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Europe: Last look at Eden

14/10/09 || cadenz

Yes, it is true – Europe, the pinnacle of keyboard and hairspray induced glam rock bands in the 80’s are still here. The Swedes who brought us one of the catchiest rock tunes ever (“The Final Cuntdown”) and one of the slickest n’ sweetest power ballads of the pink-and-puffy decade (“Carrie”) were on a hiatus from 1992 til 2003, and this is the third album since their comeback – and without a doubt the best of the three.

Both “Start from the Dark” (released in 2004) and “Secret Society” (2006) were disappointments, no hits to rave about and very meek songwriting overall. They were quite different from their pre-hiatus material too; harder, heavier and, well, more modern. It seems it took them three tries to get the formula right. Not that “Last Look at Eden” is a bullseye, but it’s a good record.

A brief intro track leads into the title anthem, which is quite catchy but still one of the weakest songs on the album. It’s traditional heavy rock with glam vocals backed up with heavy orchestration in the chorus, but it’s pretty obvious that this was meant to be a radio hit (which will make the boys some buck$ for sure) and is written and arranged with that in mind.

From the next track onwards the album gets a huge lift by dirtying up the place. The guitars crunch deeper down in dropped tunings and the songs center more around strong riffs than mere chord structures. When you add the vocals on top of this, you get some groovy cheese almost-metal which I dig like hell! John Norum is the one who shines brightest on the disc (big surprise) with both the riffage and his well-executed and amazingly tasty solos. I love his bending, for example; it builds up energy like nothing else. He’s certainly not gotten worse over the years!

Tempest’s vocals are good, but nothing extra-ordinary. The keyboards and orchestrations tend to get a little annoying in some songs, like the title track and “No Stone Unturned”. They don’t fit the band’s soundscape at all, they’re on top of it all the time and I’m just longing for the day CD’s are distributed with mutable instrument channels so I can help the Europe guys preserve their balls at times. Only at times though.

So in conclusion, when our glam heroes go all-in with their new heavier and more riff-laden sound and skip the orchestrations, they sound best. On “LLAE” they’ve done about half-half so I’m half-half satisfied with the album. There’s always the skip button when Mr. Michaeli enters the picture… Favorite and recommended track: “The Beast”.

Oh, and what the fuck is wrong with the cover art?! I know it’s supposed to portray The Apple (from Eden, you know); but it looks like an albino ass with two gloryholes in it. It could also be viewed as two very untanned balls with an apple seed piercing in the middle. I guess it works like a Rorschach test – what you see in the picture gives you psychological answers of what kind of person you are. So I’m full of ass and balls – what else is new?

6,5

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Universal
Website: www.europetheband.com
Band
Joey Tempest: vocals
John Norum: guitars
John Levén: bass
Mic Michaeli: keyboards, backing vocals
Ian Haugland: drums

Tracklist
01. Prelude
02. Last Look at Eden
03. Gonna Get Ready
04. Catch That Plane
05. New Love in Town
06. The Beast
07. Mojito Girl
08. No Stone Unturned
09. Only Young Twice
10. U Devil U
11. Run With the Angels
12. In My Time

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