A-ha. There's another band that I absolutely loved when I was younger. I was such a fan that I bought three of their recordings: Hunting High and Low, Scoundrel Days and Stay on These Roads. Of these three, my favorite was Scoundrel Days.
Hunting High and Low was released on 1985 when I was still in high school. I had the tape and would listen to it all the time on my Walkman. This was their debut album and features what became their big hit in the U.S., Take on Me. People went crazy for the video and its blend of drawings and pictures, but I always considered that one of the weakest songs in the album. My favorite songs were Blue Sky, Hunting High and Low, Living a Boy's Adventure Tale and I Dream Myself Alive.
Scoundrel Days was released the next year and it was part of the soundtrack to my first year of college. The tape was on heavy rotation in my car. I had just gotten my first car (an old '79 Pontiac Grand Prix that used to belong to my dad). Even though this album did not have any hits in the US, it was my favorite. I loved every single song, but my favorites were Scoundrel Days, The Swing of Things, I've Been Losing You (I was obsessed with this one) and The Weight of the Wind.
The last A-ha album I bought has one of my favorite songs, The Living Daylights, which was also the theme of the James Bond movie of the same name. But other than that, this album did not do much for me. Maybe my tastes were changing by then. I never bought any other A-ha recordings again.
A-ha continued to make music and are still together and apparently still popular in Europe. I found their official website and it mentions they have a new release, which can be purchased on iTunes in many countries except the US. Maybe I'll wait to see if it ever becomes available and check it out, for old times' sake.
I bought A-ha's more recent (as in not-80's) Minor Earth Major Sky several years ago and love it.
ReplyDeleteA-ha is one of the most underated bands ever, completely eclipsed by that video. They sort of did themselves a diservice in the States with it.
ReplyDeleteI was completely surprised in 1997 when I had the chance to go to Tallin, Estonia (for work) and gt the chance to see them live, which I never got to do here. They were great, really tight and melodic... and yes, he can still hit that high note.
I wish I would had a chance to see them live, Seiche. You might be right about the video. I know it annoyed the hell out of me, so it probably put some people off the band or made them a one-hit wonder in the US.
ReplyDeleteMPJ, I saw that one of iTunes. Maybe I'll get it.