a handful of tracks that could have been left on the shelf, with the title track one of the strongest contenders for oblivion.
But the fact that history barely even glances at this album proves just one thing: you shouldn't always believe what you read.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Horizon | David Essex | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | Good Morning, Darling | David Essex | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Yesterday in L.A. | David Essex | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 4 | Lend Me Your Comb | David Essex | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | Whole Lotta Monkey | David Essex | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | Backstreet Crawler | David Essex | Play | 06:25 | 14 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | That Circle Keeps on Changing | David Essex | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 8 | Cool Out TonightDavid Essex | David Essex | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | You | David Essex | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 10 | Britannia | David Essex | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Virginia (And The Circus Sideshow) | David Essex | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 12 | Gold & Ivory | David Essex | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 27 MB |
| 13 | Stay With Me Baby | David Essex | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 52 mins | 120 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 305 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Essex | Composer, Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |