Customer Reviews

Prisoners in Paradise

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Does "Abby Road" sound like "Please Please Me"? EUROPE progressed over the years and I think Prisoners in Paradise is a tight hard rock album with fantastic melodies. Some of my favorite songs were not put out as singles, such as "Girl from Lebanon," "Mind in the Gutter," "Bad Blood," and "7th Sign." I love Kee Marcello's flying guitar and Mic Michaeli's amazing keyboard solos. They acheived magical new heights within each song that Joey Tempest so brilliantly created. The album showed EUROPE as a solid band and captured each member's talent. This is an album that lacked proper promotion at the time and was very under-appreciated.

I am glad to learn that Spitfire Records are re-releasing this album with 2 bonus tracks, "Mr. Government Man," and "Long Time Comin'." I love "Mr. Government Man" as it reflected the American west influence on EUROPE back in their "Le Baron Boys" days. Sony should have released those LBB demo tracks as they sounded so incredibly powerful and lively! Anyway, if you are looking for some timeless good rock n roll, or if you haven't gotten the PIP album, the new re-issueing version is something you don't want to miss. I know I'll be back for it! Let the EUROPE times rock!!

It's a shame that Europe had pretty much fallen off of the public's radar by 1991, because that is when they released what is arguably the best album of their career - Prisoners in Paradise. It wasn't as heavy as the band's first two albums, and it wasn't over-the-top pop metal like The Final Countdown and Out of This World. Instead, Europe delivered a quality melodic hard rock album; the kind that has you singing along to just about every song after the first listen.

The band seems much more mature and comfortable with their sound on this album, especially their songwriting. To be sure, most of the songs on Prisoners in Paradise are your standard radio-friendly love songs, but they're really good radio-friendly love songs and they never get as cheesy as some of the songs on their previous albums (Ninja and Tower's Callin' for example).

Any one of the first five tracks on this album could have been major radio hits, especially in 1991, as could the title track, but for some reason went unnoticed. All of the songs are well written, and there really isn't a weak moment on this album. The album's closer, Girl from Lebanon, is my favorite song on Prisoners in Paradise, and one of the best songs the band has recorded. It's a powerful song that reminds me quite a lot of White Lion's Lady of the Valley. I was fortunate enough to see Europe live last year and to hear them play this song. John Norum wasn't in the band when Prisoners in Paradise was released, but he blazed through Girl from Lebanon like it was written just for him.

Europe fans who might have overlooked this album really owe it to themselves to seek out a copy, as does anyone who enjoys AOR/melodic hard rock music. You'll be glad you did.

NOTE - Spitfire's 2001 reissue of Prisoners in Paradise contains two bonus tracks - Government Man and A Long Time Comin', both of which are excellent.

Here we are on the eve of the new Europe album "Start From The Dark",So I thought I'd go back and listen to their 1991 album "Prisoners in Paradise"again,and I have to say that this album rocks from start to finish.I have always been a Europe fan and I got thia album when I was very young and and to this day it remains as one of my fav albums ever.Europe DID NOT sell out with this album.They just took their music to the next level and it turned out awesome,This album has the classic Europe melodies in such ballads as "I'll cry for you" and "Homeland",as well as the heavy rocking "Seventh sign"and "Talk to me". I would recomend this album to anyone who likes good music."Prisonsers in Paradise"is one of those albums you can just push play an not worry about,Every song on this album is killer.Go buy it.

"Prisoners in Paradise" has been my favorite and least favorite album in the Europe catalog. The album rocks and was the most raw album the band recorded up to that time. It's melodic. It has great live energy and big hooks. I totally loved this album when I was a teenager and I still like it. Yet today I have to say its' the one Europe album I don't like as much now as I did in the past. Today it sounds a bit too juvenile to me. It doesn't have as much personality as its predecessors, and this is probably due to the outside writing influences on the album and new producer Beau Hill, plus the fact that the band was living in Los Angeles when they wrote and recorded it. It sounds very American and this is great, except Europe is a Scandinavian band and I think they were at their best when they were more connected to their homeland.

"Halfway to heaven", "I'll cry for you" and the title track were the singles from the album, with "I'll cry for you" being a #1 hit in Sweden and peaking at #25 in the United Kingdom. Tracks such as "Talk to me", "Bad blood" and "Girl from Lebanon" are also big standouts. A good album all around. Deserved more recognition than it received. It was released in 1991, just as the "Grunge" scene was beginning. Had this been released a couple years earlier it probably would've been a bigger hit.

People, you have got to try this. The best song they ever wrote is on here, but never got any attention because the record company and managers (...) the band royally. If you love melodic rock, you have to have this in your collection. For "Girl From Lebanon" if nothing else. The next best track (to me) is "Seventh Sign", inspired by the movie of the same name. If you're a long time fan of the band, scream loud for them to re-unite. If you're not a long time fan, this disc WILL change your mind.

the best Europe album so far,Tempests vocals are once again out of this world and the guitar solos are superb.pip is the best track while heaven,cry 4u,girl from lebenon,homeland and 7th sign follow closely behind.iv ordered the re-released version with extra tracks as this is a heavy rock album thats highly under rated.

The last studio album by the legendary Europe,'Prisoners of Paradise'was their attempt at establishing a solid American following.After their attempt at emulating the new hair bands within the difficult musical climate of 1991 had failed,they finally disbanded.However,long out of print,this is a superior album,even though a tad different from the usual Europe fare.It is a summation of metal,blues and pop affinities,very much above most of the hair band thoroughfare.

Prisoners in Paradise is one of my favorite songs by Europe and this album by Europe which only has the album version. They still rock after debut album, they have not changed in style. This is my new favorite Europe album behind all their others. The linear notes provide all the lyrics plus thanks and a funny WARNING note! I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Europe, hair metal bands or 80's rock.

I'm going to get this as soon as I can. This was Europe's last album before they took their long break. Songs like Girl From Lebanon, and Prisoners In Paradise were the best on this album.

This 1991 album was largely overlooked when it came out, but in retrospect, it holds up very well. It marked a return by Europe to the hard rock sound of their earlier albums like Wings of Tomorrow, and something of a departure from the lush keyboard-oriented arrangements on Out of This World. Here the guitar is more prominent, while the keyboards are kept in the background. The songs are for the most part above average, although not stellar, with decent melodies. There are a few standout tracks, notably the closer, Girl from Lebanon, but everything is pleasant and listenable. With 12 tracks running 54 minutes, this CD is a good value for the price.