25 manages to work very well, both as an all-encompassing, convenient compilation for diehard fans, and as a broad, introductory retrospective for those who may have only been familiar with the early hits. As such, the inclusion of superior album tracks like Scoundrel Days, The Swing of Things and There's Never a Forever Thing, serves a greater purpose than merely fleshing out the discs' duration. Similarly, by including alternate versions, such as the noticeably different single versions of the later songs, or the remix of Cold As Stone, makes these songs easily available to those who perhaps didn't initially invest in the relevant single release. Personally, I'd prefer the album version of Manhattan Skyline to have been included (though full credit for using the full version of The Sun Always Shines on TV), and I'm not sure if it's a good decision to use the later, Two-Time Gun Remix of The Blood That Moves the Body, when there was effectively no awareness of that mix at the time. Considering it's a career-spanning retrospective, I always found the booklet disappointing. I'd have preferred - as has been remarked already - images of the singles themselves, and a sort of band photo history, or images of archive ephemera, rather than merely the biography and some variations on the cover artwork. Since the music (and video) content itself is so authoritative, it seems a shame that the libretto doesn't reflect that. Still, as a complete set, it's excellent.
I agree with everything said about the compilation. It's acollection done right. If I would change anything it would have the original The Blood That Moves The Body. An underrated single and IMO the '92 version is more interesting rather than an improvement. Also it should have been available in a yummi vinyl box set including a clear vinyl 7" of Butterfly. Oh, and also a 2 disc BluRay version with all the videos restored and with some extras! No one have mentioned it so far but the video was directed by Steve Barron that also did Take On Me and several other early videos! A cool full circle detail.
I'll second Surly's suggestion of single mixes. For instance, Celebrate, the latest 2 disc compilation by Simple Minds utilised all the 7" single edits/radio mixes when avaliable. It makes for a more concise and focused collection, even if some album versions are arguably stronger. The original '88 version of The Blood That Moves The Body should really have been included, the '92 remix sounds very dated, perhaps even more than the original cut. With a clearer structure regarding formats e.g. 7" versions on disc 1, 12" versions/selected album tracks on disc 2, it could've been a close to definitive representation.
It just seems absurd to me for them to have chosen the Two-Time Gun remix, when it was not a contemporary alternative. It is not the same as using the radio/single mixes of Hunting High and Low, Train of Thought, You Are The One, etc., which is perfectly valid. That 1992 single release of The Blood That Moves the Body made no impact whatsoever when it was released, making the decision to use it on 25 as very odd.
I think the previous compilation, The Singles 84-04, used all single mixes. But no matter how you slice it, the radio edit of "The Sun Always Shines on TV" is a travesty. So I'm glad they broke the rules here in some cases. For the sake of completeness, they probably should have put BOTH versions of "The Blood That Moves the Body" on 25 since it's technically two different singles. But I'm glad they didn't do that.
The main purpose of "25" I think was as an introduction to new fans but it also works when you feel like hearing the singles. I wonder how many people discovered a-ha as a NON one hit wonder with this collection.
I'll have to check that out - it was on iTunes IIRC. The SQ is good as well. Can't recall who mastered this but it was done well. me!
Guys. I just came home from Morten's concert in Bergen. Great stuff and his voice was top notch tonight!
I saw Morten this summer in Paris and it was also a great gig. I really liked "Brother" from the beginning but the best thing about this album and tour is how damn good Morten sounds! It's tricky to age as a singer. Even if you take good care of yourself can a singing voice take unexpected turns when changing. Morten has now come out on the other side as a mature singer. It sounds like he has reached a new platform where he can stay for years! I'm going to Göteborg soon and from there it's a easy drive to Oslo, you have definately tempted me to catch one of the concerts in October! I think I want to hear these songs live once more.
Morten have traditionally been a hit and miss live but if last night represents his current standard I'm impressed. A highlight was "Lay Me Down Tonight" when the crowd just broke out in applause in the middle of the song. Best performance I've heard of that one!
I generally prefer album mixes as opposed to the radio edits as they inevitably cut things out and if the song was good enough to be selected as a single then cutting things out is normally a bad thing. The only way 25 could have been better would be to have used full edits when it made sense, pop 12" mixes in there and add another disc as A-ha's catalogue deserves as many discs as necessary to make for a comprehensive representation. I just watched EOAHN again and was caught tearing up, I don't think I could say that about more than a few bands as to me, A-ha is a (this is where atheists and agnostics may want to cover their eyes) gift from God. I say that because A-ha was nothing but good for the world and they brought many together in such a positive way. The two A-ha shows I saw were great experiences not only because of who was on the stage but because I felt such a positive vibe there that was similar to how I've felt going to Christian music festivals. The people there form a bond that seems to bring out nothing but good tidings so while watching the show, I kept thinking that the world lost more than just a good pop band and anyone who is engaged on current affairs knows that the world could really use another A-ha right about now.
So happy you had a good time. Things like this make me wish I had summoned the power of Sigmund and forced my wife into agreeing to letting me hang up my Air Force wings and work for some airline in Norway. I could have been there with you! I notice Morten doesn't pull off any stage dancing, splits or kicks, twirls...just Morten taking the stage and performing his songs. That's all that needs to be done......now I'm watching EOAHN again and it appears Mags is doing some kind of side moon walk at his synth bank............
Ending On A High Note 2011 In March of 2010, A-ha embarked on a world tour in support of their final studio album titled "Foot Of The Mountain" as well as the "A-ha: 25" compilation. The tour began in Argentina and ended in Oslo in December with two shows at the Spektrum.....English translation.....Spectrum , that were recorded and released as a DVD/CD package. In 2009 the band announced that this was to be their final tour as they were going to retire as a band and pursue solo projects as well as work with other groups, most notably Pal's involvement with Savoy and Mags' work with Apparatjik. The news that they would retire made the final shows in Oslo a massive event in the annals of pop music and in Norway as the band was a national treasure and for good reason, they were Norway's most successful musical export as well as being in the minds of many, including yours truly, to be among the absolute best pop acts to ever take the stage, giving the world nearly 25 years of music that was intelligent, energetic, emotionally charged, brilliant, uplifting and just plain puts smiles on faces. A-ha had finally started to receive the recognition for being important contributors to the world of pop/rock music and were being cited by bands such as Coldplay, U2 and Keane just to name a few as being significantly influential to their own songwriting. With their stature being established, the band's final tour was definitely an event and thankfully we have a brilliantly produced package that chronicles their final performance. The video and audio discs offer the performance from the last show while the previous show served as backup material. The set list plays like a greatest hits compilation as it should since this is a celebration of their career more so than a show highlighting "Foot of the Mountain". The only disappointment for me is that "The Bandstand", while part of the set list was excluded from the disc as well as "Bowling Green", an Everly Brothers song covered during the encore. It's a fine performance with an energized stage presentation including very well produced videos that were made especially for each track played on a massive screen behind the band in addition to a very "fun" light show that works very well with the music. The arrangements are all pretty standard and consistent with respect to taking everyone on a nice walk down memory lane. As usual, Mags does a yeoman's job as "Master of Ceremonies" for the evening and in his words the show "ends where it began" with a great performance of "Take On Me" while the whole thing ends with plenty of bangs and streamers making the show into a great going away party instead of some kind of tear jerking "Good-bye". The band members assure everyone that they'll see everyone again with other bands and on solo tours which helped poor through it as he was waving farewell to one of his favorite bands. All in all a very nice package which deservedly occupies a position of prominence among the 1200 musical items I have. Any music fan will have a great time watching the video then having the audio discs to help relive the show without the need for a monitor. From Wikipedia: "The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Move to Memphis (Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)"† "The Blood That Moves the Body (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Scoundrel Days (Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "The Swing of Things (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Forever Not Yours (Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, Ole Sverre-Olsen)" "Stay on These Roads (Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Manhattan Skyline (Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Hunting High and Low (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "We're Looking For the Whales (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)"† "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah) (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)"† "Crying in the Rain (Carole King, Howard Greenfield)"† "Minor Earth Major Sky (Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Summer Moved On (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "I've Been Losing You (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Foot of the Mountain (Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Martin Terefe)" "Cry Wolf (Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Analogue (All I Want) (Magne Furuholmen, Max Martin, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "The Living Daylights (John Barry, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" "Take on Me (Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy)" † Not included on single-disc edition. Musicians a-ha: Morten Harket – vocals, guitars, electric drums (on "The Bandstand" - performed but not included), percussion Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitars, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, piano, guitars, electric drums, backing vocals With: Karl Oluf Wennerberg – drums, electric drums Erik Ljunggren – keyboards, programming, bass guitar
I was fortunate to get to work with Mike Patterson in the 80s. He was the designer/animator for the"Take On Me" video. Really nice guy and I got to work on one of his films.
That's really interesting. That is some talent right there and he helped launch the career of who, IMHO is one of the best bands ever. I place them up there with the greats with respect to the importance of their contribution to music and to little old Havoc's happiness. As much as I think Rubber Soul, Revolver, Pepper etc. are just flat out brilliant albums and so important to the world, A-ha's work has the same level of impact for me and I'm glad much of the world agreed. Thank him for me. That was some great work he did and that must have been pretty friggin' awesome to be a part of some of that. Thanks for the input.
Ending on a High Note is an excellent send-off. A much better recording than the flawed HCISWYVIMH, and a very authoritative set list, albeit incomplete. They also make a good decision to remove most of the dialogue from the CD, a smart move that allows the songs to flow. A similar decision was made for Paul McCartney's Good Evening New York City live release, where all the song intros were missing from the CD, but retained on the DVD - it's a much better way of doing things. I think there are only a handful of instances where Magne's comments are retained on the CD version. My only real grievance with it - and this is very pedantic - is the choice of the terrible cover photo of Morten wearing sunglasses, which just looks awful. Very much like 25 serving both fans and people unfamiliar with anything other than their biggest hits, Ending on a High Note works very well on multiple levels. As a career retrospective, as a standalone live album, and as a farewell, it succeeds on all counts.
I agree that this is all in all a better live album than How Can I Sleep.. However they represent the two backing bands a-ha had post 2000 so they both have a value. For Ending On A High Note, I don't have that many things I would change about it. Many complains that The Bandstand was omitted and I would love to have it included in the video version at least for it's fun and energy. I think vocally it was a bit challenging for them to do the harmonies on a less good night and maybe the Oslo concerts suffered from that? Anyway, check out a clip from a festival in Japan during that tour and they absolutely nails it as a opening number! Bowling Green could also be fun on the DVD/BluRay with all it's charming flaws and as the touching tribute it was. In my opinion the packaging could have been much better. I think this release could deserve a design that says "quality!". Like something you put on the top of your shelf as a display. Regardless all of this it is a very good documentation of their final tour!
I prefer How Can I Sleep for various reasons, but this is still a good live album and a great final testament to the awesomeness of a-ha. It's a shame that they didn't include "The Bandstand" and "Bowling Green" to make it a true full concert, but I can only assume that the former was omitted due to technical issues and the latter due to licensing. I really like the sparse version of "Butterfly" on this release, and I also like the spaced-out rendition of MEMS. They came up with some good arrangements.
I can see your point about radio edits and "if it's a good song, it's a good song," but I tend to prefer single mixes/edits over album versions. Keep in mind that some single mixes aren't edits at all but rather just have some "flavor" added to the production. As I've mentioned before in other threads, I elected to use an album version over a single edit on compilations I produced while in the biz, but a lot of thought went into those decisions (the edit was available on another CD, etc). Now, George Michael is the one artist who could extend a song in order to have a hit with it ("Everything She Wants" and "Monkey" were both remixed and each mix was longer than the respective album versions) but that is the exception to the norm. I absolutely love the single edit/mix of "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran and I think the middle section, where they took out the acoustic break, went straight into the guitar solo, and put Simon singing (from another section) over top of the solo made the song so much more dramatic. I get very frustrated when Sirius plays the album version, and when I play the album on my iPod, I listen to a playlist version I created that replaces the album version with the single mix. That said, I would have been OK with them using the album version of "The Sun Always Shines On TV" on 25 over the single edit; however, I also love having that edit because it fits nicely on my playlist of 1985 hits. And yes, I did have to cover my eyes for a second but I agree that a band like a-ha really did bring something good and positive to the world, and it frustrates me that they never gained respect in the US. Ending On A High Note is a wonderful package - I have the blu-ray and I think it's stunning to watch. I feel very luck to have seen them in NYC in '07; I wish I could have caught the '10 LA show, and I also wish the '86 Cleveland show, for which I had purchased a ticket, hadn't been canceled!
It's fantastic that a-ha did such a classy final performance and one excellent product as a lasting memory of their greatness. a-ha had different fazes as a live band but they sounded and looked good to the very end! The lack of a high quality package to match the quality content is very strange, especially in comparison to the two previous studio albums. The only explanation I can think of is a very tight time frame. It's perhaps not so important to some but I find it a bit annoying. I guess it must bugg Magne as well. These are also two of my highlights of the release, alongside "The Swing Of Things" It has been debated if it was the right decision to have TOM as the final. I think it was. They really managed to make the evening both about joy and gravity, as a-ha was. The fact that they are stoic northerners who don't show unnecessary emotions publicly makes those little moments of teary eyes (Magne at HHAL and Morten at CITR) even more charged.
Some of you will find this post gossipy and I hesitated but perhaps one or two will find it a bit interesting. You who have kept an eye on both Morrissey and a-ha know that he likes the band. He has viewed a-ha as underdogs, underappreciated in comparison to better selling, lesser quality acts. It became a fact to the doubters when Morrissey in his Autobiography writes about a-ha in a very positive light. A sibling of mine belongs to the circle of friends/entourage Morrissey keeps when he's in Sweden, which is quite often. If you are summoned to the posse you keep a tight lip but I have heard some entertaining and frankly quite touching things over the years. The man isn't the douche he often comes across as. One glimpse is directly connected to EOAHN-DVD and the song "Scandinavia", written 2010/2011. a-ha's ending and final success coincides with a period of fatigue, bad health and thoughts of retirement for Morrissey and it updated his interest for the band. In the latter part of his Autobiography is he often pondering over ageing, manliness and retirement. There is for example one passage from 2011 where he with those thoughts in mind watch a movie on repeat and admires Kirk Douglas. What Morrissey doesn't mention is that he's also watching EOAHN repeatedly and his talk about ageing well, slender frames and man-hugs is a reflection of what he sees. Though Morrissey's admiration is centered around the music is there a special place of tenderness for Morten in his heart. It was not just that he thought Morten was a nice good looking guy. My sibling says Morrissey was very taken by Morten's whole personality in combination with his extraordinary exterior, and this was updated around 10/11. Morrissey seperates ordinary artists with perhaps a huge fan base and those who awakens a more fervent following where "people want to touch you". He places Morten and of course himself in the latter "icon" category. Morrissey loves Scandinavia(ns) and a-ha were the first Scandis he met. I've been told the song "Scandinavia" doubles as a celebration of when Morrissey first fell in love with this part of the world and as a song to Morten whom he associates with it. After having studied the lyrics I think it makes sense: It's a story in past tense of unrequited love and he urges "stab me in your own time". There are references to Norway and not to his favourite Sweden. The object of his affections held out a hand like in TOM-video and perhaps their first meeting etc. Well I guess we'll never know but my sibling is usually correct in these things.
