Out of This World (Europe album)

Out of This World
Studio album by Europe
Released 9 August 1988
Recorded Olympic Studios, Townhouse Studios, Swanyard, London, England March–June 1988
Genre Glam metal, hard rock
Length 47:50
Label Epic
Producer Ron Nevison
Europe chronology

The Final Countdown
(1986)		 Out of This World
(1988)		 Prisoners in Paradise
(1991)
Singles from Out of This World
  1. "Superstitious"
    Released: July 1988
  2. "Open Your Heart"
    Released: October 1988
  3. "Let the Good Times Rock"
    Released: March 1989
  4. "More Than Meets the Eye"
    Released: October 1989
  5. "Sign of the Times"
    Released: 1989
  6. "Tomorrow"
    Released: 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Out of This World is the fourth studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe. Released on 9 August 1988 through Epic Records, the album was a huge commercial success selling over 1 million units in the United States alone, peaking at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 chart and reaching high positions in charts worldwide.[2] It was recorded at Olympic Studios, London, England.

Six singles were released from the album: "Superstitious", "Open Your Heart", "Let the Good Times Rock", "More Than Meets the Eye", "Sign of the Times" and "Tomorrow". "Tomorrow" was only released in Brazil.

Music

Songs

"Superstitious" was the first song on the album, written by Joey Tempest. It was the first single released from the album and is arguably one of Europe's most recognizable and popular songs. The song peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached number 35 on the Canadian Singles Chart. The song was released in Australia, Europe and New Zealand in July 1988. "Superstitious" reached the UK top forty at 34. "Superstitious" continued the trend of lower-charting singles when it charted. The song reached number one in Norway and their homeland Sweden.

"Open Your Heart" and "Let the Good Times Rock" would become minor hits in the UK with "Open Your Heart" charting at 86 and "Let the Good Times Rock" peaking at 85. Three more singles would be released, yet none of them charted. "Tomorrow" was the last of the six, and was only released in Brazil.

Release and Reception

Out of This World was the band's follow up album to the successful album The Final Countdown. Upon its release in August 1988, Out of This World peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[2] The album did not match its predecessor. The album is Europe's best-selling album in Switzerland. Out of This World achieved Platinum status in the United States, gold platinum status in Canada, and Switzerland.[3][4][5]

Allmusic gave Out of This World three out of five stars. Reviewer Andy Hinds said, "Europe produces made-to-order lite metal with admirable craftsmanship and occasionally memorable hooks. "Superstitious" even has a disarming gospel quality. This is hard rock with all the edges sanded off. Capable lead singer Joey Tempest carries the tunes with nonthreatening panache, while Kee Marcello (who proved his virtuosity on Europe's previous by performing "Flight of the Bumblebee") provides plenty of nice guitar solos."[6]

Out of This World included the hit singles "Superstitious", "Open Your Heart" and "Let the Good Times Rock", all of which had accompanying music videos. Only "Superstitious" charted in America. "Open Your Heart" and "Let the Good Times Rock" charted in the UK. The other singles, "More Than Meets the Eye", "Sign of the Times" and "Tomorrow", didn't chart. "Tomorrow" was released in Brazil only. "Superstitious" was the most successful song from Out of This World on the rock charts, reaching number thirty one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Mainstream Rock Tracks.[7] "Superstitious" was released in the fall of 1988 and became arguably the band's most recognizable song from the album. Its music video received heavy airplay on music television.

Out of This World Tour

Prior to the release of the album, in the summer of 1988, the band travelled the U.S. together with Def Leppard. However, the band's management considered a promotional tour of Europe (the continent) more important and made the band withdraw from the highly successful American tour. After the promotional tour was over, the band set on rehearsing for the upcoming Out Of This World Tour, which began with a bombastic show (60,000 visitors) in Mumbai, India in November 1988. Then the band flew to Japan (where they filmed the video to "Let The Good Times Rock"). The scheduled tour of Australia was, however, unexpectedly cancelled. From January to April 1989, the band toured all over Europe. In some places, in Germany particularly, the band did not manage to fill up the arenas and concert halls like they had done during the Final Countdown Tour, despite more and more good reviews from the musical press. In May 1989 the band was supposed to go over to the USA again. But the album sales were not as high as had been expected. So in the end, there was no U.S. tour and the only concert the band played in the summer of 1989 was the legendary festival in Milton Keynes (UK). After that, the band decided to move to Los Angeles and compose new songs for the next album.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Superstitious"  Tempest 4:35
2. "Let the Good Times Rock"  Tempest 4:04
3. "Open Your Heart"  Tempest 4:04
4. "More Than Meets the Eye"  Tempest (music/lyrics), Marcello and Michaeli (music) 3:20
5. "Coast to Coast"  Tempest (music/lyrics), Marcello and Michaeli (music) 4:00
6. "Ready or Not"  Tempest 4:05
7. "Sign of the Times"  Tempest 4:15
8. "Just the Beginning"  Marcello (music/lyrics), Tempest (lyrics) 4:32
9. "Never Say Die"  Tempest 4:00
10. "Lights and Shadows"  Tempest 4:04
11. "Tower's Callin'"  Tempest 3:48
12. "Tomorrow"  Tempest 3:04

Interviews with the band from before and around the album's release indicate that a title track and a cover song were recorded but not included. Kee Marcello claims in his biography "The Rock Star that God Forgot" to have written a number of complete songs that were rejected for this album - "Too Far Gone", "Another World" and "Can't Fake Love" are listed. He also clarifies that the "cover song" was in fact a Diane Warren demo called "Look Away", a Billboard #1 hit for the band Chicago in December 1988.

Personnel

Chart positions

Year List Peak Week
1988 Swedish Album Chart 1 12
Norwegian Album Chart 1 11
Swiss Album Chart 3 14
Dutch Album Chart 7 5
UK Album Chart 12 5
Austrian Album Chart 16 4
Billboard 200 19 23
France Charts 19 10
Australian Album Chart 28 3

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r6888
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "American Album Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  3. ↑ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  4. ↑ "Swiss certification". Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  5. ↑ "CRIA Certifications". CRIA. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  6. ↑ "Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  7. ↑ "US Album Chart". Billboard 200. Retrieved 2008-06-24.