The Final Countdown (album)

] cite web
url=http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php
title=CRIA Certifications
publisher=CRIA
accessdate=2008-06-24 ] cite web
url=http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60461#resultaat
title=NVPI Certifications
publisher=NVPI
accessdate=2008-06-24 ]

"Allmusic" gave "The Final Countdown" four and a half out of five stars. Reviewer Doug Stone said, "This is the story; this is the legend told by Teutonic guitars and predictable keyboards ringing pure and hurtling through each and every convention perfectly. The quintet's big-boy Epic inaugural, "The Final Countdown" deftly combines the Valhalla victory of Europe's heroic debut with the American poodle pomposity that devoured the band. You could live without "The Final Countdown", but why?"cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:q69hs36ba3xg |title=Allmusic |publisher=Allmusic |accessdate=2008-06-24 ]

"Rolling Stone" writer J. D. Considine said, "The words to "The Final Countdown" make almost no sense whatsoever on paper, but there's genuine drama to the way Tempest's keening vocals surge through the mock-orchestral morass of synths and guitar. Maybe it's trite, maybe it's derivative, but it's also undeniably effective. From the stirring stadium schlock of "Rock the Night" to the self-indulgent melodrama of "Love Chaser", the best moments here are insidiously catchy, leaving you humming along against your better judgment." cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/europe/albums/album/131591/review/5941912/the_final_countdown |title=Europe: The Final Countdown : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone |publisher=Rolling Stone |accessdate=2008-06-28 ]

"The Final Countdown" included the hit singles "The Final Countdown", "Rock the Night", "Carrie" and "Cherokee", all of which had accompanying music videos. All four placed on the "Billboard" Hot 100. A fifth single, "Love Chaser", was released in Japan only. "The Final Countdown" was the most successful song from "The Final Countdown" on the rock charts, reaching number 18 on the Mainstream Rock Charts and number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. "The Final Countdown" arguably became the band's most recognizable and popular song. Its music video received heavy airplay on music television.

The Final Countdown Tour

" of the DVD was released in 2006. The promotional music video for "The Final Countdown" was shot partly during the soundchecks for those concerts and partly during the actual concerts.

Europe went on a Japanese tour in September 1986, playing four concerts in Tokyo and one concert each in Nagoya and Osaka. During that tour, guitarist and band co-founder John Norum told the other band members that he wanted to leave the band, due to musical differences and a disagreement with the band's manager, Thomas Erdtman. Norum agreed to stay in the band for the second leg of the Swedish tour, which started in Örebro on October 3, 1986, as well as a promotion tour around Europe including TV appearances and interviews. He made his last appearance with the band for a Sky Channel broadcast at the club Escape in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on October 31, 1986.

Norum was then replaced by Kee Marcello, who had just left another Swedish rock band, Easy Action. At first Marcello had been hesitant to join Europe, because he had put a lot of work into Easy Action's upcoming album "That Makes One".cite web |url=http://www.keemarcello.com/bio_kee.html |title=The Official Kee Marcello's Website |publisher=keemarcello.com |accessdate=2008-07-01] After some consideration he changed his mind and decided to join the band. He appeared in the music videos for "Rock the Night" and "Carrie", before making his first TV appearance with the band at Peters Popshow in Dortmund, West Germany on December 12, 1986.

The European leg of the tour started in Bergen, Norway on January 24, 1987 and ended in Genoa, Italy on March 3, 1987. A concert done at Hammersmith Odeon, London on February 23, was filmed and released on video, entitled "The Final Countdown World Tour".

On April 15, 1987 the band started their first U.S. tour at The Warfield Theatre in San Francisco. The tour ended in Philadelphia on May 17, 1987, as the band had been playing in 23 cities and traveling 14,565 km. A Swedish TV crew followed the band on the tour, producing the documentary "Europe in America", which would be shown on TV and released on video.

Europe ended the Final Countdown Tour at the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark on July 4, 1987.cite web |url=http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/2008/forside/historie/1987/spilleplan/date/552391200/ |title=Roskilde Festival: Spilleplan |publisher=roskilde-festival.dk |accessdate=2008-07-01]

Track listing

tracklist
headline = Side one
writing_credits = yes

title1 = The Final Countdown
writer1 = Tempest
length1 = 5:11

title2 = Rock the Night
writer2 = Tempest
length2 = 4:03

title3 = Carrie
writer3 = Tempest, Michaeli
length3 = 4:30

title4 = Danger on the Track
writer4 = Tempest
length4 = 3:45

title5 = Ninja
writer5 = Tempest
length5 = 3:46tracklist
headline = Side two
writing_credits = yes

title6 = Cherokee
writer6 = Tempest
length6 = 4:13

title7 = Time Has Come
writer7 = Tempest
length7 = 4:01

title8 = Heart of Stone
writer8 = Tempest
length8 = 3:46

title9 = On the Loose
writer9 = Tempest
length9 = 3:08

title10 = Love Chaser
writer10 = Tempest
length10 = 3:27

Outtakes and bonus tracks

Another Tempest-written song recorded during the sessions, "On Broken Wings", was later used as a B-side on the "Final Countdown" single.

"Where Men Won't Dare", co-written by Joey Tempest and John Levén, was an unfinished outtake which was included as a bonus feature on the "" DVD.

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 .

Personnel

*Joey Tempest – vocals
*John Norum – guitars
*John Levén – bass guitar
*Mic Michaeli – keyboards
*Ian Haugland – drums
*Kevin Elson – producer, engineer, mixing
*Wally Buck – engineer, mixing
*Don Meehan – engineer
*Bob Ludwig – mastering
*Michael Johansson – photography
*Les Katz – cover illustration
*Joel Zimmerman – art direction

Chart positions

cite web
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=4566&model.vnuAlbumId=803208
title=American Album Chart
publisher=Billboard.com
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://www.everyhit.com/
title=British Album Chart
publisher=Chart Stats
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=Europe&cat=a
title=Austrian Album Chart
publisher=austriancharts.com
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php
title=German Album Chart
publisher=charts-surfer
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Europe
title=Norwegian Album Chart
publisher=norwegiancharts.com
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Europe
title=Swedish Album Chart
publisher=swedishcharts.com
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=Europe&cat=a
title=Swiss Album Chart
publisher=Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1987.htm
title=Italian Album Chart
publisher=Europe - Music Charts
accessdate=2008-06-24] cite web
url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/index-e.html
title=Canadian Chart
publisher=RPM
accessdate=2008-06-24 ]

References