Prisoners in Paradise
Prisoners in Paradise is the fifth studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe, released on 23 September 1991 on Epic. It followed The Final Countdown and Out of This World, and it produced the title track and "I'll Cry for You" as its best-known songs. Despite those two recent platinum-selling records behind them, it failed to chart in the US. It also marks the last appearance of guitarist Kee Marcello.
The road to the record was bumpy. Marcello has said Bob Rock was the first choice as producer but left to work on Metallica's self-titled album. An earlier version, called "Seventh Sign", was turned down by the label in 1990, so the band wrote and recorded fresh songs. Some of the discarded material resurfaced later: ideas became "New Love in Town" and "Bring it All Home", and two tracks were re-recorded for Marcello's 2016 solo album.
Prisoners in Paradise: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 54:57Tracklist
- 1All or NothingTempest, Martin, Pessis3:55
- 2Halfway to HeavenJim Vallance and Joey Tempest4:07
- 3I’ll Cry for YouNick Graham and Joey Tempest5:21
- 4Little Bit of Lovin’Kee Marcello and Joey Tempest4:48
- 5Talk to MeMic Michaeli and Joey Tempest4:07
- 6Seventh SignJoey Tempest4:43
- 7Prisoners in ParadiseJoey Tempest5:37
- 8Bad BloodMarcello, Tempest, Michaeli4:20
- 9HomelandMarcello, Michaeli, Tempest4:51
- 10Got Your Mind in the GutterBeau Hill and Joey Tempest5:00
- 11’til My Heart Beats Down Your DoorMichaeli, Tempest, Fiona, McDonald3:48
- 12Girl From LebanonJoey Tempest4:21
- Produced by
- Beau Hill
- Recorded at
- The Enterprise (Burbank, California)
- Recorded
- 1990–1991
- Mixed by
- Beau Hill, Jimmy Hoyson
- Engineered by
- Jimmy Hoyson
- Label
- Epic
- Length
- 54:57
Line-up
- Ian Haugland · drums (drum set), background vocals
- John Levén · bass guitar
- Kee Marcello · electric guitar, background vocals
- Mic Michaeli · keyboard, background vocals
- Joey Tempest · acoustic guitar, lead vocals
- Nate Winger · background vocals · guest
- Paul Winger · background vocals · guest
Singles
- “Prisoners in Paradise” · September 1991
- “I'll Cry for You” · December 1991
- “Halfway to Heaven” · March 1992
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1991 | 61 |
| Swedish Albums · 1991 | 9 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1991 | 12 |
| Swiss Albums · 1991 | 17 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1991 | 18 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1991 | 21 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1991 | 22 |
| Austrian Albums · 1991 | 32 |
| German Albums · 1991 | 38 |
| Dutch Albums · 1991 | 60 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Sweden · 1992 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 23 September
Every year →More from Europe
Full discography →The best of 1991
All of 1991 →More on Epic
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 23 September 1991 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 September 1991 | |
| Wikidata | 23 September 1991 | |
| US release | 23 September 1991 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1991 | earliest UK or European date |
13 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | GB | Epic | 5099746875527 | other |
| 1991 | XE | Epic | 5099746875510 | other |
| 1991 | GB | Epic | other | |
| 1991 | US | Epic | 0074644532821 | other |
| 23 September 1991 | DE | Epic | 5099746875527 | original |
| 23 September 1991 | US | Epic | 5099746875527 | original |
| 30 September 1991 | JP | Epic Records | 4988010546021 | other |
| 2001 | US | Sony Music Special Products | 670211519020 | other |
| 4 September 2001 | US | — | other | |
| 23 September 2004 | JP | Epic | 4562109408713 | other |
| 6 November 2007 | XW | Epic | 074644532821 | other |
| 2009 | GB | IronBird Records | 5013929880177 | other |
| 2024 | — | Rock Candy | 5056321670397 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · cropped: cropped from 1873x1862 to 1862x1862
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1873×1862 | cropped: cropped from 1873x1862 to 1862x1862 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |