a-ha: MTV Unplugged - Summer Solstice

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by LarsO, Aug 20, 2017.

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  1. myker

    myker Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    This is what excitement for a new Savoy record sounds like to me:

     
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  2. myker

    myker Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
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  3. MLML

    MLML Forum Resident

    Location:
    Aarhus, Denmark
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  4. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I like it. Some latter day Kent vibes there.
     
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  5. RicZ

    RicZ Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Sounds great.
    Not sure what happened in the studio, but I think the level has been raised with this song.
    Updated sound with familiar Paul Waaktaar - Savoy elements.

    Curious about the new album and hope this will not be the only great song.
    As happened on other Savoy albums where you have one really great track,
    mostly the title track like "Mountains of Time" or "Reasons To Stay in Doors" .
    While the other songs are bit of a let down and not reaching the same level imo.

    But "Night Watch" is something else.
    Just downloaded it from iTunes and it's going to be on repeat for some time.
    Almost overlooked the fact that "Manmmade Lake" and "Weathervane" will also be included.
    That is great news.
    Assuming that Paul will take the lead on "Weathervane" this time.
    Really can't wait to hear that.
    Can't wait to hear the whole abum as a matter of fact.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2017
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  6. MLML

    MLML Forum Resident

    Location:
    Aarhus, Denmark
    I am also really excited about this!
    I love Pål's singing on this track, and I really hope Lauren will not sing too much on the album :hide: I like a lot of Savoy's songs, but I don't think she brings much to them. Sorry, Lauren!
     
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  7. RicZ

    RicZ Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Yes hoping for more Paul vocals.
    I understand when you have Morten Harket in one of your bands
    that you take a back seat.
    But not with Savoy Paul!
     
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  8. Minimal Fuss

    Minimal Fuss Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Ditto on Lauren singing. Do you have some room under that chair for me, @MLML? :D

    The new track is a good surprise. Somehow I could have seen this included in CIS (replacing Forest Fire for instance - oops here comes the chair again :hide:)
     
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  9. Sesam

    Sesam Forum Resident

    Location:
    .
    Also I like many things with this. The sound certainly is early 80s or as Lars points out, the song follows the now more than a decade long trend of neo-80s. Anyway Savoy 2017 is clearly in better shape than the stale state they left us in 2008 with songs like “Barefoot in a denimjacket” and pointless re-recordings. The spirit, if not the sound, reminds me somehow of Lackluster me. Right now I am so much more up for that than yet another tidy 60s inspired song like “Beautiful burnout” and the sort of pop Savoy presented on albums 3 and 4.

    The lyrics are much better than most on W&Z. The place, time and mental state is the room of the “Door Ajar”. So different from the sentimental “World of trouble” and some of the too internal, family-lyrics of Savoy in the past.

    I always very much preferred the darker Savoy to the happier and grander 6os pop Savoy and that goes very well with this attempt to a clubby style or “dark dance” as they call it. However I don’t think the sound and vibe they probably aimed for is fully realised, especially not in the long instrumental section. Savoy’s homemade “dark dance” does not reach the same depth, elegance and urgency for instance mature peers LCD soundsystem or Ulver did this year. But it is good enough.

    I agree with RicZ, with the exception of Mary is coming, Savoy have had problems delivering albums with a consistant quality and vibe. Having Lackluster me on vinyl proved that yet again. Remove the ghastly “Butt out”, the juvenile pretentious “Flowers for Sylvia” and perhaps also “Foreign film” and you have a great LP.

    Yeah, make more room under that chair, glad that Pål is singing and not Lauren. I think Savoy insisting that Lauren should take lead made their chances for real success, also in the a-ha fanbase, unnecessarily difficult. Lauren can sing in different ways though and I just hope on this album she refrains from again go totally schoolgirl like on “You won’t come to the party”.

    Unlike you guys i am not totally satisfied with the inclusion of "Weathervane". I can see how it will fit and the original arrangements were rather uninspired and spindly, but that song already has a life. I much rather have a new song.

    I noticed that there is no information about a physical release. Drabant music probably must check interest and reception. They are a new, minor label that can’t have recuperated World of trouble. Lots of expensive also very limited vinyl unsold. Clearly a miscalculation and probably a disapointment for Drabant.

    I don’t like the video that much. Why choosing this very young cast and a homework theme that neither connect with the band or the actually ageless lyrics?
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2017
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  10. myker

    myker Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    I get easily enthusiastic, but this to me might be the best a-ha-related first single since "Celice", at least. I am amazed by everything in there, songwriting, lyrics, production. Yes, "Door Ajar" and "Shadow Endeavors" aren't too far away (neither would be a more ambitious "Tearful Girl"), but it sounds bolder, more convincing. Not sure the rest of the album can live up to such a level - but I am glad "Manmade Lake" is there, and "Weathervane" is a fantastic song, probably an interesting closing-track in a new suit.

    Overall this sounds way better to me than World of trouble.
     
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  11. Sesam

    Sesam Forum Resident

    Location:
    .
    The new studiorecorded acoustic "Take on Me" was released today. I find it to be slightly more energetic, bouncy and less pensive compared to the Giske-version.

     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2017
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  12. myker

    myker Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    When it was announced that a-ha would perform in Tel Aviv, I knew that this would lead to some polemical debate - as it did recently for Radiohead and Nick Cave. Here is a first article from VG around the topic:
    a-ha og Kygo kritiseres for å spille konserter i Israel

    I am not taking sides, both camps have arguments that I can perfectly hear. I actually think it can lead to interesting dialogue, and I hope a-ha members will express themselves personally, and not just Harald Wiik. This is a tough subject, but artists must at least prove they are responsible for what they do.
     
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  13. Sesam

    Sesam Forum Resident

    Location:
    .
    Yes it makes such a difference to really like the first single and be able to feel genuine anticipation and not primarily fan interest and loyalty as I did after hearing “Beautiful Burnout”.

    In retrospect World of trouble was a puzzling (not bad!) release. In Tårer fra en stein Pál comments on what he thinks of the latter days a-ha. It is fascinating that the adjectives he uses like polished, streamlined, conformed, anonymous are the very same the completely unanimous Norwegian critics used to describe World of trouble, the first album ever Pål had full artistic control over. If we only consider Pål’s six songs on Cast in Steel in my opinion they all in different ways are more personal and convincing than most on WoT or even try out some ideas new to Pål.

    The very inception of World of trouble was peculiar in more ways than the odd pairing of Pål and Zoë. When a-ha 2010 said farewell one could imagine Pål and his songs in a number of different contexts; a new Savoy album, a brand new band, a more singer-songwriter type of solo-album, or pitching them to artist close to his own world. None of this happened, instead Pål decided to gather songs to present for super-commercial and slick production team Stargate! Perhaps the most obvious example of how the desire to be recognised can be equally strong in Pål as the desire to have artistic freedom. Anyway this starting point for many of the songs and the seemingly coincidental transition to an album with Zoë must have affected the outcome.

    Another thing Pål says about Cast in steel is that he doesn’t think the album has a coherent and clear face but the songs points in different directions. I can understand that opinion. However I have now twice listened to the samples from the new Savoy album. Many things are promising but to me it doesn’t sound as if the band has strived to achieve coherency and a common face. After the start with two songs with similar DNA the built up vibe is completely broken by “Falls Park”. I cannot see how that is different or better than the transition to “The Wake” on Cast in Steel. At least from the samples “Bump” appears to stick up like a sore thumb between “Manmade Lake” and “January Thaw”, again something that breaks the mood. I do not mean that a diverse album inherently is a bad thing, it is just that in regards to these three albums Pål contradicts himself in a way I find puzzeling.

    I am glad that Pål appears to do the majority of the singing but I suspect that the album to some extent will feel like a semi-solo effort. This time we know that many songs are not co-writes and it is Pål who sings them.
     
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  14. myker

    myker Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    I have to agree on absolutely everything. I will add to Pål's inconsistent praise of World of Trouble above Cast in Steel the fact that he mentions here or there that some of the songs overlapped during the recordings sessions, and that he does not necessarily knows which version he prefers. But, doing so, he only ever mentions "Cast in Steel" and "Under the Makeup" - saying implicitely that Zoë's version is as good as Morten's. Well, why not, but we could turn it the other way round, and imagine what sort of gold a Morten-sung and Tarney-produced "Open Face" would have turned into...
     
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  15. Sesam

    Sesam Forum Resident

    Location:
    .
    I agree. For example both Thom Yorke and Roger Waters took that responsibility and explained their positions and actions.
     
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  16. Sesam

    Sesam Forum Resident

    Location:
    .
    Not only did Morten sing these songs. Remember how Pål was unusually enthusiastic when he talked about their collaboration in the earlier stages of Cast in steel? Unusually generous too in describing Morten's input. Pål revealed that the picking of the songs to a large extent was done by Morten and that he suggested things Pål tried and prepared before their next session. No-one gets that sort of acknowledgement anywhere in Tårer fra en Stein.
     
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  17. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident Thread Starter

    New a-ha documentary to air on TV2

    As far as I know this is an Unplugged related doc and not the actual Thomas Robsahm film in the works. But footage might be overlapping.
     
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  18. Sammy Waslow

    Sammy Waslow Just watching the show

    Location:
    Ireland
    I wasn't sure where to post this, but a-ha have sold out an appearance at the Marquee in Cork, a show that went on sale this morning. This is part of their summer 2018 tour and is their first appearance in Ireland since 2002, when they played Dublin on the Lifelines tour. The Marquee shows - a series of concerts every summer - are held in a giant circus tent and the atmosphere is always superb.
     
  19. Minimal Fuss

    Minimal Fuss Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Sounds wonderful. Cork is fantastic city :righton:
     
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  20. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    Did you ever pick this up Cory? Which version?

    I finally watched the show on you tube and really enjoyed it overall. Definitely adding it to my music library sometime soon!
     
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  21. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic

    Bought myself the CD/Blu-ray as a gift for Christmas and have been playing it a lot.

    I didn’t honestly expect that much, but the arrangements, performance and vibe of the whole thing are just magical. (Thanks, Mr. Horntveth!)

    So much so, that it’s already become a fixture on the stereo, my wife has even been requesting to hear it (win!) and we’ve bought some last-minute tickets to the acoustic show at London’s O2.

    It’ll be my first A-ha gig since the Lifelines tour!
     
  22. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I also got it for christmas. Finally watched the whole thing last night. I found that the visuals enhanced the experience and that the concert got better and better. The ending with Take On Me is superb. Lars Horntveth was bitter that they skipped his version. We could hear bit of it in the TV2 doc. Sounded far more adventorous but I think their instinct was right to strip it all the way down.
     
  23. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I wonder if each of the three have an automatic veto like the remaining members of Depeche Mode have. Sounds like they don't or else Paul could have jettisoned a final product that didn't keep the spirit on one of his songs.

    U2 has this veto policy, which is no doubt one of the reasons they take so bloody long between albums and go through so many producers/re-recordings and result in some "meh" compromised material. I say this as a huge fan, not a U2 basher.

    Back OT, really looking forward to more listens of a-ha Unplugged!
     
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  24. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Since 2015 there are actually 4 votes in a-ha. Each member and the manager Harald Wiik. Not sure if that is the best but it might be in order to get things done.
     
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  25. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    I still can't get over how well this is holding up for me. These versions are majestic, and bring out the craftsmanship in each and every song.
     
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