Europe : The Final Countdown (2001 Remastered Version)
WE'RE LEAVING TOGETHER
BUT STILL
IT'S FAREWELL
AND MAYBE
WE'LL COME BACK TO EARTH
WHO CAN TELL ?
The Final Countdown
is the third
studio album
by the
Swedish
Rock Band
Released on
May,26th 1986
through Epic Records,
the album was a
commercial success,
peaking at number 8
on the U.S.
Billboard 200 chart
and reaching
high positions
in charts worldwide.
It was recorded at
Powerplay Studios
in Zürich,
Soundtrade Studios
in Stockholm,
Mastersound Studios
in Atlanta
and Fantasy Studios
in Berkeley.
The Final Countdown
is the first album
to feature keyboardist
Mic Michaeli
and drummer
Ian Haugland
and the last
to feature
guitarist
John Norum
until 2004's
Start from the Dark.
Five singles
were released
from the album:
"The Final Countdown",
"Love Chaser",
"Rock the Night",
"Carrie",
and
"Cherokee."
The first single
was responsible
for launching
Europe
into
mainstream popularity.
Composition and Recording
"Rock the Night"
and
"Ninja"
were the
first songs
written for the album,
and were premiered
on the band's
Wings of Tomorrow tour
in 1984.
"Rock the Night"
was released
as a single
in Sweden
in 1985,
peaking at number 4
on the chart,
and was also featured
on the soundtrack EP
for the Swedish film
On the Loose
the same year,
together with
the songs
"On the Loose"
and
"Broken Dreams."
"Rock the Night"
and
"On the Loose"
would be
re-recorded
for inclusion on
The Final Countdown
along with
"Ninja",
all with
slightly different lyrics.
Due to the
national success
of
On the Loose
and
"Rock the Night",
Europe went on a
new tour around
Sweden in 1985,
with new songs
"Danger on the Track",
"Love Chaser"
and the power ballad
"Carrie"
included in the setlist
and ready to be
recorded for the album.
"Carrie"
was co-written
by
Tempest
and keyboardist
Mic Michaeli
during a jam session.
The early version
of the song
consisted of only
keyboards and vocals,
and was performed
that way on
the 1985 tour,
but the album version
would feature
the whole band.
The song
"The Final Countdown"
was based on an
old keyboard riff
that Tempest
had composed as
early as 1981–82,
on a Korg Polysix keyboard
he had borrowed
from Michaeli.
In 1985
bassist
John Levén
suggested that
Tempest should write
a song based on that riff.
The lyrics were inspired by
David Bowie's song
"Space Oddity".
The sound of the
keyboard riff
used in the recording
was achieved by
using a Yamaha TX-816 rack
unit and a
Roland JX-8P synthesizer.
"I made a brassy sound
from the JX-8P
and used a
factory sound
from the Yamaha,
and just layered
them together",
Michaeli said.
"Cherokee"
was the last song
written for the album,
being written
only a week before
the band went to
Switzerland
to start
recording the album.
Tempest said he
had been inspired by
the history of the
Native Americans
to write the song.
In 2001,
Sony released a
remastered version
of the album
with expanded
liner notes
and
three bonus tracks,
live takes
of
"The Final Countdown",
"Danger on the Track"
and
"Carrie",
taken from
the
Final Countdown World Tour
home video
that was taped at
Hammersmith Odeon
in London 1987.
TRACKLIST
The Final Countdown
Rock The Night
Carrie
Danger On The Track
Ninja
Cherokee
Time Has Come
Heart Of Stone
On The Loose
Love Chaser
The Final Countdown
(Live)
Danger On The Track
(Live)
Carrie
(Live)
BONUS
Seven Doors Hotel
(1986 Version)
Rock The Night
(B-Side Remix)
On Broken Wings
(B-Side)
The Final Countdown
(Original Version)
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