EUROPE - The Final Countdown

Whenever I think about The Final Countdown, a sweet melancholy takes over me. I was on vacation at Azuga (1987), when from another bungalow, from a wretched Russian cassette player I heard the title track of this album from among dozens of other songs that had nothing to do with rocks.

Eighteen years have passed (can you believe it) since then and not a moment passes without me thanking that guy, whose name I never knew, for the great chance to come into contact with Europe, “my” first ever rock band.

Next year I was lucky to find on a tape that had made its way from Sweden the first three songs from the album, and in the autumn I uncovered the original cassette with The Final Countdown in the house of an uncle of mine, a sailor.

It is probably pointless to speak about what’s on the CD, since every living metal head knows about the shampooed blonds or, as a fellow editor would compliment them, “perfumed and rosy”.

Despite their commercial success and a rather accessible approach, lacking in flourishes and complications, the Swedes prove to be extraordinary musicians and take great pleasure in what they do. Heavily influenced by Deep Purple and especially Rainbow and aided by the songwriting mastery, charisma impeccable English of Joey Tempest, they managed to sell well in the States, South America of Japan.

I have always been firmly convinced that Europe could have done more than what they did, they could have written more complicated or heavier music, but I sincerely doubt that such approach would have suited them.

Their simple and direct music, melodic, easy flowing and sung with all their hearts has remained a milestone, and The Final Countdown will always be for me my first rock album. It is not an accident that it is accommodated on tape 1 of my 2000-strong collection.

Sake Nota: 10