A-ha 25: Catching up with A-ha

              This  2CD/DVD latest compilation by A-ha, released in 2010  is an import (Made in E.U.); and unlike the locally pressed,   Very Best Of Morrissey CD/DVD , which suddenly popped out in every music stores  I’ve visited after his concert here last May 13, 2012,   I haven’t  seen this one  in my favorite music store in Cubao.  I got my copy(Php 600) unexpectedly, at Astrovision in Greenhills, San Juan branch although it is also available in Fully Booked in Fort Bonifacio.  Anyway, I’m not sure if this is  being sold  here  in a very limited quantity or it just happened to be not available in the music stores I frequented.     

                Propelled  by their worldwide hit-- and U.S. billboard chart-topper  debut single   “Take on Me” in 1985( with its pioneering and unforgettable music video), this Norwegian  New Wave synthpop  band rose to prominence.  A-ha is compose of Morten Harket (vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards), and Pål Waaktaar (guitars). Their  debut  album Hunting High and Low, released also on the same year  is a certified classic,  spawning other  popular international  singles such as “Hunting High and Low,” "The Sun Always Shine on T.V.,"  and  ”Train of Thought.” Another track from the album,“Love is Reason” was  released here in the Philippines  as a single, and next to “Take on Me,” it was probably their most popular song here during those days as I  remembered  it  receiving  lots of  radio airplay. Another track from the album, “Living a Boy’s Adventures Tale,” is a fan favorite here and  even nowadays I still hear it  being played  in New Wave circuits.

Their subsequent albums: Scoundrel Days and Stay on These Roads were successful in many parts of Europe and South America particularly in Brazil; however, for whatever reasons , it did not fare well in the U.S.A., where they are  (supposedly) remembered today  only for the song “Take on Me”, earning them the erroneous and unjust moniker , 'one hit wonder.' (“The Sun Always Shine on T.V.” was a U.S.  billboard top 20 hit,  by the way.)

 I remember watching the music video of their cover of the  Everly Brothers’  ”Crying in the Rain” in the early '90's and heard it on the radio many  times. But my last exposure to A-ha for a long time  was their 1991 greatest hits compilation, Headlines and Deadlines, which covers their first four albums. I bought that CD in the mid-'90's. About a decade later, I got hold of a copy of their 2002 live DVD , A-ha Live in Vallhall.

As it turned out, they actually took a hiatus in 1993, each went  their own ways, reunited initially for a benefit concert in 1998   before releasing their critically acclaimed sixth album, Minor Earth Major Sky, in 2000.  The live concert  DVD  Live in Vallhall  was a homecoming concert celebrating their return after a seven year  absence.  Excellent songs  such  as , “Velvet,” “Summer Moved On” and “I Wish I Cared”  are my favorites among the new songs I heard and  reintroduced me to a  more  mature and mellower A-ha sound .  Watching them performing  made me realized how great  musicians they truly are. Morten Harket's  voice is  amazing , matching his still sharp looks.( No wonder majority of the audience were females.)

 After three more studio albums , in October 15,  2009, the band members  announced  A-ha's  retirement( after a world tour  in 2010).

This compilation, essentially made their  two previous compilations Headlines and Deadlines – The Hits of a-ha and The Definitive Singles Collection 1984–2004, obsolete as it is far more comprehensive.

Wikipedia: " It  includes all 33 of the band's singles (excluding the promo singles "I Wish I Cared", "Birthright", "Waiting for Her", "Lie Down in Darkness", "Maybe, Maybe" and "Love Is Reason", as well as the original 1988 single "The Blood That Moves the Body" and the 2003 live single "The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (Live)"),  along with 5 album tracks and  a b-side ("Cold as Stone (Remix)".

 To listen to this compilation in its entirety is literally  taking a journey into  A-ha’s  25 year history as it begins with their very first single, “Take on me” ,  proceeds chronologically,  and ends in their last recording, “Butterfly, Butterfly(The Last Hurrah)” in 2010. 
  CD 1:

1. "Take on Me" – 3:49
2. "The Blue Sky" – 2:36
3. "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." – 5:08
4. "Train of Thought" (7" remix) – 4:15
5. "Hunting High and Low" (7" remix) – 3:48
6. "I've Been Losing You" – 4:26
7. "Scoundrel Days" – 4:00
8. "The Swing of Things" – 4:15
9. "Cry Wolf" – 4:06
10. "Manhattan Skyline" (edit version) – 4:21
11. "The Living Daylights" – 4:12
12. "Stay on These Roads" – 4:46
13. "Touchy!" (UK DJ edit) – 3:38
14. "There's Never a Forever Thing" – 2:51
15. "You Are the One" (7" remix) – 3:50
16. "The Blood That Moves the Body" (Two-Time Gun Remix) – 4:08
17. "Crying in the Rain" – 4:21
18. "Early Morning" – 2:59
19. "Slender Frame" – 3:43
20. "I Call Your Name" (slightly edited) – 4:29

CD 2:

1. "Move to Memphis" (single version) – 4:17
2. "Dark is the Night for All" – 3:45
3. "Cold as Stone" (Remix) – 4:33
4. "Angel in the Snow" (edit) – 4:07
5. "Shapes That Go Together" – 4:14
6. "Summer Moved On" – 4:37
7. "Minor Earth Major Sky" (Niven's Radio Edit) – 4:02
8. "The Sun Never Shone That Day" (radio edit) – 3:31
9. "Velvet" – 4:20
10. "Forever Not Yours" – 4:06
11. "Lifelines" – 4:17
12. "Did Anyone Approach You?" – 4:11
13. "Celice" – 3:40
14. "Analogue" – 3:49
15. "Cosy Prisons" (Radio Mix) – 3:58
16. "Foot of the Mountain" – 3:57
17. "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" (single remix) – 3:05
18. "Shadowside" (single edit) – 3:31
19. "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" – 4:10

 DVD (25: The Videos)

1. "Take On Me" (1985 Version)
2. "The Sun Always Shines On T.V."
3. "I`ve Been Loosing You" (Original Version)
4. "Manhattan Skyline"
5. "Stay On These Roads"
6. "Crying In The Rain" (Alternate Cut)
7. "Dark Is The Night For All" ("Banned" Version)
8. "Move To Memphis"
9. "Shapes That Go Together"
10. "Angel In The Snow"
11. "Summer Moved On"
12. "Minor Earth, Major Sky"
13. "Lifelines"
14. "Did Anyone Approach You?"
15. "Velvet" (European Cut)
16. "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)"
17. Take on me (1984 version)

  A-ha's Studio Albums:

1985	Hunting High and Low
1986	Scoundrel Days
1988	Stay on These Roads
1990	East of the Sun, West of the Moon
1993	Memorial Beach
2000	Minor Earth Major Sky
2002	Lifelines
2005	Analogue
2009	Foot of the Mountain