Search - Europe :: Last Look at Eden

Never thought I would, but I like it. A lot!

wizey | Margate, Tasmania, Australia | 03/12/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I was at high school and college if you liked Europe you were either a girl or batted for the other team. I'm talking about when Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest and AC/DC ruled. Everyone had to have a denim jacket adorned with patches of these bands, and although showing yourself as a fan of these tough bands also showed everyone how tough you were (so you thought), you were allowed to be a fan of bands like Motley Crue, Van Halen, Aerosmith and Def Leppard a little bit too. That's because although these bands weren't so tough, they were cool and cool was ok. But unfortunately for Europe they were neither tough nor cool, and were always considered as posers, never the real deal. Let's face it, how can a band who released that woeful 80's synthesizer/keyboard tripe "The Final Countdown" ever have any credibility, let alone have balls and be cool?



Thus, once the countdown had finally ended, so too had Europe, never to be heard of again, just a sour stinking blip in metal history. Or so I thought until a friend played me their 2009 album "Last Look At Eden". How dare he? But, curious to hear if they still had that same lame sound I gave it a bit of a listen. So I was somewhat surprised when the title track sounded a little bit... cool dare I say it? No, it couldn't be. I skipped to the next song - no powering riffs or Halford-esque screams here, same for the next track, then the next, then the next etc. So there I had it. No synthesizer/keyboard dominated candy floss tunes, but no ball tearing tough nuts either, and nothing that truly grabbed me so I quickly dismissed it.



But my mate wouldn't let up. He kept telling me how good this album was so I gave it some more spins. And guess what? Now I like it. A lot! No big hooks, screaming vocals or power riffs, but I still like it. Why? It's cool. Yes that's right, I never thought I'd see the day but here it is. Europe are cool. What this album does have is great melody, more toughness and a harder edge than I've ever heard from Europe, lots of groove, and a real bluesy swagger. Being a fan of blues music I really dig this retro bluesy rock stuff which Europe have somehow managed to sound fresh at the same time, and thus we have a great bunch of songs on what I believe is one of the most consistent albums of the year. In fact it's not until tracks 10 and 11 "U Devil U" and "Run With The Angels" that we get a couple of songs that might (I stress might) be considered fillers. Not too bad themselves, but I don't think they are as good as the rest of the album.



As for the rest of the songs we get plenty of bluesy swagger on "Gonna Get Ready", "Catch That Plane", "Mojito Girl", "You Only Live Twice" and the album closer "In My Time" is just a cool, pure blues rock ballad much in the vein of Dave Meniketti's (Y&T) solo blues album and I love it. Many have tried this type of song but here Europe convincingly conveys the feel and emotion of the blues. Then there's more hard rocking "The Beast" , "No Stone Unturned" (here we get some prominent synthesizer in the middle of the song but it actually fits quite well and isn't overpowering), and the title track with it's movie theme-esque sound. Three more great songs and then when you include the power ballad "New Love In Town" which is every bit as good as anything Bon Jovi has ever done, it's actually very difficult to pick out album high lights.



Production is good, John Norum's guitar work is not flashy at all, but he rocks out some very well done, quality stuff here and Joey Tempest has a real smooth, cool sounding voice these days. Thankfully there are none of the higher girly vocals a-la "The Final Countdown". So whilst I was very reluctant to even consider that this album could ever have sounded good at all, it has proved to be a real grower on me. So much so that it's now the first and only album from Europe that I've ever bought! Try as I may have, I just could not dismiss it as worthless rubbish. Indeed it is far from it, and I've actually found I play it more than any other release I got from 2009. (What is it with this cover though???)

"

Uhhhh ... Ok

Padraic | East Lansing, MI | 03/21/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"They're just lost on this one, sorry folks. Fairly good production and sound ... couple good songs ... John Norum clearly wants to be seen as a nu-metal/blues guitar god, with the sound he's going for. And Joey's blues-insistent way of singing really doesn't do it, in my ears. For my main point on this record, and review see my review for the Secret Society record ~ but mainly I think (has been proven over and over again) it is a mistake when an act completely turns their back on the sound that made them successful, (hugely successful in Europe's case)."

Worth the purchase for title track alone!!

Joy | Fairfax, VA USA | 03/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I admit, I'm not really impressed with this album but Last Look At Eden is worth getting the album for. Hopefully one day they will have the MP3's so people can get that song."