It took a few revisions of a song they wrote and a brilliant video to catapult A-Ha to the International music scene. With the song TAKE ON ME and a great debut record HUNTING HIGH AND LOW, A-ha proved their worth as a band capable of creating likeable synth-pop hits.
While TAKE ON ME might have been their greatest hit of all time, there are several other songs of A-ha that were memorable enough to create a fan out of me. A-ha’s songs ranged from their signature ’train’ songs like Train of thought and Blue Sky to ballads and even covers of songs like Crying in the rain - incidentally, I like this version way more than the original.
Though there’s a significant shift in trends and genres have come and gone, A-ha and their work has a certain charm that lingers on and still provides great listening.
A-Ha
The band comprised of Morten Haarket doing vocal duties, the brilliant Pal Waktaar doing most of the composing and synth arrangements and Mags Furholmen on guitars.
Stay on these roads
The album was the third offering from the trio. The highlight of the album was the James Bond movie soundtrack THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS but to be honest, it’s not the best track on the record.
The album explores a range of moods and contains ballads like the title song STAY ON THESE ROADS and YOU’LL END UP CRYING, the peppy track TOUCHY! that’s extremely likeable and the serious songs like OUT OF BLUE COMES GREEN.
My pick from the whole album would be the train song ’’Hurry Home’’. With percussions that conjures visions of a running train, some brilliant synth bits that range from wild to haunting and Morten Harket singing in his unique voice, the song is an aural treat.
Summing Up
It might not be A-ha’s best or most successful work but there’s a nice mix of fun and serious elements in this album. While it may seem a tad outdated in this age of NU Metal, Hip-hop etc., A-ha could be a great diversion from the range of stuff that waft out of speakers.
Overall: Enjoyable (especially if the 80s meant something to you)
~finis~