An absolutely beautiful album cover as well. The recent 2 cd Deluxe Edition even has the embossed rain drops on the cover like the original lp.
I have to say I love this one more than Hunting High And Low, and in fact, it's probably my favorite album by them. I love how it has a definitive start (Morten takes a breath as a minor keyboard plays) and a definitive end (Morten repeats the word "Over," the last word of the last line of the last song). I also love the album art, especially the embossed rain drops and the glossy photo. Not so sure "I've Been Losing You" was the best choice for first single, and the simple video didn't help, but I do love the song. It's my opinion that none of the singles were as strong as anything from Hunting but I just find the overall listening experience of this album more satisfying. I had a ticket for the proposed tour that was supposed to come to Cleveland in 1986, but it ended up being cancelled. I was very bummed out about that.
I think you summed that up very well. None of the songs on Scoundrel Days were as strong as singles as what was on Hunting which was dripping with them, almost a greatest hits in its own right but I love the power on Scoundrel and how each song (almost) worked towards developing that. You got a few breaks then went right back into the urgency. I saw the Lifelines show in Oslo and there was a strength to The Swing of Things in the build towards the final chorus that I don't think I've witnessed before or after. It was a kind of "sweat falling off the ceilings" kind of show, very workman like and they nailed the material on Scoundrel Days. It's definitely one for the ages for me and cemented their place in that ever playing jukebox in my head that never stops. I just wish their detractors would consider the different part of music they came from and how they used that to create something so unique. I can't compare them to anyone cos the bands of their generation don't match the urgency and how the sense of drama that came from being raised on the music of their culture takes hold in almost everything they do. I spent a couple weeks listening to the Lutheran hymns on the radio there and it's a beautiful sorrow that they've captured so well, probably without their knowing.
Listen to the lovely backing vocals on the fade of 'Take On Me'... sublime!! I'd love to hear these isolated.
Scoundrel Days is probably my favorite a-ha record, mostly due to the fact that when I was young I could only afford cutout cassettes and I bought it and played it to death. I still play it quite frequently...it really speaks to me with all its dark and mysterious melancholia. "I've Been Losing You" instantly recalls a bittersweet relationship from years past, and no matter what memories it conjures up, I really can't bring myself to press the skip button. One of the few albums I have in all of the 'major' formats. NJB
I always felt I've Been Losing You and Manhattan Skyline had massive hooks as singles. As infectious as the previous album's choices and a solid progression. The future Greatest Hits was building up to be something special at this point.
I know that Scoundrel Days is beloved by most A-ha fans. It is certainly a splendid looking album and did the business in the UK with the singles performing strongly in the charts, particularly Cry Wolf. Having said all of that, it is not amongst my favourites. I have never been particularly fond of Cry Wolf or Manhattan Skyline and the production on the latter seems unnecessarily harsh to me. In concert, however, it was a monster. The thing that makes the album endure for me is the presence of I've Been Losing You. I have never tried to make a list of my favourite A-ha songs. Perhaps I should. I am pretty certain though that this one would be in the top three. It is one of those songs that gets me disproportionately excited when it pops up at random on my Ipod. But we will have to wait until the appropriate time for the songs with which it will duke it out for top position. So, a good album then. A pointer of things to come (though the next record may have been a bit of a step back from that) but their best was still ahead of them.
My Scoundrel Days LP, signed by Magne and Paul... ... and... look what I found yesterday! Headlines and Deadlines is around somewhere too.
Scoundrel Days is probably my favourite a-ha album, even though that's based almost solely on side one and the closing track. I regard that run of five on side one as being peerless in their catalogue. Two of their very best singles ("I've Been Losing You brought misery to the top ten in a manner Scott Walker would be proud", quoth Q magazine's Headlines and Deadlines review), and three album tracks that most other bands at the time would kill for. The Swing of Things practically became a single in all but name, such was its popularity over the years. The album loses some of its lustre on side two, with the more buoyant arrangements and the less accomplished lyrics, but the overall tone is much darker than the debut. As an artistic statement for a band who clearly wanted people to concentrate on the music and not the image (or rather, the image that was, to an extent, kind of forced upon them), it was a smart move. Unfortunately, there was an element of one step forwards, two steps back with the next album, but we'll get to that. I remember the Smash Hits Yearbook at the time had interviews with several songwriters about what they felt their best song was, or the song they were most proud of. The only other person I can remember being interviewed was Fish from Marillion, but Paul said that he felt I've Been Losing You was his best song at that point. I love the Dub Version that was on the 12", the Scoundrel Club CD (and later turned up on the deluxe version).
"I've Been Losing You" is one of my favorite a-ha songs. It certainly wasn't the pop hit that "Take on Me" was, but that's the point. For one thing, it has a HUGE drum sound. In fact, the extremely prominent live drums might be the most striking things about this track. It's like the band went out of its way to say, "Look! We're not just synthpop!" This is one of Pal's first "murder mystery" type songs. This stanza is pure genius: "I can still hear our screams competing You're hissing your s's like a snake Now in the mirror stands half a man I thought no one could break." Fantastic! Also, I know it's too early to talk about the live album How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head, but the versions of "Scoundrel Days" and "The Swing of Things" positively ROCK on that album. It shows how well-suited the Scoundrel Days songs are to a full band treatment.
Agree that Scoundrel Days is darker than their debut but it also shows that A-Ha weren't just a one hit wonder. The production on this is dense, and never a note or empty space that makes me wonder if it could have been done better. This shows real craftsmanship and care, unlike so many other sophomore albums which can sound rushed.
I should have said the digipack. The jewel case version doesn't. I really need to go back and listen again to the bonus discs off the two Deluxe Editions. The packaging was excellent on both. My HHAL DE is in a slim jewel case, my SD is a digipack. Did the HHAL come in a digipack as well?
Thanks, I figured it did. These probably won't be around much longer, I may pick up the jewel case version as well. I remember I bought the digipack of SD because the cover and artwork looked better, but I hate handling them too much as they tend to get worn and tattered too easily, even though I keep mine in Japanese mylar sleeves.
In the US, both albums were exclusives through the Rhino Records web site. I think those are all digipak versions. Maybe they were available in the EU as well. But the jewel case versions are the standard release for the European market. I ordered both albums from amazon.uk and they were the jewel case versions.
The Soft Rains Of April is one of the most haunting A-ha tracks ever. Its beauty is up there with Elton John's Goodbye Yellowbrick Road and Beatles' Because, IMO
I picked up a mint original pressing of 'Scoundrel Days' on vinyl recently for a few pounds - astonishingly good production and the album has to be heard on vinyl. I love their debut too. The first three albums are all gems and have aged remarkably well than a lot of that music from the same era. A very talented trio
Extremely well written and very insightful. You have talent my friend......not to mention we hear the same music and that's comforting since I've been forever branded as a strange duck when it comes to how I hear music. My learning strengths have always been in spatial relationships and music, at the cost of not being able to retain what I read very well. I can pick out pretty much any audible track in a song and hear music in very high definition which definitely colors how I hear things and informs what appeals to me. I like it when I see someone give an opinion that I could have written myself, not because I think everyone should see things the way I do but more to the point of convincing me that I'm not some sort of savant that hears things that others don't. Side 2 almost seems like an attempt to lighten the mood a bit with more simplistic song structures and lyrics. I do like a lot of the sequencers on side 2 and Soft Rains of April is a great track. Album is definitely front loaded with a pretty strong side 2. It will be interesting to dissect Stay On These Roads because it definitely felt like a continuation or expansion of side 2 of Scoundrel Days. I know they were a little puzzled at Scoundrel Days' performance in the US and I believe I had read that the record company begged for more "Take On Me", definitely a case of just looking at the dollars instead of actually listening to the music. I've yet to find someone who genuinely appreciates the band who will tell you that the tracks on side 1 were bad for the band. If I want someone to get into A-ha, I'd always play Scoundrel Days side 1 to begin with. That opens their eyes and ears and get them ready for the stronger tracks from the 90's and they're usually won over by then. I don't even need to play the "hits" or the wealth of songs from this millennium. Not many artists bring my spirits up to where I'm thankful I happen to be passing through this world at this point in time so I can listen to bands like A-ha, Simple Minds, The Beatles, Journey, Big Country, Bruce, The Clash.....the list goes on and on and on. I've at least tried very hard to be a good person and do the right thing and believe there is something special after my time here has ended and I hope I'll remember albums like Scoundrel Days when I get there.
