Produced by Tony Mansfield
*Produced by Alan Tarney
**Produced by John Ratcliff with A-ha
ALLMUSIC REVIEW: 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.
ALLMUSIC GAVE THE ALBUM 4 OUT OF 5 STARS.
SINGLES RELEASED FROM THE ALBUM WERE:
1// TAKE ON ME 2//LOVE IS REASON 3//THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V 4//TRAIN OF THOUGHT 5//HUNTING HIGH AND LOW Three out of the singles from Hunting High And Low are on Magne Furuholmen's list of Top 10 A-ha songs. The songs comes in this order: The sun always shines on t.v #2, Take on me #4 and Hunting high and low #5. MAGNE ABOUT THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V: Here I think we found a pop-music formula that added something new. Epic and strong - melodic and riffy, with an undeniable energy. MAGNE ABOUT TAKE ON ME: Hard not to include this - with the exeption of weakness in the lyric, it's unpretentious pop at its best. MAGNE ABOUT HUNTING HIGH AND LOW: Paul at his very best.
None of the singles from Hunting High And Low are on Paul's list of top 10 A-ha songs. It must be said that Paul has added a sentence to his Top 10 song list, being that: they should have received more attention. I guess its understandable that three single's from the album did't fall into his category (that SHOULD have received more attention) being among the most popular and well known A-ha songs.
CHART POSITIONS FOR THE ALBUM:
NUMBER 1 IN NORWAY
NUMBER 2 IN UK
NUMBER 10 IN SWISS ALBUM CHARTS
NUMBER 15 IN USA
NUMBER 17 IN ITALY
NUMBER 1 IN AUSTRIAN ALBUM CHARTS
NUMBER 1 IN SWEDEN
NUMBER 10 IN GERMANY
NUMBER 12 IN CANADA
SOME PICTURES FROM THE HUNTING HIGH AND LOW PERIOD:
SALES FIGURES:
According to the book, 'The swing of things' by Jan Omdahl:
HUNTING HIGH AND LOW HAS SOLD MORE THAN 8 MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE.
CERTIFICATIONS:
US: Platinum
UK: Platinum
NLD: Gold
GER: Platinum
BRA: Gold
FRA: 2xPlatinum
Source Wikipedia
MUSIC VIDEOS:
MUSIC VIDEOS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE FROM THE HUNTING HIGH AND LOW ALBUM:
TAKE ON ME
THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V
TRAIN OF THOUGHT
HUNTING HIGH AND LOW
MTV AWARDS:
A-HA WERE NOMINATED FOR 11 MTV AWARDS IN 1986, THEY ENDED UP WINNING EIGHT OF THEM(TAKE ON ME WON 6 AWARDS, THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V WON 2 AWARDS):
TAKE ON ME, WINNER OF BEST VIDEO CONCEPT
TAKE ON ME,
BEST NEW ARTIST VIDEO
TAKE ON ME, BEST PRODUCER
TAKE ON ME, BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V, BEST DIRECTOR (STEVE BARRON)
THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V, BEST CAMERA/FILMING
TAKE ON ME, THE MOST EXPERIMENTAL VIDEO OF THE YEAR
TAKE ON ME, THE VIEWER'S CHOICE
VARIOUS REFLECTIONS, FROM VARIOUS PEOPLE ON HUNTING HIGH AND LOW.
MORTEN: BELIEVED IN THE BEATLES MODEL - GET A FEW HITS FIRST, THEN WE CAN RULE.
LAUREN: THE ORIGINAL DEMOS WERE UNBELIEVABLE.
PAUL: MANSFIELD DID'T WANT TO HEAR THE DEMOS AT ALL. HE ONLY WANTED TO PROGRAMME HIS OWN THINGS.
MAGNE: IT'S A RECORD BY A BAND THAT WANTS EVERYTHING - ALL AT ONCE.
CHRIS MARTIN: AS A 12 YEAR OLD, "HUNTING HIGH AND LOW" WAS ALWAYS IN MY HEAD, AND A-HA STILL CONTINUES TO BE AN IMPORTANT BAND TO ME. I WAS IN AMSTERDAM THE OTHER DAY AND PUT ON THE ALBUM HUNTING HIGH AND LOW. I REMEMBERED RIGHT THERE AND THEN HOW MUCH I LOVED THE ALBUM. IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE SONGWRITING.
REFERENCE: A-HA.COM, WIKIPEDIA, THE BOOK 'THE SWING OF THINGS' (BY JAN OMDAHL), ALL IMAGES FROM GOOGLE IMAGES
LYRICS:
TAKE ON ME
We’re talking away
I don’t know what I’m to say
I’ll say it anyway
Today’s another day to find you
Shying away
I’ll be coming for your love, OK?
Take on me
Take me on
I’ll be gone
In a day or two
So needless to say
I’m odds and ends
But that’s me stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is OK
Say after me
It’s no better to be safe than sorry
Take on me
Take me on
I’ll be gone
In a day or two
Oh the things that you say
Is it life or just to play my worries away
You’re all the things I’ve got to remember
You’re shying away
I’ll be coming for you anyway
Take on me
Take me on
I’ll be gone
In a day or two
Magne Furuholmen / Morten Harket / Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
TRAIN OF THOUGHT
He likes to have the morning paper’s
Crossword solved
Words go up words come down
Forwards backwards twisted round
He grabs a pile of letters from a small suitcase
Disappears into an office
It’s another working day
And his thoughts are full of strangers
Corridors of naked lights
And his mind once full of reason
Now there’s more than meets the eye
Oh, a stranger’s face he carries with him
He likes a bit of reading on the subway home
A distant radio whistling tunes that nobody knows
At home a house awaits him, he unlocks the door
Thinking once there was a sea here
But there never was a door
And his thoughts are full of strangers
And his eyes to numb to see
And nothing that he knows of
And nowhere where he’s been
Was ever quite like this
And his thoughts
And at heart
He’s full of strangers
Dodging on his train of thought
Train of thought
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
HUNTING HIGH AND LOW
Here I am
And within the reach of my hands
She’s sound asleep and she’s sweeter now
Than the wildest dream could have seen her
And I catch her slipping away
Though I know I’ll be hunting high and low
High
There’s no end to the lengths I’ll go to
Hunting high and low
High
There’s no end to lengths I’ll go
To find her again
Upon this my dreams are depending
Through the dark
I sense the pounding of her heart
Next to mine
She’s the sweetest love I could find
So I guess I’ll be hunting high and low
High
There’s no end to the lengths I’ll go to
High and Low
High
Do you know what it means to love you
I’m hunting high and low
And now she’s telling me she’s got to go away
I’ll always be hunting high and low
Hungry for you
Watch me tearing myself to pieces
Hunting high and low
High
There’s no end to the lengths I’ll go to
Oh, for you
I’ll be hunting high and low
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
THE BLUE SKY
I find it hard to breathe
As life just eats away
At the faces that surround me
They look tired today
The lady at my table
Doesn’t want me here
I just want to talk to her
But would she laugh at my accent
And make fun of me
Oh, it doesn’t seem like this
Blue sky’s here for me
There are no girls in here
As far as I can see
Only pin-up posters
Looking down at me
Watching papercups of coffee
Growing cold before my eyes
All the things I see
That make me realize
I’m in this big world without you
Nothing to my name
Oh, I never knew that
Blue sky meant such pain
I’m dying to be different
In the coffee shop
I’ve lived on borrowed strength
Now my supplies are cut
Though I’m older than my looks
And older than my years
I’m too young to take on
My deepest fears
Oh, I used to be confused
But now I just don’t know
Since you left I’ve been watching
Blue skies come and go
Since you left I’ve been watching
Blue skies come and go
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
LIVING A BOY'S ADVENTURE TALE
I’ve fixed my dwelling for the night
Lights in pairs come passing by where I hide
I need some time now on my own
Leave my loneliness alone
To lick my wounds
Night has found me just in time
to help me close my eyes
One more time
Living a boy’s adventure tale
In so many ways
Living a boy’s adventure tale
For so many days
I’m living a boy’s adventure tale
Can’t escape, if I wanted to
Living a boy’s adventure tale
I may be dreaming but I feel awake
I’ve been lost in so many places
Seeked love in so many faces
A change of weather
the rain pours down
My head in hands
pressed to the ground
And where am I supposed to go now
Living a boy’s adventure tale
In so many ways
Living a boy’s adventure tale
Living a boy’s adventure tale
A voice I hear
Living a boy’s adventure tale
Singing a lullaby for me
Living a boy’s adventure tale
Because of you
Living a boy’s adventure
Oh you know it’s true
Living a boy’s adventure tale
In so many ways
For so many days
I love you, I love you
So many ways
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V
Touch me
How can it be
Believe me
The sun always shines on TV
Hold me
Close to your heart
Touch me
And give all your love to me
To me
I reached inside myself
And found nothing there
To ease the pressure of
My ever worrying mind
All my powers waste away
I fear the crazed and lonely looks
The mirror’s sending me these days
Please don’t ask me to defend
The shameful lowlands
Of the way
I’m drifting gloomily through time
I reached inside myself today
Thinking there’s got to be some way
To keep my troubles distant
Touch me
How can it be
Believe me
The sun always shines on TV
Hold me
Close to your heart
Touch me
And give all your love to me
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
AND YOU TELL ME
Please don’t hurt me
I have told you
All my love is all I’ve got
And tomorrow is the day
When I for your sake
I’m coming back
And you tell me
That I don’t love you
I’m trying hard to make you jealous
Trying harder to make you stay
Days are longer
Night are crazy
It’s so strange when you’re away
And you tell me
That I don’t love you
Please let me come to you
And stay this time
And you tell me
That I don’t love you
Oh you know
That it’s just not true
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
LOVE IS REASON
My breath was coming fast
And as I make a start
You turn to go
Oh, oh
I’ll do what you want me to
I’ll cry at the thought of the loss of a heart
Love is reason
Love is reason
Love is reason
Love is reason enough
My morals are changing fast
I told you it wouldn’t last
You turn and go
Oh, oh
I’ll be what you want me to be
I’d die at the thought of the loss of your heart
Love is reason
Love is reason
Love is reason
Love is reason enough
Magne Furuholmen
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
I DREAM MYSELF ALIVE
Dream myself alive
I dream myself alive
You can’t deny
There’s something dark
Against the light
All I can say
It doesn’t have to be this way
We’ll be chasing our tails madly
See days pass like wildfire
Right from the start
I knew this world would break my heart
I dream myself alive
Dream myself alive
I dream myself alive
Break my heart
And dream myself alive
What can it mean
Can it be
I’m drawing pictures of the sea
Right from the start
I knew this girl would break my heart
Dream myself alive
Dream myself alive
I dream myself alive
Dream myself alive
Dream myself alive
I dream myself alive
Magne Furuholmen/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
HERE I STAND AND FACE THE RAIN
Help me, I need your love
Don’t walk away
The dark scares me so
We’re nothing apart
Let’s stay friends forever
Forever
Here I stand and face the rain
I know that nothing’s gonna be the same again
I fear for what tomorrow brings
Trust me for who I am
Place all your faith
Into these hands
I got nothing to say
But let’s stay friends forever
Forever
Here I stand and face the rain
I know that nothing’s gonna be the same again
I fear for what tomorrow brings
Here I stand and face the rain
I know that nothing’s gonna be the same again
I fear for what tomorrow brings
Here I stand and face the rain
Knowing nothing’s gonna be the same again
Here I stand and face the rain
Knowing nothing’s gonna be the same again
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1985 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
HUNTING HIGH AND LOW DELUXE (2010)
IN 2010 THE ALBUM HUNTING HIGH AND LOW WAS RELEASED AS A DELUXE VERSION IN THE USA THROUGH RHINO RECORDS. THE ALBUM DEBUTED AT NUMBER #34 IN THE BILLBOARD INTERNET SALES CHART. IT WAS ALSO AVAILABLE IN EUROPE TOO OF COURSE. REACHING #165 IN THE UK CHARTS, #27 IN NORWAY AND #39 IN GERMANY.
I PERSONALLY STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE DELUXE VERSION OF HUNTING HIGH AND LOW. IT IS A MASTERPIECE, VERY GOOD QUALITY ON EVERYTHING FROM SOUND TO DESIGN. IT COVERS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST THE ORIGINAL ALBUM, FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU REALLY GET AN OVERVIEW OVER THE WHOLE RECORDING PROCESS. VERY INTERESTING TO HEAR THE DEMOS AND LISTING TO THE SONGS THAT DID'T MAKE IT TO THE FINAL ALBUM. THERE ARE SO MANY ROADS YOU CAN TAKE UNDER THOSE GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE ALBUM COULD HAVE ENDED COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN IT DID. I HAVE REALLY ENJOYED LISTING TO IT THIS SUMMER, I FANCY 'DOT THE I', 'PRESENTING LILLY MARS' AND 'NEVER NEVER' AMONG OTHERS. INTERESTING ALSO TO READ THE BOOKLET WITH INTRO BY KIERON TYLER. THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS GREAT ALBUM ITS AN TREASURE TO ME.
TRACK LIST RECIPTE:
BUY HUNTING HIGH AND LOW DELUXE VERSION: CLICK RHINO OR HMV AN ORDER A COPY.
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