Bag of Bones (album)

Bag of Bones
Studio album by Europe
Released April 18, 2012
(see Release history)
Recorded October 2011–February 2012 at Atlantis Grammofon AB, Stockholm
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock[1]
Length 40:55
Label Gain (Scandinavia)
earMUSIC/Edel (Europe)
Victor(Japan)
Producer Kevin Shirley
Europe chronology

Last Look at Eden
(2009)		 Bag of Bones
(2012)		 War of Kings
(2015)
Singles from Bag of Bones
  1. "Not Supposed to Sing the Blues"
    Released: March 9, 2012[2]
  2. "Firebox"
    Released: August 2012
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]

Bag of Bones is the ninth studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe. It was released on April 18, 2012 in Japan by Victor Entertainment[4] and on April 25 in Sweden by Gain Music Entertainment.[5] Bag of Bones is the first Europe album to chart in UK Top 100 Albums since Prisoners in Paradise in 1991 and also entered in UK Top 40 Rock Albums at number 3.[6]

Release history

Region Date
Japan April 18, 2012[4]
Sweden April 25, 2012[5]
United Kingdom April 30, 2012[7]

Album information

On July 12, 2011, Europe confirmed that Kevin Shirley would produce the album.[8] "I've been a big fan of Europe's work for many years," said Shirley, "The band is influential and highly underrated. I can't wait to make the upcoming album their most explosive to date."[8] The recording sessions started on October 3, 2011.[8]

The album title was announced on January 24, 2012.[9] Drummer Ian Haugland said, "It's not [called 'Bag of Bones'] because we all have lost tons of weight or found a new interest in archeology or dogs... It's just because it sounds fuckin' cool!"[9]

Vocalist Joey Tempest stated, "With Bag of Bones we've made a hardcore classic rock record with the blues knocking on the door," and added, "This almost feels like a 'prequel' to our very first album, with a 2012 punch."[10]

In addition to being released as a CD and digital download, the album was also released as an LP. Tempest said, "With the new 'Bag Of Bones' cover, there is so much detail on it. It became a bit boring there for a while; everybody was thinking, 'CDs are small, so let's just make something simple.' But we have computers, so we can blow up the cover to use for posters and vinyl, so it's still worth going that extra mile to make great covers. And we're really happy we did that."[11]

Reception

The album debuted at number 2 on the Swedish album chart on May 4, 2012[12] and was certified Gold in Sweden on July 12, 2012.[12]

Track listing

  1. "Riches to Rags" (Joey Tempest, John Levén) – 3:05
  2. "Not Supposed to Sing the Blues" (Joey Tempest) – 5:13
  3. "Firebox" (Joey Tempest, Mic Michaeli) – 3:46
  4. "Bag of Bones" (Joey Tempest) – 5:31
  5. "Requiem" [instrumental] (Mic Michaeli) – 0:28
  6. "My Woman My Friend" (Joey Tempest, John Levén) – 4:25
  7. "Demon Head" (Joey Tempest, John Levén, John Norum) – 3:58
  8. "Drink and a Smile" (Joey Tempest, Mic Michaeli) – 2:21
  9. "Doghouse" (Joey Tempest) – 3:58
  10. "Mercy You Mercy Me" (Joey Tempest, John Norum) – 4:31
  11. "Bring It All Home" (Joey Tempest, Mic Michaeli) – 3:39[7][13]

Japanese edition bonus track

12. "Beautiful Disaster"[4] – 3:57 (Joey Tempest)

LP track listing

Side A

  1. "Riches to Rags" (Joey Tempest, John Levén) – 3:05
  2. "Not Supposed to Sing the Blues" (Joey Tempest) – 5:13
  3. "Firebox" (Joey Tempest, Mic Michaeli) – 3:46
  4. "Bag of Bones" (Joey Tempest) – 5:31
  5. "Requiem" (Mic Michaeli) – 0:28
  6. "My Woman My Friend" (Joey Tempest, John Levén) – 4:25

Side B

  1. "Demon Head" (Joey Tempest, John Levén, John Norum) – 3:58
  2. "Drink and a Smile" (Joey Tempest, Mic Michaeli) – 2:21
  3. "Doghouse" (Joey Tempest) – 3:58
  4. "Mercy You Mercy Me" (Joey Tempest, John Norum) – 4:31
  5. "Bring It All Home" (Joey Tempest, Mic Michaeli) – 3:39

Personnel

Europe
Additional personnel
Production
Cover art

Chart positions

Year List Peak Ref.
2012 Swedish Album Chart 2 [12]
Norwegian Album Chart 21 [14]
Dutch AlbumTop 100 44 [15]
UK Albums Chart 56 [16]
German Albums Chart 26 [17]
Swiss Albums Chart 18 [18]
Czech Album Chart 37 [19]
Italian Album Chart 52 [20]

References

  1. ↑ "Bag of Bones - Overview". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  2. ↑ "Europe - Not Supposed To Sing The Blues". http://noblepr.co.uk''. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  3. ↑ Bag of Bones (album) at AllMusic
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "VICTOR ROCKS". http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp'' (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "Europe släpper ny skiva 25 april". http://ymlp.com'' (in Swedish). Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  6. ↑ "UK TOP 40 ROCK ALBUMS". http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/''. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Europe - Bag of Bones". http://noblepr.co.uk''. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Europe Taps Producer Kevin Shirley For New Album". roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "EUROPE: New Album Title Revealed". roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  10. ↑ "earMUSIC - Biography". ear-music.net. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  11. ↑ "EUROPE Frontman Talks 'Bag Of Bones' In New Audio Interview". roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Swedish album chart". sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  13. ↑ "Bag of Bones - Europe". http://www.allmusic.com''. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  14. ↑ "VG-lista - Topp 40 Album". vg.no. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  15. ↑ "Dutch AlbumTop 100". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  16. ↑ "Chart Log UK Weekly Updates 2012 - CHART: CLUK Update 12.05.2012". http://www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
  17. ↑ "Media-Control Charts". viva.tv. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  18. ↑ "Schweizer Hitparade". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  19. ↑ "IFPI ČR Hitparáda - TOP50 Prodejní Týden - 201217". ifpi.cz. Retrieved 2012 week 17. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ↑ "Italian Charts - Europe (2000-2015)". Hung Medien / Italian Charts. Retrieved 2015-03-02.