| Europe - now there’s a name from the past! But to be honest i used to quite like them. I remember those days when “The Final Countdown” was a massive hit in 1986, that keyboard riff got stuck in my head (who could ever forget it?) and eventually I bought all their records on cassette. While their last studio recording Prisoners In Paradise is still my favourite, I was surprised how good this 1988 album sounds after recently buying it on CD for the first time. I still stand by my opinion that in their prime Europe were one of the greatest in melodic rock (much better than Bon Jovi IMO) and while Out Of This World is not quite as full with platinum hits as The Final Countdown, it’s definitely worth investigating. Vocalist and main songwriter Joey Tempest is also almost completely accent-free which is always pleasant to hear. Rhythm section Ian Haugland and John Leven are one of the best working together (for example Glenn Hughes and Nikolo Kotzev have used them constantly during the 1990’s) and same can be said of keyboardist Mic Michaeli often seen with the two former guys in same line-ups. Opening track “Superstitious” is a good example of Tempest’s talent as a songwriter and the band execute it perfectly with washes of melody and keyboards coming in at exactly right point during the chorus. “Keep on walking that road and I’ll follow, keep on calling my name I’ll be there…” I hadn’t heard the song in at least couple of years but instantly could remember most if not all the words. Sometimes it’s irritating but usually a sign of a song with true lasting power. Second cut “Let The Good Times Rock” opens with heavy guitar riff but soon goes back into familiar melodic territory. Good track nonetheless. “Open Your Heart” is a reworking of a classic ballad from Wings Of Tomorrow. I don’t quite see the point as this version differs little from the original. But i’ve always liked the song and it certainly works here too. “More Than Meets The Eye” is another forgotten gem, excellent melody and Tempest puts in a good vocal performance. This is Europe at their best, with “Superstitious” my favourite song on the album. After mediocre “Coast To Coast” the record’s heaviest and fastest track “Ready Or Not” follows nicely but does contain some borderline lyrics: First: “Rock me till I hit the floor, rock me till I can’t take no more” and Tempest concludes this with: “and then rock me just a little more…” heh.. Rest of the album (or the old b-side from the vinyl & cassette days) has some hits and misses. “Just The Beginning” and “Tower’s Callin’” are both really good while mushy closer “Tomorrow” is not. But overall this is surprisingly solid effort, it does sound like 1980’s but in a good way. Took me back to the early nineties when I was listening to these albums heavily and enjoying them. While listening to OOTW one thing that struck me negatively for the first time were the guitar solos. Uh… I’m sure Kee Marcello is a nice bloke and great guitarist (although John Norum he is not) but here he doesn’t seem to know the word subtle. For whatever reason they have decided guitar solos must be BIG therefore producer also turns up the volume each time Marcello takes over. Perms, guitarist standing on top of the mountain and other disturbing images come to mind when he starts “punishing” the fretboard. Luckily by the next album Prisoners In Paradise he had settled in better and his playing became a lot smoother. And if anyone doesn’t know yet, the band is now back in action and will release their first all new studio album in almost 15 years soon. I will most likely check it out, interesting to see if Tempest’s pen has remained as sharp as it was. To
sum it up, if you’re into melodic rock there’s no reason
why this album should not be in your collection. For me it brought back
some good memories and made me want to go out and get rest of their
catalogue on CD as well. |
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Troubleshooter / February 2004 |
