Description

Reduced price due to sticker damage on back cover and glue after name sticker on label (see pictures)

Original 1984 Dutch Epic pressing

Europe did rocket to superstardom with The Final Countdown but the second album, Wings Of Tomorrow was truly their magnum opus. Heavier and much more metal than anything they did after it, yet more polished, precise and expertly executed than their fledgling debut, a mere year earlier, it was a blend of near perfection. Open Your Heart was released as a single and it was bastardized into a pop metal ditty on Out Of This World. Wwhy the original was not good enough for them is beyond me, for in my mind it ranks as one of the best ballads ever laid down. Its opening is light and simplistic, relying on a sparse landscape of mostly acoustic and Tempest’s rich vocals to create a tearful atmosphere, right before kicking into rocking overdrive for the chorus, all instruments blazing for this fire and ice contrast and a mesmerizing solo that still has the power to blow one away. The original version also have a verse; Oh girl, before I fall… Maybe the sun will continue to shine… verse that was changed for the 1988 re-recording. The B-side features tthe hauntingly melodic Wings Of Tomorrow with its powerful message, pompous and elegantly futuristic. Tempest himself ranks Wings as his favorite Europe album. There’s a reason for that, for they had found perfection, only the rest of the world had failed to realize it. This single features two tracks from that amazing album

Track listing:
1. Open Your Heart
2. Wings Of Tomorrow