A lengthy hiatus has its benefits, as well as its drawbacks. On one hand, you can recharge your batteries and attempt to rediscover that passion, but on the other hand, you temporarily lose touch in terms of work ethic. Europe took a hiatus that lasted roughly a decade, their two full length efforts upon returning allegedly attempting to compete with modern hard rock acts. Reports suggest "Last Look At Eden" is the sound of a band comfortable with its past, but is also the sound of a band whose sound is nonetheless modern. To record true, genuine material, a band has to be comfortable with its roots, but having said that, mustn't be blinded by nostalgia.
2003 arguably marked
Europe's return, culminating in 2004's "
Start From The Dark" and 2006's "
Secret Society", both issued through Sanctuary Records. Having inked a record contract with edel's earMUSIC, the act cut eighth studio album "
Last Look At Eden" with producer
Tobias Lindell from December 2008 to February 2009. Recording locations included: Bohus Sound Studios, Gothenburg, Playyard Studios, and Studio 13, Stockholm.
May 2009 is when Europe travelled to Gothenburg to film a music video for "Last Look At Eden"'s inaugural single and title cut, working with Patric Ullaeus of Revolver. The video premiered via the group's MySpace page on June 3rd, Ulleaus also directing the music video for sophomore single "New Love In Town" in August. On August 10th, Europe issued five-track mini-album "Last Look At Eden", including the title cut as well as live renditions of Europe numbers "Superstitious" and "Start From The Dark", recorded live at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Recorded live at Nalen, Stockholm, also included was an interpretation of Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You". A mere six days later, the group contributed a headlining performance at Bloodstock Festival. "Last Look At Eden" underwent release in Scandinavia on September 9th through Universal, whilst its UK release occurs on September 14th.
On July 14th at 11:00 GMT, Europe vocalist Joey Tempest telephoned Hit The Lights' Robert Gray to discuss "Last Look At Eden".
Joey Tempest: Hi, this is Joey. How are you?
UG: Hello Joey. I'm ok. How are you?
Yeah, I'm good. Where are you?
In Wales.
In Wales?
Yeah. Would it be alright if I began the interview?
Yeah, sure.
Could you provide some background information regarding 'Last Look At Eden'?
Yeah, sure. 'Last Look At Eden' was recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden with a young producer, namely Tobias Lindell. The album has eleven brand new, rocking songs, and is our best in a long time. We've come full circle, I believe. 'Last Look at Eden' has a modern sound, but also has classic influences from the seventies, and even the eighties. It's a very interesting album, I think.
Why did Europe opt to work with a young producer like Tobias Lindell?
We knew that Tobias was interested in working with us, as he's contacted our management before, and asked for an opportunity. When he was younger, he was also a Europe follower. We've listened to some of his material. Actually, he produced a Swedish band called Mustach, and won a Grammy for that album - he did a really good job. We were very excited to try this young producer, and that proved to be a very good combination. Tobias records on an old Neve desk, and then mixes on a brand new desk, meaning you'll achieve that old world sound and the new, crunchy sound. When it comes to mixing and producing a record, what he comes up with is really world class.
"The album is just something from the heart, and feels like the best we've done in a long time."
In Scandinavia, we're signed to Universal, and like you said, we're signed to earMUSIC in Europe, which is a variation of Edel. We actually spoke to a lot of different labels in Europe, and tried to find out who really passionately liked the band, and who could do a really good job for Europe. We spoke to a few other labels, but we thought Max (Vaccaro) at earMUSIC was very passionate about the band. Now we signed to earMUSIC, we're quite happy actually as a few of those other labels currently have difficulties in the music world.
Europe's previous studio album, 2006's 'Secret Society', was released through Sanctuary Records. Since Sanctuary went bankrupt, did Europe experience any problems with the label?
Yeah. We were due to release 'Secret Society', and things were still alright, but as soon as we released 'Secret Society', there were problems with Sanctuary. As a result of Sanctuary's problems, 'Secret Society' suffered a little bit. Due to that scenario, with 'Last Look At Eden', we really wanted to make sure that the label we signed with was passionate, more stable, and thought long term.
Do you feel that the two tracks featured on the June 2009 EP 'Last Look at Eden', namely "Last Look at Eden" and "U Devil U", are a good representation of the album?
Yeah. "Last Look at Eden" obviously represents the more majestic, hard rock side of the album, whereas "U Devil U" really shows the groovier, sexier side of the band, if you like, and possibly has some influences from the seventies. Yeah, those two tracks give a good example, but 'Last Look at Eden' is also broader than that. It's a modern album, but also has links to the seventies, and links to ourselves in the eighties for the first time. With material from 'Start from the Dark' and 'Secret Society', we were more keen on recording something modern and crunchy, as well as becoming relevant. 'Last Look at Eden' is very fluid, very organic, and doesn't analyze too much. The album is just something from the heart, and feels like the best we've done in a long time.
In what ways do you feel Europe has come full circle?
Like I said, we've come full circle with our music, and our lyrics. I think we're finally getting to grips with writing some good material (laughs). Unconsciously, we incorporated all our experiences into 'Last Look at Eden', and our influences from when we grew up shine through a little bit. Also, the album has a link to our eighties albums, but at the same time, it has that modern, hard rock feeling.
Would you say that 'Last Look at Eden' is Europe's most fully realized album then?
Yes, to date. Yes, absolutely. 'Start from the Dark' was a raw diamond, and was almost like a debut album. 'Secret Society' really pushed the limits in terms of mixing – we hired Stefan Glaumann, the Rammstein mixer, and had people working on the album. 'Secret Society' was really tight, modern and crunchy. We really wanted to show that we could record something relevant, and received some good reviews. 'Last Look at Eden' was from the heart though, and was fluid, incorporating all the experiences and influences that we've had over the years. It's a true Europe album.
In recording 'Last Look at Eden', do you feel that your experiences helped you a lot?
Yeah. 'Last Look at Eden' wouldn't exist without 'Start from the Dark' and 'Secret Society', and all the experiences surrounding those albums, as well as personal experiences, and having gone through the eighties and nineties. It's all a part of 'Last Look at Eden'.
'Last Look at Eden', the EP, features a live cover interepretation of Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You".
Yeah. We actually recorded a webcast for our fans last winter, and that was solely meant as a webcast, but it turned out so well. We hired a string quartet, and performed some Europe tracks in new versions, as well as performing four to five tracks by bands that have influenced us over the years. We performed songs by Thin Lizzy ("Suicide"), Pink Floyd ("Wish You Were Here"), and Led Zeppelin - "Since I've Been Loving You", the song you mentioned. We performed one by UFO too, a song called "Love to Love". These are songs that influenced us when we grew up, and we were so pleased with the result that we decided to release the 'Almost Unplugged' CD (2008) and 'Almost Unplugged' DVD (2009).
Are such influences particularly prevalent upon 'Last Look at Eden'? You mentioned seventies influences, and so on.
Yeah. You can hear a seventies link on 'Last Look at Eden', definitely. Obviously, when we grew up outside of Stockholm, there were certain albums and certain songs that really changed our lives. There was an album by Deep Purple, the live album 'Made In Japan' (1972), that was really influential and inspirational for us. There were obviously Led Zeppelin songs like "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "Kashmir" that really blew our minds, and later on, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore and bands like that formed. You can hear these influences on 'Last Look at Eden'.
What are "Last Look at Eden"'s lyrics about?
The lyrics for "Last Look at Eden" were written one week before the last American election. We had some doubts. If we don't change everything, then we'll have the last look at Eden - the song comes from that point from view. Personally, I think we had a good outcome in the election, and maybe we can look at Eden a bit longer.
"Last Look at Eden"'s music performance video was filmed with Patric Ullaeus from Revolver.
The video, yeah. "Last Look at Eden"'s music video has been viewed so much on MySpace, like sixty thousand times in a month. We're so happy that we contacted Patric Ullaeus, who also directed In Flames' music videos. We saw some of the videos he recorded with In Flames, and thought "This guy is good. We want to work with this guy". We contacted him, and he was very happy to work with us. We're very pleased with "Last Look at Eden"'s video, and will work with him on our next music video.
For 'Last Look at Eden''s second music video, does Europe have a specific track in mind?
Not yet, not yet. We've talked to him about filming at least two videos though, and we've filmed one already. I'm sure he'll record possibly two to three more with us - that wouldn't surprise me. We'll definitely record our next video with him.go
"The album's lyrics have some hidden meanings."
I don't know. We'll have to see, as we haven't decided which songs we want to film videos for. The only thing we know is we want to work with Patric on our next video.
In discussing 'Last Look at Eden''s lyrics via a blog, you said that they concern "defiance, politics and sex". Could you elaborate?
(Laughs). 'Last Look at Eden''s lyrics incorporate quite a lot, but in general, they're rock 'n' roll lyrics. We've come a long way with lyrics, though. The album's lyrics have some hidden meanings. I've lived abroad for eighteen years, and John Norum has lived in Los Angeles for fifteen years, so we have an international perspective on things. We're becoming better at writing lyrics, and still have them rooted in the rock world. A rock lyric needs to be like an instrument as well, and you shouldn't have to analyze. It should work in itself, though it's great if lyrics have some meanings behind them, and some of 'Last Look at Eden''s tracks do I think. On this album, I have decided not to explain my lyrics so much, so you just have to listen, and see what you think.
So you prefer listeners to draw their own interpretations?
Yeah, absolutely. I did that myself, and still do when I listen to music. I like to discover different meanings. If there's a hidden message, sometimes it isn't so good if you start explaining everything.
Do you feel that analyzing might possibly take the passion out of your lyrics?
Yeah, sometimes. Sooner or later, the lyrical meanings behind 'Last Look at Eden''s songs will creep out, though I think good rock bands have different layers that you can discover as time goes by.
Does 'Last Look at Eden''s lyrics draw upon personal experiences? Personal experiences you likely wouldn't want to delve into?
Yeah, there are a few of those, whether they be my personal experiences, or someone else's in the band perhaps. It's always like that with Europe's lyrics, but has been especially with the last three Europe albums. 'Last Look at Eden''s lyrics obviously touch on personal things, but as I said, they work both ways. They work on a rock level, working as rock 'n' roll lyrics as well. Sometimes, there are some other meanings, yeah.
Are you a private person then?
Over the years, I've been more of a private person and kept the rock persona separate, yeah. Most of the time, in the countries where we are featured in the media and such, we're usually featured in the music media. We've never really been part of the gossip magazines, or anything like that. It's never been our ambition. We try to handle guitar based or musician based magazine requests first, and then we handle general press requests. The last thing we tend to give interviews to is weekly gossip magazines (laughs).
You referred to 'Last Look at Eden''s music as classic rock, but with a modern touch. How did Europe ensure that the album's music is rooted in the 21st century?
We've been doing this for awhile, and I think our influences shine through. Now that we're experienced, we only want to make relevant albums - we only want to make modern, crunchy albums that can stand up to the big, new hard rock bands' albums, albums that sound as good as other bands' albums. We're not afraid now to show some of our influences, though it's just something that happened naturally. We tour all the time, and just enter the studio. It's a very natural progression, basically.
For 'Last Look at Eden', Europe worked with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra on four tracks in Prague. What do you feel they lent to those specific tracks?
In Prague, yeah. We used a real orchestra for those four songs. Amongst others, we put strings on "Last Look at Eden" of course. Visiting Prague was a suggestion from our producer Tobias Lindell, who had been there once before. He thought it sounded fabulous, and would be a great idea. It turned out really well - we're very pleased with that. The strings add some drama, and some passion. When you listen to those strings, you think "Oh yeah. I believe in that. That's cool". Also, the strings bring back the keyboard element without actually bringing back keyboards as such. It brings back that sound slightly, but in a very natural way.
So during 'Last Look at Eden''s recording process, producer Tobias Lindell was very suggestive?
Yeah. We wrote everything, and he followed our lead. He had great ideas though, and pushed us. Tobias wanted to connect us with our past slightly, as well as being modern. He was also instrumental in that.
Comparing 'Last Look at Eden' to 'Start from the Dark' and 'Secret Society', how does the album improve upon those past two efforts?
'Last Look at Eden' is slightly more groovy I think, and is slightly more organic. It's a true Europe album, and more so than 'Start from the Dark' and 'Secret Society'. We tried really hard to establish ourselves as a modern rock band, but with 'Last Look at Eden', we let everything go, and just did exactly what we felt like. It was very fluid, and very organic.
And probably more comfortable, as well.
Yeah. We're becoming more comfortable with each other - we've known each other since we were teenagers. We've hit a nerve again I think, and have found good inspiration for 'Last Look at Eden'.
Is it as easy to find that hunger as it was twenty years ago?
We tour a lot together now, and are getting back into that mode. We used to tour a lot in the beginning. You enter a parallel universe where you can write songs, and we've found that place again. We tour a lot, and when we don't tour, we enter the studio. It's a way of life, and more than just "Oh now we're going into the studio", or "Oh now we're going on tour". We live this way now. It's a life again, and has really paid off with 'Last Look at Eden'.
From 1992 until 2003, Europe went largely on hiatus. Did that break really help?
We talked about it, and we realised it has helped. We realised it was good for us, as we went to discover different experiences over those years. We went to discover different angles, and brought it all back together. We were outside the box for awhile, I think. We were outside everything for awhile, and then brought those new experiences back to record 'Start from the Dark', and to start again. For us, the break was good.
"I think we're finally getting to grips with writing some good material."
(Laughs) It's too early to say. We're so involved with 'Last Look at Eden' right now. All of 2009 and all of 2010, we're going to work this album. The touring we conduct will influence us, what we listen to will influence us, and how we play live will influence us. We'll see what happens. It's too early to say about the future, but we'll definitely strive on. and I would assume we will go back into the studio in late 2010, or in 2011.
When Europe tours in support of 'Last Look at Eden', how many of the album's tracks will the group perform live?
I would assume three to four, sometimes even five. We have so many songs to play from our other albums. We always like to play some old material, we always want to play some of the classic, eighties era Europe, and we always want to play something from 'Start from the Dark' and 'Secret Society'. There may not be room for more than four or five songs.
Is composing a set list very difficult?
Yeah. It becomes more difficult for each tour, but the fantastic thing about songs is that some just belong on the tour, and stay with us. Already, songs like "Start from the Dark" are in the set list, and will probably stay for a long time. A song like "Always the Pretenders" from 'Secret Society' is also a very strong song that we like to play, and already, the song "Last Look at Eden" is feeling really good live. I assume this song will last, and stay with us for a long time. It isn't that difficult, as when you compile a set list, some songs belong there. The trick is to find a balance, and to squeeze in all the songs you want to play into one and a half to two hours.
What are Europe's current touring plans?
We'll perform at festivals this summer, including one in England – Bloodstock. We're headlining Bloodstock Festival, the last evening there. We'll then embark on a German tour in November for four weeks, and a Scandinavian tour before Christmas I think. A big European tour will occur in January, and we're planning to travel to the UK and Ireland in February. We're planning to travel to Japan in March, and we're planning to put some work into America late in 2010, as well as likely some more festivals in 2010. We have plans for 2009, and 2010.
What does the future hold for Europe, do you feel?
I don't know. It feels as though it's starting to happen for us now. We're receiving some good press, and better so than for 'Start from the Dark' and 'Secret Society'. For us, 'Last Look at Eden' is very exciting. It can open up a new future for us. We'll just keep playing our brand of hard rock. What we want to do is just establish ourselves, and show people can trust us. We want to let them know that we're here, and that we're going to come with a new tour and a new album. We're just going to be here, and do the best we can.
For the fans of Europe, do you have a message?
(Laughs) Yeah. First of all, I want to thank all the fans for keeping it together, and supporting us during our break to start with. It was fantastic support. These days, with the internet and the web pages, it's great that you're there on the forum, and it's great that you're visiting our website, and keeping in direct contact with the band. We look at our sites, and check what you guys say all the time. Also, I just want to thank people for believing in us, and staying there, and supporting us.
Ok. Thank you for the interview Joey.
Yeah. Fantastic man.
All the best, and good luck with 'Last Look at Eden' and everything.
Thank you very much. Good luck yourself.
Ok. Take care. Bye.
Ok, cheers. Bye.
Interview by Robert Gray
Photo Credit: Christie Goodwin
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2009
Europe announced 2010 UK tour. Check out today's UG news story.
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Also if you are a guitarist you would recognize John Norum. He also played for Dokken for a little while. 
