independent and unofficial
Prince fan community
Welcome! Sign up or enter username and password to remember me
Forum jump
Forums > Music: Non-Prince > '80s Classic Album: a-ha "Hunting High and Low" (1985)
« Previous topic  Next topic »
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
Author

Tweet     Share

Message
Thread started 03/02/09 4:07pm

AlexdeParis

avatar

'80s Classic Album: a-ha "Hunting High and Low" (1985)


Anybody else love this album? I have a great deal of respect for their entire catalog (unlike most people here in the US), but I still consider this album their peak. Every song is a winner. I found as many YouTube clips as I could.
Thoughts?

1. Take On Me


2. Train of Thought


3. Hunting High and Low


4. The Blue Sky


5. Living a Boy's Adventure Tale


6. The Sun Always Shines on TV

While "Take on Me" went to #1 all over the world, it stalled at #2 in the UK and Ireland. The follow-up single went to #1 in both countries.

7. And You Tell Me


8. Love Is Reason


9. I Dream Myself Alive


10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain
"Whitney was purely and simply one of a kind." ~ Clive Davis
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #1 posted 03/02/09 4:18pm

lastdecember

avatar

For the first phase of a-Ha it was a strong point, but going through all their work i rather their mature sound now, and feel kind of sorry, for the many that let this band go, and fail to realize the strength and INFLUENCE of them.

It is a very strong debut considering they were working on a Zero budget, i think the label spent everything on the video. But what people dont realize is that "the Sun always Shines on TV" is much more popular worldwide than Take On Me overall that is.

Off Topic: sort of: a-Ha's tenth album set for release on June19th in all markets (except here of course)

"We went where our music was appreciated, and that was everywhere but the USA, we knew we had fans, but there is only so much of the world you can play at once" Magne F
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #2 posted 03/02/09 4:23pm

PatrickS77

avatar

Don't remember much about the album (need to pull it out agian), but just know that I absolutely love the song "Hunting high and low"... more so than "Take on me"! Also "Sun always shows on TV" has always been one of my favourites!
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #3 posted 03/02/09 4:51pm

JQuad

avatar

The take on me vid overshadowed the release! I personally like scoundrel days better. But as a debut cd this was cool.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #4 posted 03/02/09 9:51pm

AlexdeParis

avatar

JQuad said:

I personally like scoundrel days better. But as a debut cd this was cool.

Really? I like Scoundrel Days well enough, but I don't think there are many standout tracks.
"Whitney was purely and simply one of a kind." ~ Clive Davis
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #5 posted 03/04/09 12:27pm

lastdecember

avatar

AlexdeParis said:

JQuad said:

I personally like scoundrel days better. But as a debut cd this was cool.

Really? I like Scoundrel Days well enough, but I don't think there are many standout tracks.


Scoundrel Days was them growing as writers and really wanting to escape the insanity of "Take on Me" blowing up and the whole "poster boys" phase. BONO said recently said if these guys werent "good looking" they would've been bigger in the US market. Ironically right before Scoundrel Days they were going to call it quits because they all wanted to do something else with the music, and none of them could agree, and none of their ideas were even close to what the label wanted, which was "take on me" part 2.

"memorial beach" is the record is their only record i have issues with for the most part, despite having a few of their best songs like "cold as Stone" and "dark is the night", production by David Z at Paisley Park was NOT a good thing for them, and was the reason the band broke apart during 1994-1998.

"We went where our music was appreciated, and that was everywhere but the USA, we knew we had fans, but there is only so much of the world you can play at once" Magne F
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #6 posted 03/04/09 3:12pm

SquirrelMeat

avatar

I great little album, but to me, the weakest in their discograpghy. It was more the seed than the finished product.

Worth it alone for Living a boys adventure tale!
.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #7 posted 03/04/09 8:33pm

lastdecember

avatar

SquirrelMeat said:

I great little album, but to me, the weakest in their discograpghy. It was more the seed than the finished product.

Worth it alone for Living a boys adventure tale!


A good first album, has a few of their "cornerstone" songs like "Shines on TV" and "hunting high and low" but it was very early and as they said, didnt really give them a chance to do much, they clearly matured and grow a million times stronger. I rarely go back to anything from the "first round" as they call it, meaning the albums prior to their semi-split in 1994, though i have to say "east of the sun west of the moon" was the album they started the "change" and "maturity" and got them to finally get their label to toss out all the "reverb" and "synths"

"We went where our music was appreciated, and that was everywhere but the USA, we knew we had fans, but there is only so much of the world you can play at once" Magne F
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Forums > Music: Non-Prince > '80s Classic Album: a-ha "Hunting High and Low" (1985)