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May 17, 2012 |
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EUROPE - Secret Society
Sanctuary (2006) |
9.5/10 |
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01. Secret Society
02. Always The Pretenders
03. The Getaway Plan
04. Wish I Could Believe
05. Let The Children Play
06. Human After All
07. Love Is Not The Enemy
08. A Mother's Son
09. Forever Travelling
10. Brave And Beautiful Soul
11. Devil Sings The Blues
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It's no secret to anyone not living under a rock that for the majority of the 80's "Hair Band" mainstays, the last decade-and-a-half has not been kind. Here's a few cases in point: POISON? I'm not sure they're even an active unit anymore to be quite honest, although they do seem to keep releasing "best ofs" and "hits collections" at semi-regular intervals and Bret Michaels has managed to maintain a pretty sweet pad if what I saw on "MTV Cribs" not too long back is anything to go by. WARRANT? Also more or less a non-entity, at best popping up on small-scale bar-tour circuits always minus one key member or another. The last I saw or heard of Jani Lane he was washed-up, bloated 'n balding, and crying like a little girl with a skinned knee on some VH1 special or another, bemoaning ever having even written "Cherry Pie" - the song which both shot he and his band to superstardom, yet ultimately destroyed them in the collective consciousness; a reminder of the dated, cliched pop-culture joke they allowed themselves to become. WINGER? Reduced to a punchline on "Beavis & Butthead". SKID ROW? Let's face it...without Baz...they're barely even a shadow of their former selves. In fact, for most of these former groupie-broncoing champions, their best days are long behind them. I can only hope they had good, honest accountants.
The list of falls-from-grace and personal/career tragedy goes on too. Probably only BON JOVI has managed to retain any credibility at all, morphing into something more akin to Adult Contemporary in both sound and aesthetic than anything truly Rock/Glam Metal-oriented, and even continuing to tour successfully, albeit to a completely different audience. And therein lies the lesson methinks: that even the most vital and popular of genres can die overnight if allowed to creatively stagnate and implode. Only through evolution and change does anything continue to thrive let alone survive...including music. Blame Grunge and Hip Hop all you want to - at the end of the day people stopped buying albums because they got BORED. Period.
As per the JON BON analogy however, not every band from that era went the way of the dinosaurs. Another survival story is of course Sweden's EUROPE (Joey Tempest - vox, John Norum - guitars, John Leven - bass, Mic Michaeli - keyboards, and Ian Haughland - drums) whose latest release "Secret Society" is another prime example of a band who have changed and evolved considerably to their ultimate advantage in the process.
The followup to 2004's excellent "Start From The Dark", "Secret Society" sees the boys from Stockholm continuing to develop their sound - now a fine blend of the lush, melodic sensibilities of old with a more streamlined and contemporary Rock aesthetic and more personal themes/lyrics - this time with a greater emphasis on the guitar prowess of axe-legend John Norum, and a more conscious willingness to take a tentative step back from the juuussst - a - tad too - minimalist - and - eager - to - please - the - younger - hipper - listening - audience in favour of the kind of shimmering, Valhalla-bound song constructs that first endeared them to fans over two decades ago. The result? A very modern sounding, yet lively, strongly-developed, and repeat-playable effort that if anything evokes echoes of a more subdued JORN/MASTERPLAN in tone and direction. This is the kind of album that is sure to please both new and old fans of these EUROPEan stalwarts alike.
Fave cuts would have to include the instantly catchy "Always The Pretenders", driven by Tempest's richly melodic vocal which rides along a chorus that could have easily been written fifteen years ago, though here filtered through sonic lenses more appropriate to contemporary tastes; the earnest ballad "I Wish I Could Believe", ambitious anthem "Let The Children Play", and the inspiring "Love Is Not The Enemy". And again, it must be reiterated how pleasant it is to hear Norum allowed to wander with considerably greater slack on the proverbial leash...his always beautiful and shining leadwork adding shade and texture to a memorable collection of riffs that are sure to be a hit in the live environs. My only complaint would be too much of the kind of synthetic, electronic effects on Tempest's voice that one would expect of guys in their 40's trying too hard to find a "modern sounding" production. There's no need for that kind of thing here. Joey probably sounds better now than he ever has, and his warm, very human, organic pipes need no such cold, clinical adornment. The guy sounds great just the way he is!
Regardless, "Secret Society" is yet another triumph from a band whose music, like the members themselves...has aged well; the fine wine to the sour vinegar of many of their contemporaries, and in my opinion at any rate a step up from even the amazing "Start From The Dark" which in retrospect did not offer quite as enjoyable and memorable a platter of tracks as is presented here. EUROPE have managed to alter their sound within the acceptable confines of their existing musical template with stellar results, evoking the better elements of their past, while continuing to forge ahead, always dreaming, along ever brighter roads which lay ahead. Here's hoping that they have a few more such offerings in 'em yet before they finally do decide to call it a day and retire gracefully. Oh yeah...cool Prog-Rocky cover art too!!!
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