a-ha Albums (9)
'Foot of the Mountain'
Release Date 6/12/2009
Tracks 10
Label We Love
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Analogue'
Release Date 11/8/2005
Tracks 14
Label Universal International
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What The Critics Say
The Norwegian band a-ha had never really been away, so the 2006 album Analogue was hardly a comeback but a continuation of their 20-plus years of hitmaking. If anything, it was a return to form after the disappointing Lifelines album. The opening track, "Celice," was released in Europe only and featured Morten Harket's trademark falsetto vocals over a beat driven song. Pål Waaktaar's fuzzy guitar dominates "Make It Soon" but Analogue is mainly a very laid-back album, only a few of its 13 tracks are up-tempo in the style of their classic era "Take on Me," and most of the tracks are piano led, melancholy ballads including "Cozy Prisons," "Birthright," "A Fine Blue Line," and "The Summers of Your Youth." Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young lends his backing vocals to the tracks "Cozy Prisons" and "Over the Teardrops" and makes the harmonies on the latter song sound almost like one of CSN&Y's own. Halfway through the album comes the track "Halfway Through the Tour," a synth-beat number over seven minutes long. It's a strange song which appears to finish at the standard three-minute mark but then continues for a further four minutes as a flute instrumental with echoes of "Nights in White Satin." The first single to be released in the U.K., "Analogue (All I Want)" became their first Top Ten single since 1988's "Stay on These Roads." ~ Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide
'How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 14
Label WM
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head documents a-ha's 2002 world tour in support of Lifelines. The album's 14 tracks were compiled from various performances recorded over the tour's final six weeks. Rather than focusing on newer material, the album gives almost equal due to the seven years between Hunting High and Low and Lifelines. The years have clearly been good to a-ha, as they present here both a youthful rock swagger and a mature sense of confidence. Morten Harket's glorious voice rings true through most of the songs, while his bandmates attack their instruments in a surprisingly epic fashion. It's safe to say that these live renditions are more cinematic and bombastic than their studio album counterparts. Able backing is provided by the sweet vocals of Anneli Marian Drecker. While the quality of the mix isn't always up to par, there is decent separation between all of the key elements. Casual fans, and probably most U.S. listeners, will probably be seeking quality live renditions of "Take on Me," "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.," and "The Living Daylights," but strangely, the versions here are somewhat weak. Harket is out-of-breath for much of "Take on Me," though he does recover to offer some majestic closing lines. "The Living Daylights" suffers from too much audience participation. Diehard fans will most likely look past these issues and find much to love. More than anything, How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head proves that a-ha's sweeping emotional songs are as suited to a live setting as they are to a stereo. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A difference from their last effort yet undeniably a-ha. This time, the Norse purveyors of quality pop have opted for a variety of producers, ranging from Stephen Hague to Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The album begins with a lush ballad -- which is typical a-ha, pastoral with support orchestration -- almost like a modern day Moody Blues. "You Wanted More" also follows this trait, only darker with spiky electronics. "Afternoon High" sketches out '70s pastel glory similar to what Tears for Fears were getting at with parts of the Seeds of Love album. There are shades of Minor Earth Major Sky in that they keep the sugary neigh pleasant ballads vein to full emotional effect on "Turn the Lights Down," "Time and Again," and like MEMS's Garbage homage "Sun Never Shone." "Cannot Hide" opts for a Jennifer Paige "Crush" vibe with George Harrison-style guitar, while "Forever Not Yours"' pleasant dramatism echoes Darren Hayes' recent Insatiable. ~ Kelvin Hayes, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
For its fifth album, a-ha varies its style somewhat, trying for a U2 approach on lead-off track "Dark Is the Night for All." This is a long way from the peppy appeal of "Take on Me," but just as far from an improvement. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'East of the Sun, West of the Moon'
Release Date 1/1/1990
Tracks 11
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
A small surprise, too quickly destined for the cut-out bins considering the way their career finally went after Hunting High And Low. This is a nicely crafted collection of songs, performed and sung beautifully, with lots of echoes and suggestions tucked into the music. While not an album one can discuss at length, it's an album that's a pleasure to listen to and one that deserves a better reception than the one, unfortunately, that it seems to have gotten. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide
'Stay on These Roads'
Release Date 1/1/1988
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
a-ha's recording career hit the skids in America with its third release. But in the U.K., the album became the group's third straight to peak at number two, though it charted for a shorter period than the first two albums, and there were four Top 25 hits -- the title track, "The Blood That Moves the Body," "Touchy!," and "You Are the One." (Also included was a-ha's 1987 theme from the James Bond movie The Living Daylights, a U.K. number five that missed the U.S. charts.) Even in a country with a demonstrated affection for Scandinavians, however (remember ABBA?), that was a fall-off, if the decline was more gradual, and three albums in, a-ha wasn't demonstrating any development from its first hit, just more of the same and a little less distinctive. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While not quite as strong as the band's debut, Scoundrel Days is still a-ha succeeding as a marketed "pretty boy" band which can connect musically and lyrically as much as any musical sacred cow. The opening two songs alone make for one of the best one-two opening punches around: the tense edge of the title track, featuring one of Morten Harket's soaring vocals during the chorus and a crisp, pristine punch in the music, and "The Swing of Things," a moody, elegant number with a beautiful synth/guitar arrangement (plus some fine drumming courtesy of studio pro Michael Sturgis) and utterly lovelorn lyrical sentiments that balance on the edge of being overheated without quite going over. Although the rest of the disc never quite hits as high as the opening, it comes close more often than not. A definite downturn is the band's occasional attempts to try and prove themselves as a "real" band by rocking out, as on "I've Been Losing You" -- there's really no need for it, and as a result they sound much more "fake," ironically enough. Other songs can perhaps only be explained by the need to translate lyrics -- "We're Looking for the Whales" isn't an environmental anthem, and neither is "Cry Wolf," but both also don't really succeed in using nature as romantic metaphor. When a-ha are on, though, they're on -- "October" snakes along on a cool bass/keyboard arrangement and a whispery vocal from Harket; "Maybe Maybe" is a quirky little pop number that's engagingly goofy; while "Soft Rains of April" captures the band at its most dramatic, with the string synths giving Harket a perfect bed to launch into a lovely vocal, concluding with a sudden, hushed whisper. The '80s may be long gone, but Scoundrel Days makes clear that not everything was bad back then. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Hunting High and Low'
Release Date 1/1/1985
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Anyone who dismissed a-ha as a one-hit wonder must have missed out on the band's fine debut, Hunting High and Low. Though the band spawned many further hits across the rest of the world, "Take on Me" exploded in the States and the group never cracked the top of the charts again. It's a shame, because the album contains a handful of songs that nearly match the manic energy and emotional crack of its big hit. Further, it's a cohesive album with smart pace changeups, and it rarely fails to delight or satisfy a listener's need for a synth pop fix. The opening kick is a huge one: "Take on Me" is a new wave classic laced with rushing keyboards, made emotionally resonant thanks to Morten Harket's touching vocal delicacy. It didn't hurt in the era of MTV that the song's video was a hyperkinetic blend of mind-warping animation and filmed footage with a romantic thriller's heart. Harket's hunky physique and cheekbones also didn't hurt the video's chances at heavy rotation. Getting past that video, "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." is just as thrilling. Starting as a sad ballad, it explodes into something much more, as chugging guitars and operatic synths keep pace with Harket's evocative vocal stylings. If ever a 1980s song qualified as Wall of Sound, "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." would be it. The remainder of the album sees a-ha switching deftly back and forth between dramatic overtures and classic new wave keyboard motifs. "Train of Thought" and "Love Is Reason" are reminiscent of early Depeche Mode or Camouflage, but Harket's rich voice and flair make them purely a-ha. The band explores decidedly European terrain in the theatrical "Hunting High and Low" and dances a pop waltz with the sweet "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale," coming across like a marriage between the Blue Nile and Alphaville. Delightful song snippets "The Blue Sky" and "And You Tell Me" act as frosting on the cake or as glue between the theater and the dancefloor. One can't escape the feeling that Hunting High and Low is a product of the 1980s, but with highs like "Take on Me" and "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.," and no lows in sight, a-ha's debut is a treat worth relishing. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
