Albums: In order of preference ..... 1-Minor Earth, Major Sky ( their Revolver) 2-Lifelines (their Abbey Road) 3-Analogue 4-Foot Of The Mountain The earlier A-Ha 1980s/90s I see them as a singles band.
I get strange looks too. But, they are excellent in so many ways, and not many bands can top the epicness of Manhattan Skyline, and consistently put out strong albums that are "pop" oriented for so many years. I'm loving Morten's solo work as well.
Nice article on the story of "Take On Me" http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar11/articles/classic-tracks-0311.htm
I was completely unaware of Morten's popularity with females until much later. Sometime in the 90s we were hiking with another couple, and the subject of old music videos came up, and the other woman brought up "Take On Me" and then she proceeded gush an embarrasingly long time about how hot that guy in the video was.
That was the impression I got as well around 1986 - that A-ha had replaced Duran Duran as the hot band of the moment. "Take On Me" was huge but after that they kind of faded away (commercially) and never became the monster band that DD were.
I'm delighted this thread has been started. Better work was yet to come, but Hunting High and Low is a terrific debut, and it stands up remarkably well. The only real weak link on it is I Dream Myself Alive, but overall it's impressively consistent. The singles are all solid, though I agree with the earlier post that the single mixes of Train of Thought and Hunting High and Low were improvements on the album versions. Nevertheless, even now, I cannot tire of Take On Me. The Sun Always Shines on TV is just magnificent, and quite possibly my favourite track of theirs, certainly my favourite on the album. However, Living a Boy's Adventure Tale ("Lights in pairs come passing by where I hide"... I mean, come on) is undoubtedly one of their very greatest songs. Considering they were being marketed to the Smash Hits brigade at the time, the eighties sound belies the epic Scandinavian melancholy that became their trademark. "The lady at my table doesn't want me here. I just want to talk to her, but will she laugh at my accent and make fun of me?". You didn't get that on your average 1985 pop album.
This assertion keeps coming up on these forums but it just isn't true. Yes, they certainly faded in the US and I don't know what their profile was in Australia but in the UK they stayed huge throughout the 80s and became huge again in the noughties. In the rest of Europe they had 25 years of solid success.
Sorry to drift briefly off topic but it seems a good chance that somebody reading this will know the answer to this question. Pal Waaktar performed a great theme song to the film Headhunters under the name Weathervane. Does anybody know whether it has ever been officially released and if they have done anything else? I have never been able to track it down.
Agreed. I remember when the reissues were announced and someone posted a really cynical comment on the Rhino site, effectively saying that a "one hit wonder" band didn't warrant two double-disc deluxe versions.
I can't imagine being so bored that you're looking at news of a release from a band you quite inaccurately dub a one hit wonder then take the time to dish out a comment like that. That individual makes Robert Smith look like Tigger. I had been waiting for deluxe versions of those albums for many moons. Lots of interesting material back then and the remasters sound very good IMO. I'm still training myself on identifying bad mastering but those discs sound alive and vibrant.
Er, I'm not sure about 'huge' in the noughties in the UK!! They had the one bona fide 'big' hit, Analogue (#10), but other than that everything else was basically ignored (Lifelines #78, Foot Of The Mountain #66 etc.). Even genius like "Summer Moved On" only peaked at 33. I saw them live in 2005 (at the London Motor Show!) and it was a bit of an embarrassing turn-out. Sublime for fans though, because it was an outdoor gig and they finished with "Dark Is The Night"... "Memorial Beach" is my favourite album. Unbelievably good, sweaty, emotional, grown up 'rock' album from this supposedly 'eighties' pop band.
It's a fair cop. Huge may be an overstatement but the albums mostly did ok, Foot Of The Mountain in particular and they remained a big live draw. I find your experience surprising. I saw them at a sold out Royal Albert Hall around that time and at a packed O2 on their penultimate tour in 2009 (I think). That was a great show too.
Saw the Albert Hall gig too. That was amazing. Really regret not seeing them in 1993 when the did one small gig in London (Astoria, possibly?) to promote Memorial Beach. They really were persona non grata by that point so it would have been a great, intimate show. Oh well...
I just ordered Hunting High and Low on CD on eBay. I'm listening to it on Youtube right now and it's a great album so far. I can't wait to play it on my sound system.
Their commercial fortunes had certainly taken a dive but not quite persona non grata surely? Both the album and the lead off single hit the top 20. That is a really good album too.
They may not have been having hit singles, but the UK press were very kind to them and their loyal fan base stayed faithful. I'm getting ahead of myself here, 'cos we're still only on the debut album, but - for instance - Memorial Beach got a four star review in Q magazine (when that still meant something) and was subsequently named as one of their albums of the year. The review also attempted to dissuade the casual listener from dismissing them as eighties teenyboppers, remarking that they had "earned reassessment". Most press from MEMS onwards was extremely positive and any post-reunion UK/European tours were equally well received. This was nothing to do with some eighties retro affection: there was genuine enthusiasm for any new album.
Not sure, but Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch and Dave Shultz are credited for the remaster, For modern remasters these are not bad, a little compressed for my tastes, the waves are not cut off, which is nice to see, most if not all peak at -01, the bonus tracks make up for it
The extent of the bonus tracks is impressive. On more than one occasion, I've done a programme of: 1. Lesson One 2. Take On Me (Demo) 3. Take On Me (1984) 4. Take On Me ... just for that whole "genesis of the song" experience.
About 10 years ago I decided to give their 90's offerings another look and boy am I thankful I did. When there was so much forced feedback guitar and "angst" during that time, A-ha goes and rolls out these great pop/rock records. Your should give those another look see, very well recorded albums.
I always found this band so easy to pull for. When I was in college, I was in the Air Force Reserves and got to spend a few weeks up in Norway right about when "The Living Daylights" came out and it was huge in that country. I was in line to order some food at this little walk up place in Tromso and there was an older couple running the place and listening to the radio. That song came on and they were cheering and bouncing around, some passers by stopped in their tracks and were all singing along. The three members seemed like such warm and unassuming guys that I had a hard time imagining where someone in the music press would have it in for them. Let's face it, a lot of bands get in hot water with the press and it seems like they can't release anything but a musical turd according to the likes of NME, Melody Maker...Q...etc. even when most objective listeners would say it was a good record. Just something about the band rubs people the wrong way and they can't buy a good review. A-ha had an easy way about them that endeared them to a lot of people regardless of whether they liked the music or not. My best friend in high school was one who would turn off of a band the instant they broke out of cult status or if he sensed they lost that indie or obscure label. He went to see A-ha with me because some girl he was hot after had asked him to take her and by the end of their set he had to admit they were extremely capable musicians as well as good guys who didn't deserve his wrath. Question for you, in your mind when did Q lose its reputation with regard to its reviews? I still turn to it for some guidance, they turned me onto Kasabian when it listed West Ryder as its album of the year and I don't think I've wholeheartedly disagreed with them when it mattered. I like that they gave Simple Minds Street Fighting Years a rare 5 star rating when so many in the press were loudly hoping that Jim Kerr's larynx would disappear. I'm thinking you were a more avid reader back in the day as I could only find it on occasion so your reference is deeper than my own.
Just sounds a tad dated. Nothing wrong with that though. Live A-Ha kick a$$ great guitar sounding band.
Scoundrel Days As evidenced in the album cover, this record takes a step in a much more serious direction. A stunning blend of darker and more desperate lyrics with a symphonic style of pop music found only in the grooves of A-ha's second album. Released in October of 1986, A-ha came out swinging deep and hard with a surprising level of urgency in its opening two tracks, "Scoundrel Days" and "The Swing of Things". To me, there just are not too many albums around with such a strong 1-2 punch and if that wasn't enough, the rest of the album is just about as strong. As good as these songs are together, practically all of them could stand on their own with only "Maybe Maybe" as a sort of placekeeper, although a pretty good one. Following these two strong openers is a very catchy single "I've Been Losing You". This album is loaded with such great tracks that it's albums like these that remind me why I'm such a huge music fan. Sure there are the classics that serve as the foundation for everything else and while so much out there simply exists, albums like this seem like an ode to the craft of great songwriting and performing. The album rounds out with song after song that exhibits how gifted the three band members are, tracks such as "Manhattan Skyline", "Cry Wolf", "We're Looking for the Whales", "The Weight of the Wind" and "Soft Rains of April" are tracks that help remind listeners why they look forward to the next A-ha album. It's an extremely vibrant and great sounding album with a wide variety of different synth sounds and drum loops at work with effective guitar punctuations when needed and all nicely produced by pop music wizard Alan Tarney. As catchy as these tunes are, that same wonderful and underlying sense of melancholy is ever present throughout which is something that in my eyes makes this band so special. It's such a unique blend of influences that spills out of any A-ha album that I don't believe I've found anywhere else. I remember being extremely surprised at the level of seriousness and level of power in these songs. I wasn't expecting a new record by the band so soon and was in a mall record store while spending my day on the town in San Antonio while in basic training for the Air Force. I grabbed the tape but had to wait a few more weeks before I could listen to it so the anticipation was to the extreme. When the first chords of Scoundrel Days jumped out of my headphones, I knew I was in for something special and I don't mind saying that the album has been in constant rotation right alongside of The Beatles, Zeppelin, Tom Waits, Pistols, Springsteen...etc. and to me, it deserves to be heard just as much as those heavy hitters. Discovering my mom's early Beatles albums thankfully gave me a huge appreciation for good melodies and A-ha has nailed that craft. A-ha..................... Scoundrel Days Produced by Alan Tarney Vocals- Morten Harket Guitars, Programming- Pal Waaktaar-Savoy Keyboards- Magne Furuholmen 1. Scoundrel Days 2. The Swing of Things 3. I've Been Losing You 4. October 5. Manhattan Skyline 6. Cry Wolf 7. We're Looking For The Whales 8. The Weight of the Wind 9. Maybe Maybe 10. Soft Rains Of April
Yes a beautiful sounding album. That's one of the advantages of their eighties albums over their last quartet recordings fresh originality. Jumpback: Before recording their debut they were living in London's Hammersmith working on demos and checking out all the second hand record shops.
