Europe - Last Look at Eden

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 11 / 9 / 2009

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Review

A quick list of things I knew about Europe before I had heard this album: 1. They did ‘The Final Countdown'. And that’s it. So, you might wonder what the hell I am doing writing this review, and you might be right to wonder. But, at least I’m curious to know a little bit more… such as what the band’s new album sounds like. ‘Last Look At Eden’, it transpires, is the band’s eighth record in all, and their third since their Millennium-inspired reformation in 1999, after a decade-long hiatus. They can claim to be Sweden’s biggest selling rock band (take that, the Hives), but largely because of their mega hit, ‘The Final Countdown’. But, the reformation is not just a cash in, as the band’s line up is closer to how fans would like the band to look than it was at the height of their fame. The songwriting team of singer Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum, which had separated at the end of the 1980s, has been re-united, and its quite clear that this is a happy and grateful band. I’d be very surprised if the gnarled critics behind 'Mojo' decided the band’s history merited much of a reappraisal. But, I’m instantly suspicious of accepted rock-critic opinion, because it has a tendency to both raise a certain type of music to underserved heights and then to utterly dismiss bands that have actually played quite an important part in the experience of many pop listeners. Europe are one of the latter group, and while there’s no reason to feel sorry for the band (I’m sure they’re very rich), I do feel that, for their fans, they deserve a hearing. But, slightly disappointingly, its not very hard to see why your average rock critic might be tempted to criticise. The album begins with a ridiculous orchestral introduction, which builds a tad predictably into a crushing rock riff. Switch off that cynical part of your brain, however, and its oddly atmospheric. Europe are in some ways a typical hair-metal outfit, but, while Motley Crue and their ilk just seem like nasty swine, Europe seem totally harmless, verging on camp. Its obvious that the band aren‘t taking things entirely seriously. See, as evidence, the lyrics for 'Mojito Girl' - “Hey, she likes her mojito sweet/ and kill what’s left of her modesty/ Hey, let's get out of this second verse/ and be on our wicked way till daylight hurts/ So come on, will you misbehave/ Our love can be the sweetest thing”. Cue, guitar solo. Ultimately, there’s something admirable in Europe’s ability to turn hard-rock into pure-pop, shamelessly epic and knowingly ridiculous. ‘Last Look At Eden’ comes to its peak with the power-ballad, ‘New Love In Town’, all crunching guitars, soaring strings, emotional piano lines and, from John Norum the kind of guitar solo that can only have been recorded on the top of a mountain, with long hail flailing in the wind. Allergic as I am to the kind of heavy metal fans of the genre revere, I found myself enjoying its bombastic, pop-metal offshoot. Its silly, but its endearingly silly. And it has been made by a band quite happy to give their audience exactly what they want.

Track Listing:-

1 Prelude
2 Last Look At Eden
3 Gonna Get Ready
4 Catch The Plane
5 New Love In Town
6 The Beast
7 Mojito Girl
8 No Stone Unturned
9 Only Young Twice
10 U Devil U
11 Run With The Angels
12 In My Time

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