ninjas

RE-REVIEW: Europe – The Final Countdown (1986, 2019 Rock Candy remaster)

EUROPE – The Final Countdown (1986, 2019 Rock Candy remaster)

When Europe set in to do The Final Countdown, some changes were necessary.  The drum seat went from Tony Reno to Ian Haughland, a guy that Joey Tempest liked partially because his drum kit looked like Alex Van Halen’s.  Some new songs, such as “Carrie” and “Ninja” had already been road-tested on the Wings of Tomorrow tour.   The record label was gunning hard and hooked them up with Journey producer Kevin Elson for the third album.  What Elson brought to the music was not drastic change, but the essentially improvements that made the record what it is today.

Record?  In this case, CD.  In 2019, Rock Candy reissued The Final Countdown with six bonus tracks:  the same three live ones from the 2001 Epic remaster edition, plus three extra.  For that reason, let’s take a second deep dive:  It has been over 10 years since we last reviewed it.

With the ominous boom of synth, the anthemic title track opens The Final Countdown with regal, grand intentions.  The track was cut down from seven minutes to just five, and for that reason it was able to become the hit it was.  Today you hear it on TV commercials and shows such as Arrested Development (in hilarious fashion).   Back then, it was pushing the envelope about how much keyboard was acceptable in hard rock or heavy metal.  Europe really started as a metal band on their first album.   Yet here we are, with those big gongs of synth provided by new member Mic Michaeli.  When the trumpet-like main keyboard melody enters the fray, it’s all but over.  Your mind is now hooked!  The wicked John Norum guitar solo remains one of his catchiest and most memorable, with plenty of fret-burning action.  The lyrics tell the story of abandoning the Earth for Venus due to catastrophe.  Corny, but pretty unusual for its time.  “The Final Countdown” remains one of those career-defining songs that live forever.

“Will things ever be the same again?” begs Joey Tempest, before the chorus.  For the band, no.  Superstardom hit soon thanks to this unforgettable anthem.  Though their fortunes would fade and they would never hit these heights again, they wrote themselves into rock history with one song.

Straight-ahead party rocker “Rock the Night” was the infamous video that featured Joey Tempest using a ketchup bottle as a makeshift microphone.  Great song though, with that kind of shout-along chorus that Bon Jovi were also becoming experts in.  But listen to Ian Haughlaand’s drums!  Absolutely pounding.  All the elements come together in perfect balance here, with the keyboards taking a back seat to John Norum, who continues to burn on the solo.  His tone on this album was unique and very tasty.

“Carrie” was born on tour as a simpler arrangement with just Joey and Mic on stage.  When recorded for the album, it was a full band arrangement.  A little heavy handed, a little over-dramatic perhaps.  It too was a huge hit.  It still sounds good today, largely thanks to Joey’s impassioned vocal performance.  The man was at the peak of his powers, and it shows here.  Very few singers can do what Joey does on “Carrie”.

The rock returns on “Danger on the Track”, a tale of Joey fleeing from the strangers on his back.  And he was so right, apparently, but we won’t get into that!  This is clearly an album track, not up to the standards of the previous three singles, but still good enough for rock and roll.  It’s “Ninja” that surpasses the singles, with a ripping tale of the era of the ninja.  It has the rhythmic chug that the other songs don’t, and plenty of John Norum’s addictive, dramatic runs.

The final song written for The Final Countdown was one of its best:  the side two opener “Cherokee”.  It seems odd for a band from Sweden to sing about a dark period in American history, but the lyrics aren’t too far off the mark.  They were based on a book Joey saw while working in America.  This is probably the second most anthemic song on the album behind “The Final Countdown”.  It has a big keyboard hook too, and a chorus that sticks for days.

“Time Has Come” is only the second ballad, but it has some heavy guitars to keep it from going too soft.  Once again, Norum’s solo is a highlight, being a key part of the song’s melodicism.  Moving on to “Heart of Stone”, a memorable mid-tempo track, John Norum continues to shine.  This cool song boasts a killer chorus to boot.  There are cool stabs of organ a-la Deep Purple ’84.  You wouldn’t call it a heavy song, but “On the Loose” sure is.  This scorcher is among Europe’s best blasts.  It’s just a simple song about teenage frustration and energy.  This might have been the song that made me a John Norum fanboy in the first place.

Album closer “Love Chaser” is a melancholy mid-tempo romp.  It has a bouncy beat and keyboard hooks, and it ends the album just perfectly.  It even has a keyboard melody at the start that recalls “The Final Countdown” a bit, providing the album with a nice set of bookends.  Sadly this would be John Norum’s last appearance with Europe until a 1999 reunion.  He was replaced by Kee Marcello, who appears in all the music videos aside from “The Final Countdown” itself.

The first set of bonus tracks are the three live songs that appeared on the 2001 Epic remaster.  These are from the  taken from the Final Countdown World Tour VHS from the Hammersmith Odeon in 1987, and feature Marcello on guitar, though this information is not included in the otherwise excellent booklet.  It is audibly him.   “The Final Countdown”, “Danger on the Track” and “Carrie” are the three tracks included, though there is a clear opportunity here to do a 40th anniversary edition with the entire show on disc 2.  These are solid live versions, and it does sound pretty live especially in the lead vocals.  Joey Tempest is one of the most impressive singers in hard rock, and though the press was trying to build a rivalry with Bon Jovi in 1986-87, Joey was clearly the superior singer.

The first of the new bonus tracks is a rare 1986 re-recording of “Seven Doors Hotel” from their debut.  There are now drapes of synths over the piano opening, but the song still scorches hot as ever.  John’s guitar is doubled effectively for a more Lizzy-like approach.  It was clearly too heavy for The Final Countdown album but it could have been an excellent B-side.

Speaking of B-sides, a special B-side remix of “Rock the Night” is another rarity brought back to light.  This version could have been better than the original, but falls short of the mark.  It does not actually sound like a remix at all, but a completely different recording, at least vocally.  If you wanted to hear this song a little heavier, then this version might do it for you, except for the annoying looping of hooks.  “Rock now, rock now, rock now, rock the night!”  “What do you want?  What do you want?”  Stop looping the hooks, please!  It sounds so artificial.  This version is a minute and a half longer than the original.  It’s a slog, but it didn’t have to be.

Finally, the excellent B-side “On Broken Wings”, previously available on compilations, has been restored to the album as it always should have been.  It’s a hard rocker, a driving song, and could have fit very well on side two.  It would have been one of the faster songs, yet with another memorable Europe chorus.

This new Rock Candy remaster sounds sharp and vibrant.  An excellent remastering of a stone cold classic.  The booklet includes an interview with Joey Tempest on the making of the album.  Until they issue an expanded edition for the 40th anniversary (let’s hope), then this is the version to buy, hands down.

5/5 stars

 

 

#751: Can I Get a Witness?

GETTING MORE TALE #751: Can I Get a Witness?

I owe the Jehovah’s Witnesses a debt of gratitude.  I developed my cat-like stealthy ninja skills thanks to them.  I was able to take this talent into the Record Store a decade later.  How?  Read on.

If you’re not familiar, Jehovah’s Witnesses travel the streets of everyday neighborhoods, going door to door to preach the word.  They have a little magazine called the Watchtower that they distribute.  Every kid in my day was taught “don’t answer the door if a Jehovah’s Witness comes knocking.”  You could see them walking down the street, in formal wear, usually in pairs.  I would hide behind furniture and watch them through the window.  You could see them ring a doorbell, get no answer, and move onto the next house.  That’s how you’d know.  Sometimes we’d even phone neighbor friends.  “Jehovahs are coming down the street! Don’t answer the door!”

It’s not that Jehovah’s Witnesses are bad people.  Prince was a Jehovah’s Witness.  It’s just that nobody really likes an uninvited religious sermon in their homes.  As kids it wasn’t a good idea to open the door to strangers anyway.  And I had some good hiding places to watch for them.  Our big front bay window didn’t offer much cover, but I could spy from other strategic places.  I’d sneak downstairs silently, and get a closer look at their faces through the blinds.  Once, I think I was spotted.  If they rang the doorbell more than once, I assumed I’d been noticed and took deeper cover.

This worked like a charm, until one day I let my guard down.  It was my OAC “Grade 13” year.  I was working on a major project and I needed an audio recording.  I called up my buddy Bob to come over for an hour and help.  He said, “Sure no problem.  I’ll be there in an hour or two.”

An hour later the doorbell rang, and I ran down the stairs excitedly.  I was able to leap an entire staircase in one jump.  I loudly hit the main floor and ran to the door.  Opening it, I saw a kindly little old man in a blue suit and hat.  It was not Bob and I instantly regretted my haste.  It was my first Jehovah’s Witness.

I smiled and let the man speak, but after a few minutes I had to stop him.  “I’m sorry but I’m in the middle of a school project.  I really have to go.”

The man was fine with this.  “Education is very important,” he said, “I’ll come back another time.”

“Sure, sure,” I said, “Have a nice day.”

I got back to my project, but the next week, the old guy came back.  This time my dad answered the door.

“Is the young man available?” asked the Jehovah’s Witness.  I don’t know exactly what my dad said to him, but he never came back again.  I actually felt bad.  He was a nice man, and I’m sure my dad let him have it with a few F-bombs!

Clearly, my method of ninja-like avoidance and surveillance was superior.  I never rushed to answer the door in haste again.

Now, how does this all relate to the Record Store?  Well, I’ll tell ya.

Yours Truly

As discussed in Record Store Tales Part 190: The Early Bird Drops the Discs, I hated when people would bang on the door before we were open.  It wasn’t like our hours were a mystery.  There’s one store in town, Orange Monkey Music, that doesn’t really have posted hours.  It was a day to day mystery.  Whenever they showed up, they’d open.  Some days they wouldn’t open at all.  Not us!  It was the same schedule every week, posted on our front door for easy reference.  It was also on our website.

I’m not sure why some people felt entitled to get in the store before we were open.  I’ve never presumed that a store should let me in just because I was there 10 minutes early.  If I’m there 10 minutes early, that’s my 10 minutes to kill.  It’s not some store employee’s responsibility to let me in because I showed up before the posted hours.

Every Record Store employee had to show up 15 minutes before opening.  This allowed us to vacuum and set up for the day.  If I showed up earlier than 15 minutes, it was because I was the manager and had other things I wanted to get done before opening.  I didn’t get paid for being there early so there was no way I was opening early.

Sometimes I’d be in the back room looking at inventory, when I’d hear banging on the door.  Maybe it would be a boss who forgot their keys, or maybe it would be a customer.  Using my Jehovah-honed ninja skills, I’d skulk behind counters and displays so I could get a clear look.  If it was indeed a customer, they’d usually be carrying a bag of crappy CDs to sell.  Early morning booze money!  I’d stay hidden until they fucked off, then I’d get back to work.  Ninja skills:  maxed out!

The owner of course would let people in early, even though it was me who had to serve them and not him.  I remember one time, local weather man Dave MacDonald showed up early.  The boss let him in well before opening; they seemed to know each other.  But because he was in, that meant everybody else was welcome too.  And I wasn’t even supposed to be on duty yet.  Fuck me, right?  I hated when he let people in early.  Another effect of this was, if you do someone a favour once, they expect it next time.  “The owner lets me in early…”

I’d like to thank every Jehovah’s Witness who ever took a stroll down my street.  You taught me skills you didn’t even know!