Europe ~ Bag Of Bones (album review) ... The best musical pieces of Europe together in one great album!

Style: blues-rock
Label: earMUSIC
Year: 2012
Home: Sweden

Members: Joey Tempest ~ vocals/acoustic guitars
John Norum ~ guitars
John Leven ~ bass
Mic Michaeli ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Ian Haugland ~ drums/b. vocals

Guest: Joe Bonamassa ~ slide guitar

Additional: Anton Fig ~ percussion
Jeff Bova ~ orchestration

This is promoted as a blues album, but I worry some might see that & bail on it. I would call it more a rock album with some bluesy ingredients. This is more blues like how Bad Company & Cinderella handle the blues, that is letting the bluesy aspect of the rock template come to the surface, stripping back the pounding rock riffs & pulling out some acoustic guitars. I would promote it more as a back to square one album. It takes a little bit from all of their career, cuts away the junk & turns out what I would call the best album I've heard from them. This is the fourth studio album I've reviewed & compared to what I've heard: this is their masterpiece. All you need is this & if its your introduction you'll likely to be a fan. Maybe it gets better, but I can't imagine how. Let me know in the comments. "Not Supposed To Sing The Blues" might be one of their best songs, right there with "The Final Countdown", if not better. For those who haven't read my other reviews, I called Europe musical chameleons great at imitation, but lacking distinctiveness & personality, though their later day albums are more solid affairs than The Final Countdown. I change my tune here, as this is everything I was looking for before. This oozes personality & distinctiveness. Whatever they did to make this album they should keep doing. They finally hit on perfection. The energy is high, the creativity wild, the musical diversity wide, the music rocks hard, the groove is strong. Everything comes together so perfectly that when the acoustic guitars are introduced it sounds natural & not like they're doing an obligatory power ballad. I previously reviewed post-comeback albums Last Look At Eden & Start From The Dark. There's bits of those albums here, but they've streamlined their sound & in the process taken things up a notch. Those two albums had them aiming to sound like they are metal & grunge, respectively, but they came off as imitative. Here its like they're not being anyone but themselves. They know they're not a blues band & there's no blues scene they're trying to tap into, so they're just free to be. I feel like since day one Europe has always been trying to be someone other than them. They finally just played music & its a great experience. Bag Of Bones has the hard rock of Last Look At Eden, but isn't indistinct metal like that felt for me. While it has the emotional quality of Start From The Dark, but doesn't overdose on the depressing vibes like I felt that album did in its attempt to be a grunge thing. This album finds the right balance. This feels less like a blues album, & more a best of Europe album with a few unexpected sparkles (i.e. sitar break on "Firebox" & the acoustic guitars). Though, like their other albums, no filler. Every song is strong, which is an amazing feat.

Europe ~ Start From The Dark (album review) ... Europe's alt-rock days!

Style: alt-rock, hard rock
Label: Sanctuary Records
Year: 2004
Home: Sweden


Members: Joey Tempest ~ vocals/acoustic guitars
John Norum ~ guitars
John Leven ~ bass
Mic Michaeli ~ keyboards
Ian Haugland ~ drums

This is the third Europe album I've heard & the second post-80's release. The newer albums are such different beasts. I'd previously written about my disappointment with their classic The Final Countdown, as beyond the title track it let me down feeling like a lot of filler. 2009's Last Look At Eden was a million times better, but lacked a distinct personality I could grab on to. It had all the pieces, but I've heard the same album come from Michael Sweet & Stryper. I continuously kept thinking of other bands who they sounded like. Now I turn to 2004's Start From The Dark out of curiosity. At this point, I have no real clue what the Europe sound is & who they are musically, but if this like Last Look At Eden - & I hope it is, being in the same decade - then it will have some great singing, much better lyrics than many bands, be awesome melodic rock, have wonderfully crafted music & great guitar riffing. I just hope it has more personality. So, I'm very curious going into Start From The Dark, which was their comeback album after over a decade away. First, this is not the boys of Stryper. Last Look At Eden was a big layered affair that clobbered you fast & easily with powerful riffs. Start From The Dark is not just nothing like Stryper musically, yet its also not like Last Look At Eden. Is this the same band? Its hard to tell. This is a very streamlined affair that is so much more raw than heavily produced like Last Look At Eden, or, more properly, its well produced but doesn't sound too glossy like the other album. That album rocked your face off, but this is the far more emotional affair due to more focus being put on the lyrics & less on the riffs. This album is not about hooks, but the words. This album has a strong mood, whereas the other one didn't. I'm not going to say its alt-rock, but it has a lot of that flavor. Given the year it was released, I might not be so far from the truth of what they were going after. I might compare this to later day Bon Jovi, as in the more mature Bon Jovi. A better comparison is the first Danger Danger album with Paul Laine singing, Dawn. That was their deliberately grunge album in an attempt to match trends. Soundgarden might also be referenced in some of the down tuned guitar parts (i.e. "Song No. 12") here. This is the most musically diverse album I've heard yet from them. Truth be told, they sound like three completely different bands. So, Europe essentially fails when it comes to finding their own personality, but are monster musicians. These two later day albums are well worth listening to, I just wish I knew what I might get in a fourth album or be able to name something distinctive about their sound. That being said, this is the more distinct album of the three. As it straddles different styles of music it creates its own thing, whereas the others feel more by the book & imitative. This is a band trying to be like something they are not, but after a decade what are they, so it comes off unique. It's alt-rock tinged melodic rock. This has so much more feeling than the other albums do. Honestly, "The Final Countdown" is just a throwaway anthem hit. There's none of that here, as every song has something to say. It has a lot to say, actually, which at times emotionally drags the album down. This is not a happy listen, while songs tend to blend together due to them all being emotionally heavy. I said this was not like Michael Sweet, yet I have to reverse that a bit. "Reason" questions god about the meaning of life. "Cause there must be a reason / Why you're keeping me alive / On broken days like this / There must be a reason / A hope that God exist". It even references heaven, though not by name, saying: "After all the fear is gone / There's place where everybody goes." "Hero" might not be about Jesus, but one might interpret it that way with such lyrics as: "'Cause you are my hero / My friday night / You wrote the soundtrack to my life / & gave me something / To hold on to / When I was growing up / You were the rock / In my life." While other songs have a spiritual message, though not overtly Christian. This could be a Stryper album in disguise. The entire album is about working through life, such as "The race is on / I found my way / Something has changed since I've been away" in "Got To Have Faith" & "Tonight, this is where we go / To find out who we really are / We've got nothing left to lose / Tonight, this is how we breathe / To put some strength back in our hearts" in the title track. The album is laced with burdens & conquering them with a helping hand. Its depressing, but also hopeful. As "Roll With You" sings: "When what you're feeling is too intense / When the darkness seems to draw you in I roll with you / When you're so sorry & don't know why / It came to be a sad time in your life I roll with you we'll get you through." Yet, even with such hope, this is a heavy album to listen to. Recommended to Christian rock lovers.

Europe ~ Last Look At Eden (album review) ... Michael Sweet comes strangely to mind!

Style: hard rock, AOR, blues rock
Label: Universal
Year: 2009
Home: Sweden

Members: Joey Tempest ~ vocals
John Norum ~ guitar
John Leven ~ bass
Mic Michaeli ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Ian Haugland ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: Andreas Carlsson, Titiyo ~ b. vocals
Kleerup ~ b. vocals/backwards piano outro
Magnus Sjolander ~ percussion
Czech National Symphony Orchestra

I reviewed The Final Countdown by Europe, their biggest commercial album & the one everybody knows due to the title track. I'd never heard anything other than the title track, so I was looking forward to hearing the album. I was paintfully disappointed. All the things I loved in the title track where missing from the rest of the album. My biggest criticism of the album was: "After its done playing I can't really remember what I've heard. Its not because I'm busy or not paying attention, but because none of the songs jump out at me. They all blend into each other as one long thing." I've found, more times than not, that there's a lot of bands from the '80's whose albums I don't care for so much. Yet, I like them now because their post-80's albums are awesome. Essentially, a lot of bands are making better music today. They don't have the hits coming, but they also don't have the label pressure to conform to a scene, while the scene they were a part of doesn't exist. Being there's no scene & no pressure, I've heard so many bands really make what I consider to be some of the best albums of their career. They have no limits put on them other than to make great music. Nobody is expecting anything of them. Plus they've grown as musicians, while many '80's singers have stopped doing the cliched tenor screaming & have more interesting baritones. I'd rather hear a gruff baritone than someone who can hit every note on the right half of the piano. So, I wondered if Europe might be in this boat? Answer: yes! This 2009 album, which was just a random youtube choice, hits me with the first track so much faster than anything on The Final Countdown outside the title track. The opening track, the title track "Last Look At Eden", is largely better than all of The Final Countdown! "Last Look At Eden" fuses heavy metal riffs with orchestral parts courtesy of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, versus synthesized strings. Joey's voice is a little rougher, but has more of a personality, plus feels fuller & more rounded. It has so much more feeling now that he's not screaming like his '80's peers. His older voice gives the music a blues feel never heard on the earlier album. While the guitar playing & rhythm section is just in your face fierce with lots of textures. I can't honestly say the title track is the most original song on the planet. I'm reminded a lot of contemporary Michael Sweet. Its good just the same, though, & worth a listen. As for the rest of the album, am I going to be let down again like I was on The Final Countdown? No, I'm not. This is a good strong album from start to finish. Lots of great music to dig into, great singing & it will have you rocking, with not a hint of filler. I almost feel bad comparing it to their earlier album, as its a completely different beast musically. For me that tried to rock, but this really does. I think its the fact the band is loose & experimenting here in a way they didn't before in their drive to be in the '80's template & find success in America. I'll hold up any of these songs to the entire album of The Final Countdown. Yet, two albums in to their catalog & I couldn't tell you what the Europe sound is to save my life. AOR? Hard rock? Power ballads? Big guitars? Blues rock? I hear nothing that connects these two albums. I lack words to describe what makes Europe different or unique when compared to other bands. Its bluesy AOR hard rock that is really well crafted, but a lot of bands do this now & at the time. I'm not going to call them groundbreaking. The songs are way stronger & more enjoyable here than the earlier album, & I'm more excited about the diversity of music, but I wish there was more personality & distinctiveness. This means if I turn to a third album I have no idea what I'm going to get. I should mention both albums have the same line-up, but you wouldn't necessarily know it. I do applaud them going out of the box with heavy keyboards in the past & with an orchestra now. I wished they did it more previously, that is more focus on the keyboards, while here I'd love to hear more of the orchestra beyond just a backing role that feels like the equivalent of a forgotten keyboardist. The band has described this album as a modern retro rock album. I disagree. I don't get a retro feeling. I get a blues rock feeling if anything. I've said in other reviews that bands like to say this, much like they like saying they are inspired by the Beatles. Its more often than not just empty words. This is no exception. They are marketing their album with attractive words. Nothing wrong with that, but don't expect the marketing to be true in this case. This is a modern rock beast with all the flavor of more mature modern metal with lots of polish & perfection. Though, I kept wondering if Michael Sweet was involved as it reminds me a lot of what he's doing. Far too much, actually. Allmusic compares this album with Led Zeppelin & Whitesnake. I completely disagree having hard all of those bands. I'm sticking to Michael Sweet. Having overblown songs named "Run With The Angels", "The Beast", "No Stone Unturned", "Gonna Get Ready" & "Last Look At Eden" is also in the corner of my argument.

Europe ~ The Final Countdown (album review) ... What do you find at the end of the countdown?

Style: hard rock, hair metal
Label: Epic
Year: 1986
Home: Sweden

Members: Joey Tempest ~ vocals
John Norum ~ guitar/b. vocals
John Leven ~ bass
Mic Michaeli ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Ian Haugland ~ drums/b. vocals

I worked for a record store on St. Mark's Place in Manhattan that closed now almost a decade ago, Rockit Scientist Records, & went completely online. On the day we closed my boss put on the song 'The Final Countdown'. He cranked it loud & played it over & over. Of course, we had to. I'm sure others have done the same with this song. I don't even know what this song is actually about. Not to mention, I don't know any other songs by Europe. I don't even know who is in the band. Obviously I'm not a follower of guitarist John Norum. I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't the only one who had this limited view of Europe. So, I decided it was time to take a listen the album that put them into musical history. First, the famous title track which opens the album is about a relationship but with allusions to space. Cool. Next, guitarist John Norum is is a heavy handed guitarist with some good riffs under his belt. This would be his final album with them before blasting off to play with Don Dokken & Dokken, Glenn Hughes, Kelly Keeling & many others, before coming back into the Europe gang. Next, the singer has the typical tenor of the era, but doesn't scream. He attempts to use his voice in different melodic ways to make the lines sound interesting. He's a good singer, no doubt, though there's hardly any lyrics to the songs it often feels like, just lots of repetition. The title track has a great rolling rhythm of a NWOBHM flavor, but yet the guitar doesn't dominate like one would expect to hear. The keyboards take the melody until the big guitar solo. This final point is why I think "The Final Countdown" is so good. It has all the pieces of every band of the era, with nothing particularly unique to add, but it mixes them differently so they are heard in a completely new & different way. The guitar is not on top, the keyboards aren't an accessory. The predicted orchestration is turned on its head. The song ends up feeling almost prog, but is essentially AOR hair metal. Now, what about the rest of the album? I always find it sad when an album rolls by & I feel I've not heard it. Then I listen again & still it rolls. After its done playing I can't really remember what I've heard. Its not because I'm busy or not paying attention, but because none of the songs jump out at me. Some would say a lack of hooks or melodies. For whatever reason, the songs all blend into each other as one long thing & only few jump out with anything distinct. What makes this even sadder is when the album in question is one I start listening to hoping I'll really like it. I want a rainbow & a pot of gold, but end up with a bowl of not so colorful soggy cereal. While this album was the American break through for Sweden's Europe, after numerous listens I can't really recall much of it. Its not bad, but its not great. "The Final Countdown" opens with fireworks & after that its just one long song in 9 pieces I don't remember even minutes after its end. Its quite disappointing, as I was hoping there was a treasure to be found here. The great unique arrangement style of that hit is not duplicated again, so what comes after has all the pieces of '80's hair metal & sounds exactly like all the hair metal bands of the day. Big vocals, big solos, big beats, lots of guitar, with the obligatory power ballad in "Carrie". I know "Carrie" was a hit, but I can't help but feeling it wouldn't be if "The Final Countdown" hadn't put the album into the public's eye. I'm sorry to say there's nothing distinctive here. I get no real personality or anything original. There's moments, though really "Ninja" just sounds like a cheap version of "The Final Countdown" but with a bigger solo. One problem with the album is, outside of "Cherokee" which is about the tribe, for all of Norum's great guitar solos & rhythms, the songwriting & composing is rather lackluster overall. The lyrics are drab & there's no hooks. I will say, I bet this band was good in concert. The guitar parts have a stadium quality. Yet, I'm not willing to give them a final countdown. I plan to check out some other albums first.

Europe ~ Super Hits (hits comp) (album review) ... Start the final countdown!

Style: hard rock
Label: Epic
Year: 1998
Home: Sweden

Members: Joey Tempest ~ vocals/guitar/keyboards
Kee Marcello, John Norum ~ guitars/b. vocals
John Leven ~ bass
Ian Haugland ~ drums/b. vocals
Tony Reno ~ drums
Mic Michaeli ~ keyboards/b. vocals

Additional: Nate Winger, Paul Winger ~ b. vocals
Mats Grahn ~ bass/guitar/keyboards

Keyboards dominated the 70's prog scene to a large extent which was continued into the 80's New Wave & hard rock scene posing as much a challenge to music as overdone guitar pyrotechnics let alone making the instrument seem as cool as when Fats Domino or Jerry Lee played it. But, the immobility of the instrument, let alone its preferred use as a texture adding instrument & not a lead instrument, caused it to go out of style in the 90's except for a minority of bands or those looking to add sound effects behind their guitar riffs. Europe might be just another hard rock/glam band that from the 80's, though since reunited, most famous for their Top 10 hit "The Final Countdown" & the fact that they're from Sweden, but listening again today they provide a good nostalgia trip of music that made the keyboard a prominent instrument with its emphasis on melody vs. distorted riffing & brought together the best of 70's prog & 80's hard rock in an under-looked mix that has since been lost. There's better greatest hits collections available for Europe, but for a band with essentially one big hit & a few small ones what makes for a good or bad compilation is close to splitting hairs on the level of fan favorites. The essential thing to know is that it's worth picking up any of the compilations. In many ways Europe is similar to Savatage who relied heavily on keyboards with the guitar often taking a backseat yet they also have the approach of the Scorpions or Journey where the power ballads are the norm & not forced like so many of their 80's peers once it was determined that slow love songs were chart-toppers. With strong melodies with hints of both prog & hard rock & the flashiness of the 80's Europe crafted memorable songs that should be more recognized than they are. It should be mentioned that this particular compilation excludes anything from their self-titled 1983 debut while the three albums done since should also be looked for, though there's more focus on the guitar today as Europe has clearly moved with the trends against what made them so unique.