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Reissue Review: Europe, Out Of This World

Posted by Luminator (A) on November 3, 2016 at 18:26:09

If you are part of that Silent Majority of audiophiles whose music diet includes popular music, you know that record labels are finally reissuing titles on Redbook CD. Some do these on SHM-CD, BSCD2, and the so-called "mini-LP." As for the latter, why? The crummy cardboard case gets destroyed in minutes. Just do a jewel case, and the accompanying printing, for crying out loud.

Apparently, Sony Music Japan International, in 2009, re-did, with DSD mastering, Europe's Out Of This World. I'll get to the sonics, but first, some background information.

Let's go back to the start of the Fall 1988 semester. I had just become a high school senior, and my friends were now super sophs. When I got to school, we convened in the study hall. We hogged a table, tossed our cassettes and CDs in the middle, and did our album swap. My friend Phil, whom I had known since junior high, introduced me to his freshman sister, Judy. Judy, it turned out, was also a huge heavy metal fan. In turn, Judy would introduce me to her freshmen friends, including my would-be girlfriend, LT9. LT9 was one of those who would get Out Of This World on cassette.

On weekends, we would go to S.F. playgrounds, to play sports. Someone always brought a boombox. Academically, those girls were superior to us guys. Many were National Merit scholars. Hell, many were in the school's orchestra, student government, or dance clubs. But in these gatherings, the girls would put down the books, pop in cassettes to the boombox, and get out and rock! We guys liked kick-ass music, while the girls preferred the lite metal, such as Bon Jovi, Stryper, and Europe.

On Sunday, October 9, 1988, Phil and I did some clerical office work in Walnut Creek. On the way back, we listened to the car radio, while the 49ers agonizingly lost at home in OT to the Elway-led Broncos. Pissed, we switched off the radio, and played the cassette of Out Of This World. I don't know; listening to that album, and especially "Open Your Heart," made me wistfully think of all those smart, friendly, and cute freshmen and sophomore girls.

And wouldn't you know it? After I was dropped off at home, one of the first videos I saw on MTV was Europe's "Open Your Heart." Though I should have done my homework, I picked up the phone, called one of the girls, said I missed her.

Back at school, we once again met up in the study hall. It was quite a sight, watching three of the girls huddle, and joyfully sing along to Europe's "Sign Of The Times." That right there was better than anything we audiophiles could or would ever do.

As LT9 and I grew closer, we'd sit in front of her locker, and share a Walkman or Discman. She had Out Of This World on cassette, and I loved her rubbing shoulders with me, as she grooved to "Just The Beginning."

Epic's original 1988 cassette, CD, and LP of Out Of This World all had this grayish-white haze, uneven imaging, choppy movements, and a lack of soundstage depth. Yeah, there's a certain charm to that, emulating the cooler (in the northern hemisphere) Fall '88 weather.

Whoa, wait a minute. The "mini-LP" reissue, catalog number EICP 1250, from the opening vocals of "Superstitious," sports an overall cleaner sound, with gunk sucked out from the background. Joey Tempest sounds like he got over a cold. Kee Marcello's guitar solos are clear, with an accurate rendering of timbre. But perhaps the instrument which benefits the most is Mic Michaeli's keyboard. You hear the subtle volume changes, chimes, fanning of the sound, and horn-like blats.

If you hunker on over to Rocky Road, you can find my capsule reviews of "boutique CDs," such as SHM-CD, BSCD2, XRCD, and "mini-LPs." Sonically, they can be a mixed bag. The potentially good news is that most of these reissues are of popular music titles, the stuff we actually are interested in, and want.

The crappy cardboard packaging notwithstanding, this Out Of This World reissue is done right(ly). Whether you do the SA thing, and glue your ass to the sweet spot; pop this into a car CD player, Discman, or boombox; use this to DJ a party; or rip it to computer, the "mini-LP" makes you breathe that late-1988 air. You're shoulder-to-shoulder with your group of high school friends, having a wonderful time, singing along. And isn't that what it's all about?

-Lummy The Loch Monster

• Superstitious   (Open in New Window)

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.

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