Personally I regard this as their zenith, Scoundrel Days captures almost perfectly the Nordic melancholy and dramatic sweeps of their homeland. From Knut Brys windswept photos, the synth-symphonic arrangements and through the weltschmerz (and desperation) of Pauls lyrics, this record namechecks pretty much all of the groups hallmarks. As an statement of intent and arguably their finest moment, the title track -and rumoured 4th single- goes from (vicious) whispers to screams, all while keeping the arrangement tight and urgent. A sort of continuation of this track surfaced on Side 2's mini-epic The Weight Of The Wind, this time narrowing the lyrical resentment from uncontrollable paranoia and sense of internal apocalypse, to the sinister machinations of a relationship gone alarmingly wrong. These two tracks, it could be argued, encaptulates the dramatic motif of the album, while other key tracks provide further thematic backdrop; powerhouse Manhattan Skyline, the world-weariness of The Swing Of Things, the slight defeatism in October and The Soft Rains Of April, the implied murder confession of I've Been Losing You, and all the achingly bittersweet "myriad of wars" of superb b-side This Alone Is Love. Scoundrel Days - the beauty of despair.
Lovely phrase that could equally be applied to the best work of another famous Scandinavian band. (No, not Europe )
"...Nordic melancholy and dramatic sweeps of their homeland." EXACTLY! And I'll say it again even though I'm jumping the gun... my appreciation for the song "Scoundrel Days" (as well as "The Swing of Things") grew even deeper when I heard the astonishingly good versions on the live album How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head? Here's the audio for "Scoundrel Days."
Still in doubt if this is their best or East of The Sun. I play this album, which I bought on release, more frequently so it must be this one. What struck me is that this album is so much more mature than their debut. I also love the extended versions. The dub version of I've been losing you highlights the magnificent bass on that track. I'm currently discovering their post millenium work while on holiday and yesterday it struck me just how many tracks of this album feature on their farewell live album.
Scoundrel Days... the 91 live version from South America is also very accomplished. Sadly there's no officially released recording from the 86-87 tour where the song gained additional bridges and codas. Try Youtubing the bootleg version from Hammersmith Odeon 19... 86 (I think). Its very good.
A very memorable summary. I forgot to tell you that I had one rule for this thread- the use of the word "machinations" is strictly verboten. Seriously, very well stated and I plan on stealing many of your lines. I always believed that A-ha looked at music in a much different way than most Western music listeners. There's a kind of formula that works well in pop music by making it catchy and memorable, commercial jingles use it and I believe the head songwriter for Foster The People is very well studied in that kind of chord progression. A-ha seem to use none of that formula, relying solely on their own musical instincts that were formed from years of exposure to their own wonderful culture then mixing it with what trickled into their own circles. I love the stories of how these large groups of kids would come from extreme distances to gather and listen to a single Jimi Hendrix or Uriah Heep record that someone had acquired. They have such a unique story that explains why their music is so special and without equal with respect to the emotions communicated. I don't know of an album that remotely resembles Scoundrel Days and I never bought into any of the early comparisons to Duran Duran or any number of synth pop artists from the early 80's. Even back then I was able to sense something different, that they were trying to matter and make what they were doing mean something. When I saw them live back in 86, they came across more as a hard working band than a pop act and they took their craft very seriously. I'm glad that so many understand this group and are able to look through the image that hung on them for those first few albums.
Sorry to go on and backtrack but...... I just found this backing track with those backing vocals intact. I adore those unison vocals and that strange, gorgeous 'octave' harmony...... something ancient, magical and mysterious, a sort of medieval Norwegian monks folk-chant happening in there.
I'd be interested in hearing about the solo albums. Especially as they're unlikely to have light shed on them elsewhere...
I think this is borne out by the music they liked. Morten was a soul music nut, Magne and Paul loved the Doors, the latter being much more obvious on East of the Sun and Memorial Beach, but traces of it are evident in the melodies (if not the arrangements) of songs on the first two albums. They did not have the seventies glam rock obsessions of Duran Duran - not that there's anything wrong with that... I love Duran Duran and all their heroes - but it meant they were always going in a musically different direction to their contemporaries, and that is one of the reasons why they have longevity.
In addition of being one of the centerpieces of the record, a good portion of the 12" extended remix of Manhattan Skyline arguably betters the album cut by adding subtle sonic layers and effects (besides Pauls guitar solo), taking an already accomplished song several notches up. The 12" mix of Cry Wolf is more akin to a dance mix in the vein of Steve Thompsons 12" remix of TSASOTV, and much like that version, this 12" is not entirely without merit. Especially the intro's build-up is worthwhile. Though at the end of the day, Cry Wolf would be better off with an less poppy beat. Best thing about the original album track is still the brooding prologue "Love... night I left the city" before the beat kicks in.
I was just listening to the extended version of Manhattan Skyline yesterday and thought the same thing. It's not just an "extended version"... there are lots of cool details and effects coming from the guitar that can't be heard on the album version. Good stuff!
One of my top 10 albums and my favorite by the band alongside EOTSWOTM. a-ha definitely contributed with something new to the world of pop. Very few bands have such a strong identity and sound as a-ha. Amazing songwriting and sublime vocals by Harket. Only Maybe, Maybe is a skipper.
The version of I've Been Losing You live in South America (from the video, and included on one of the Dark is the Night CD singles) is awesome. Paul is cranked up to eleven. I know they became a bit revisionist about that period, but they came up with some killer arrangements for several of the Scoundrel Days songs, not least a magnificent, totally guitar-driven Scoundrel Days and Cry Wolf with a guitar solo. When I listen to all this stuff, it frustrates me that people just associate them with a handful of early hits, with no knowledge of what they were capable of.
I doubt it, though I would obviously welcome any a-ha release. Full discussion will follow when we discuss that album, but I think the first two albums are held in such high regard that they warranted two-disc reissues. There's probably not enough material to keep a Stay On These Roads set interesting for all but the die-hards. Hunting High and Low is a fascinating timeline of how the band progressed from minimalist demos to creating the album, and the Scoundrel Days set is great, due to all the remixes, alternate versions and early sessions, although even then, they'd to flesh it out with a lot of live tracks. Personally, I think a Stay On These Roads deluxe edition would be need to be filled with all the relevant remixes and extended versions, which - while great to have - are not as interesting as works-in-progress.
This thread has made me want to try and pick up Scoundrel Days at the weekend on vinyl! Their strongest effort imo... I think i will leave the rest of their stuff as some of it hasnt aged well but i have a soft spot for Scoundrel Days, good stuff!
Paul sometimes in the past expressed he wasn't (isn't?) all together happy with the electronic soundscape and production a-ha had in the 80s. That's a pity, Tarney IMO obviously did an excellent job and delivered the unique quality of a-ha in their first two albums. As much as I love the guitar driven later albums and arrangements on tours I doubt if Scoundrel Days had survived as the classic it is as an acoustic album. Something is just right with the way it sounds. I'm happy Paul on SD wasn't yet the indie guitar hero he likes to be.
I agree. I like guitars and think that A-ha should have some guitar, but they are better when they emphasize on synthetic sounds. Morten's voice sounds better with electronic backing than guitar based backing. He is not a rock singer, but a pop singer (and one of the very best at that). Mags is also essential to A-ha's sound. I used to think that Paul was the only brain in the band, but each member is indisposable.
A-ha was definitely one of those rare bands that couldn't replace any of the members. Paul is credited alone for many of the great songs on the early albums, but we now know Magne had an important role as his sounding board and provider of arrangements and riffs. With modern standards I guess he would have been credited as co-writer of some of the songs. Does anyone here know about the keyboard work and synths on the first three albums? What has been actually done by Magne, Paul or programmed?
If there was a "Stay On These Roads" Deluxe reissue, possibly the Disc 2 "Bonuses" could add some "Live" tracks from South American laser disc release if there are not enough "Extended Versions/12" inch mixes" available. I wish Rhino would cover the later albums at some point. Maybe Warner Bros. would licenses to Demon/Edsel records, though I would be wary of the Remastering/Transfers properly done from Master Tape library.
Wow! I have been thinking about making this thread for a long time but I haven't gotten further than writing down some sketches for it. However, this thread looks great and it is cool to see that it is followed by many. Please keep the pace relaxed so that we can discuss and listen properly. Those two first are classics for sure. Allow me to just copy/paste my sketches for those two here (and forgive me for typos etc): Hunting High And Low – June 1985 UK #2 US #15 FRA #7 NOR #1 SWE#1 GER#10 JAP#8 A-ha was formed in 1982 when Morten Harket joined Pal Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen that had just parted with their prog rock band Bridges to focus on more synth based pop music and make it commercially. Earlier that year the two of them had gone to the UK with almost no money trying to achieve their crazy dream. They soon realized that they needed that Morten fellow they had met earlier to do that. Morten have later claimed that he knew that they needed him! They recorded a bunch of demos in Pal’s (later known as Paul) family cabin and brought the tapes back to UK in 1983. The song “Take On Me” was their main weapon. A brief time of misery and bad luck followed until they got signed with Warner (a long story involving producer John Radcliff and manager Terry Slater) and in 1984 they finally released Take On Me as a single in the UK in a version produced by Tony Mansfield with Stop! And Make Your Mind Up as the B-side but it made almost no impact. The year after Alan Tarney was convinced to produce a new version of the song and it flopped again. However the band got massive support from Warner in the US and got Steve Barron to direct the now famous music video. The single was released in the US with Love Is Reason on the flip side and started to climb the Billboard Hot 100 until it reached number 1! The single also finally became a hit in the UK but it was the next single The Sun Always Shines On TV that made it to the #1 spot there! That song was also produced by Alan Tarney (clearly the right man at the time) while the rest of the album was produced by Tony Mansfield with occasional remixing by John Ratcliff and the band. During 1986 the album gave them two more hit singles (Train Of Thought and the title track) with great videos but the album is also full of other gems (Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale, The Blue Sky, Here I Stand And Face The Rain etc..). The album became a worldwide hit and has sold between 8 and 10 million copies! Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_High_and_Low Track list: All lyrics written by Pål Waaktaar; all music composed by Waaktaar except where noted. "Take on Me" – 3:48 (Waaktaar/Furuholmen/Harket) "Train of Thought" – 4:14 "Hunting High and Low" – 3:45 "The Blue Sky" – 2:36 "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale" – 5:00 (Waaktaar/Harket) "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." – 5:08 "And You Tell Me" – 1:51 "Love Is Reason" – 3:04 (Waaktaar/Furuholmen) "I Dream Myself Alive" – 3:06 (Waaktaar/Furuholmen) 10. "Here I Stand and Face the Rain" – 4:30
Scoundrel Days – October 1986 UK #2 US #74 FRA #7 NOR #1 AUT #9 GER#4 JAP#6 NLD #6 SWI #6 When Take On Me exploded on the charts in 1985 things got busy for a-ha. They went around the world promoting their Hunting High And Low album doing performances and interviews on TV and radio as well as posing for a number of teen magazines. The pressure was enormous but still they were determined to get their second album done. A-ha’s first albums were largely sourced from a pile of demos from the early years. They refined a lot of these demos in Oslo the summer of 1985 before things got wild. Their second album was done in the middle of the storm that followed and Alan Tarney was hired as the producer after what he had done with the smash hits from last year. Still they went in a rather different direction than those programmed synth sounds and decided to stick a bit closer to the original demos. You can hear plenty of synth on this album but it is a part of a much more edgy and rough sound. On top of all of this they went out on their first world tour while the album was still being recorded! The lead single became I’ve Been Losing You with a low key kind of stage performance video and a guitar riff. A sound and image that probably surprised a lot of people waiting for the next Take On Me. It became a #8 hit in UK but did not chart in US. The next single Cry Wolf was the last to be seen on Billboard Hot 100 with a #50 entry. From that point they became has-beens in US while maintaining a strong audience elsewhere selling out concerts. After yet another hit (Manhattan Skyline) they finished their world tour in the summer of 1987 and released the theme song for the latest 007 movie The Living Daylights. Despite the stressful conditions during the recording the album became a massive success with 6 million copies sold worldwide and are ranked as the favorite among many a-ha fans. The title track and The Swing Of Things are considered classics even though they were never released as singles. Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoundrel_Days Track list: All songs written by Furuholmen/Waaktaar unless noted otherwise: "Scoundrel Days" – 3:56 "The Swing of Things" – 4:14 (Waaktaar) "I've Been Losing You" – 4:24 (Waaktaar) "October" – 3:48 (Waaktaar) "Manhattan Skyline" – 4:52 "Cry Wolf" – 4:05 "We're Looking for the Whales" – 3:39 "The Weight of the Wind" – 3:57 (Waaktaar) "Maybe, Maybe" – 2:34 (Furuholmen) "Soft Rains of April" – 3:12 Produced by Alan Tarney, except tracks 3, 9 and 10 produced by Furuholmen and Waaktaar.
If the laser disc you are talking about is "Live In South America" (released on VHS) that one is from the East Of The Sun tour in 1991 and would not fit on a Stay On These Roads reissue. But maybe you are talking about the brazilian TV broadcast of their 1989 Rio concert?
