A-HA - STAY ON THESE ROADS

In 1988, A-Ha were already on their way to being a one hit 80's wonder and yet somehow, the band survived and continued to progress through the 90's and beyond.  Although they never seemed to capture the media attention and chart success of their first album, subsequent releases were just as good if not better.

"Stay On These Roads" could be considered a large stumbling block in the path of this amazing group.  It sorta flopped in the US but fared better internationally.  Part of the momentum for the album was the inclusion of the theme song from the James Bond film, 'The Living Daylights.

For me, this is an album that's remained consistent over the years.  The songs I love I continue to love and the rest of it hasn't grown on me at all.

Right off the bat you get the title track, 'Stay On These Roads' which is a lovely tune.  The music is dramatic and sweeping.  It seems to soar and Morten Harket's vocals are absolutely divine.  Once again, he sings in his lilting falsetto and reaches something spiritual.  As mysterious and dynamic as the first track is, the 2nd one, 'The Blood That Moves The Body' delivers the first real powerhouse number.  The song has a tremendous build and an incredible vocal arrangement.  There's a brilliant tempo on this number and it holds up quite effectively.  The third track represents the final piece of this album's power trilogy.  'Touchy!' is the pop masterpiece of the trio and gets you moving and tapping your feet along with the beat.  It sounds like something Alphaville would've recorded, but it's still great here.  It's got a beat unlike anything else on the record and it's a high point!

From here on out, the album seems to wander less effectively into some strange areas.  'This Alone Is Love' is a pretty tune, but it doesn't grip you as tightly as the previous tracks.  It's followed by 'Hurry Home' which is a more effective and enjoyable tune.  Next up is 'The Living Daylights' which in and of itself is a force to be reckoned with.  As the theme song to a James Bond film, this will be a tune fans of the Bond franchise will identify with more solidly than with the rest of the album.  I'm not impressed with it at all.  That's kinda the risk you take with a Bond theme song.

'There's Never A Forever Thing' is a minimalist ballad that although Harket's vocals are genuinely pleasing, there's not much to the song.  'Out Of Blue Comes Green' is the next number and I like this song quite a bit although I have to say, it's still not nearly as good as the earlier cuts.  Still, it has a gentle breakdown about halfway through that's nice to listen to.  The guitar playing is a bit generic, but there's a sweetness to the lyrics and the music that's worth mentioning.

The final two tracks are 'You Are The One' which sounds strangely like something trying to be an early 80's pop hit and 'You'll End Up Crying' which is an almost acoustic orchestral piece.  On 'You Are The One', the drum sounds remind me strongly of Roxette and the tempo is so face paced you get swept away and lost in the key changes.  'You'll End Up Crying' is absolutely brilliant and I wish it was up near the front along with the material I feel is stronger and more ambitious.

You hear a huge difference on this album from their previous records.  A-Ha is a band who progress with each album.  They started off a synth pop outfit and morphed into something more adult contemporary and thoughtful.  It's interesting to track this band over the years because their musicianship improves with each record and their writing develops as well.

I find them extremely compelling and even though I'm half and half on this record, I still think it's a phenomenal album and I love the tracks on it I love.  

My final words:  AN EXCEPTIONAL ALBUM FROM A SMART, DEVELOPING BAND!  STILL MORE AHEAD OF THEM FORTUNATELY FOR US.

A-HA - STAY ON THESE ROADS
01. Stay On These Roads
02. The Blood That Moves The Body
03. Touchy!
04. This Alone Is Love
05. Hurry Home
06. The Living Daylights
07. There's Never A Forever Thing
08. Out Of Blue Comes Green
09. You Are The One
10. You'll End Up Crying

ALPHAVILLE - THE SINGLES COLLECTION

Alphaville released an interesting disc with this Singles Collection.  It's basically an 8 track EP with 4 songs.  Each song appears with 2 versions.  The first is probably the band's most popular track.  'Forever Young (Special Extended Mix)' is interesting for a number of reasons...  First, it features a new vocal track recording by Marian Gold.  It's quite different from the original and the music is arranged with a bolder, fuller sound.  It's a great mix and very satisfying to listen to.  The second track is 'Red Rose (Single Version)'.  This is basically an edit of the album version even though it's a little longer.  'Red Rose' is from the bands second album, "Afternoons In Utopia".  Hearkening back to their first album, track number three is the single version of 'Big In Japan'.  This is a fairly standard version of the song.  The biggest difference you notice is the intro.  On the album, it segues from another song and the opening sequence is much louder and dynamic.  There are also some slight differences in some sounds.  I hear a bit of an echo on this single version I don't hear on the album version.

Track 4 is the long version of 'Dance With Me'.  This is another release from "Afternoons In Utopia".   The reason this song is a long version is because there are extended instrumental portions between the vocals.  Still, it's not bad and it's a great arrangement.  There are two album versions appearing on this release and number five is one of them.  It's the album version of 'Forever Young'.  Once again, this makes perfect sense as this is probably the band's most well known and popular track.  It doesn't hurt to include it here in its most noticeable form.  I also think it was smart to put the mix first.  Listeners just interested in this track will hear the different version and hopefully appreciate the band's musical diversity.

There's a 12" mix of 'Red Rose' up next and the music on this track is much superior to that of the album version.  The drums alone make this version so much more enjoyable.  There's a much more dramatic build throughout and the climax is more exciting.  Probably, the biggest and most exciting track on this collection is up next and it's 'Big In Japan (Remix '88).  The music stays fairly faithful, but it takes an amazing song and transforms it into an almost 8 minute musical workout with a variety effects and added percussion.  At the end of the disc we get another album version.  This time, it's 'Dance With Me' and I don't detect a difference here.  I think it's the same.

I'm fairly certain all of the material on this release showed up on vinyl prior to this pressing with the exception of the 'Big In Japan' remix.  For most of these tracks, this would be the one and only digital CD release.  The only place you could find these versions.  With the exception of the album versions of course.

I'm not entirely convinced this release is necessary to the average fan of Alphaville.  It's more of a completest release.  If you were collecting them, you'd want this one in your collection.  Otherwise, I think you can stream or purchase this music online.

My final words on this disc:  AN ENJOYABLE LISTEN, BUT NOT NECESSARY.

ALPHAVILLE - THE SINGLES COLLECTION
01. Forever Young (Special Extended Mix)
02. Red Rose (Single Version)
03. Big In Japan (Single Version '88)
04. Dance With Me (Long Version)
05. Forever Young (Album Version)
06. Red Rose (12" Mix)
07. Big In Japan (Remix '88)
08. Dance With Me (Album Version)

ALPHAVILLE - FOREVER YOUNG

Alphaville is a German New Wave group with a few songs reaching worldwide acclaim and topping music charts in various countries.  My first exposure to them was this very album.  And it's their first album so they kinda hit right out the gate.

Personally, I think the centerpiece of this record is the huge hit single, 'Big In Japan'; which blends the dirty little industry secret of getting rich by releasing in Japan and a homo erotic suggestion of prostitution.  

One of the few things that set Alphaville apart from other German and European bands who attempted to build a career singing in English is that Alphaville's lead singer, Marion Gold doesn't sound like he singing in a second language at all.  The metaphors they employ are solid, meaningful and actually make sense.  They don't try to say things in English they could easily say in German.  Instead, they build their songs rather beautifully in English.

There also seems to be some genuine musical training.  Possibly classical in nature by the band's musicians.  The scales are lilting and the melodies are sweetly layered with complex patterns and notes designed to evoke response but sound simple.

'A Victory Of Love' begins the freshman release and it's a moody bit of drizzle.  There's a lot of weird sounds sprinkled throughout the track sometimes sounding like cars braking and it kinda drolls along at a plodding rate until it suddenly builds and erupts.  Gold uses his vocal delivery to enhance the builds by keeping his voice somber and cold the boisterous and booming as the song climbs up to a respectable New Wave beat.  It's ok, but 'Summer In Berlin' track number 2 is much more enjoyable.  It's followed by the first of the two songs this record is most famous for, 'Big In Japan' and let's face it, no matter what format or system you're playing this song on, it marches across the vinyl, tape or disc like a huge unstoppable monster.  Gold's voice sounds smaller on this song, but it only serves to enhance to full space the instrumentation seems to create around it.

Next up is 'To Germany With Love'.  This patriotic musical valentine is delivered from the perspective of an immigrant who found a better life in Germany.  There's a kicking funky bass on this track.  Although it's an overlooked number, 'Fallen Angel' is musically just as rich and fulfilling as any hit on the album.  There are a couple surprising moments where the band takes some unexpected turns, but they resolve nicely and enhance the song's intensity and drive.  'Forever Young' is the title track and the biggest US hit from the record.  After it's release, 'Forever Young' went on to be one of, if not the biggest prom themes for the rest of the 80's.  Even my school used it once.  It's followed by 'In The Mood' which is another track where Gold alternates his pitch and tone to achieve a creative build.  'Sounds Like A Melody' uses keyboard sounds to mimic a full orchestra.  That was a popular thing to do back in the 80's.  It was somewhat annoying but everyone was doing it.  Fortunately, this is a good song and it could've survived without the addition of orchestral bits.

'Lies' utilizes a popular piano sound from that period but it's an uptempo number and quite lively.  'The Jet Set' rounds off the album and it's an anthem if ever there was one.  This one is also one of my favorites on the record and it's a great way to end a disc that's been mostly lively, fun, original and unique.

Alphaville went on to release many more records, mostly in Germany; but with mixed results.  They never achieved the same notoriety in the states that they did with their first record.  It should still be noted, they are one of the best (if not the actual best) German new wave act that showed up during the 80's.  You might be pleased to know the group is still recording and releasing as far as I know.  More power to them.  I think that's brilliant.

My final words:  A GERMAN SYNTH MASTERPIECE!

ALPHAVILLE - FOREVER YOUNG
01. A Victory Of Love
02. Summer In Berlin
03. Big In Japan
04. To Germany With Love
05. Fallen Angel
06. Forever Young
07. It The Mood
08. Sounds Like A Melody
09. Lies
10. The Jet Set