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

A-HA - EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON

If you think all the way back to the mid-eighties, you might remember A-Ha. They were one of those little synth pop groups that were sprouting up everywhere on the heels of the New Romantic or New Wave movement. What set them apart from other bands was the almost angelic quality of Morten Harket's vocals. His range seemed endless! Taking advantage of his vocal flexibility, the group wrote highly catchy melodies with sweeping scales and dramatic builds. In addition to decent songwriting, A-Ha's record label pumped money into state of the art videos for the band's singles. On the backs of firm promotion and a quality product, they topped the charts a few times and then dropped off the radar becoming just one of many background noise bands throughout the decade.

What makes them even more interesting is their tenacity and how they survived to continually release albums, even today. Listening to A-Ha is like watching a child learn to play an instrument. In the beginning, they were a sweet little synth band, tinkling away on their keyboards. One could credit a producer with creating the full sound they had on their first album. Each subsequent record shows more and more musical diversity and an ever present metamorphosis that we see more fully realized here on 'East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon'. They ended the 80's as one of the more remarkable New Wave acts and started the 90's completely revamping their image.

From the opening lines of 'Crying In The Rain', a Carole King cover, you can hear the difference. Gone are the layered keyboard motifs and to the fore come guitars and piano. This move away from synth pop isn't as much a move away from an unpopular musical form as it is a progression of musicians learning and developing over time. It's actually fascinating to listen to this record. When we first met them, A-Ha were a group of boys out to win the world. With this record, they're more seasoned and mature.

With 'Early Morning', the band moves from the subdued cover of 'Crying In The Rain' to a more urgent but also relaxed number. The rhythm is set by the melody repeating a fast paced scale over and over. Harket's vocals are incredibly expressive on this number. The adult contemporary nature of this record is everywhere. 'East Of The Sun' is also powerful and focuses more heavily on Harket's lower range vocally than most other songs. He doesn't spend a great deal of time on the higher end for this record, and yet his move towards the lower half of his range is just as calming and stimulating as previous efforts.

My favorite tracks on this album are 'Sycamore Leaves', 'Rolling Thunder', 'Early Morning', 'Cold River' and 'East Of The Sun'. But even those songs I'm not hugely fond of are enjoyable to listen to. The disc has a wonderful flow and easy listening quality making it perfect to play in the background or sing along with in the truck.

Put it in, turn up the volume and be shocked that this is the same band that gave us 'Take On Me'. My final word: DARING.

A-HA - EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON
01. Crying In The Rain
02. Early Morning
03. I Call Your Name
04. Slender Frame
05. East Of The Sun
06. Sycamore Leaves
07. Waiting For Her
08. Cold River
09. The Way We Talk
10. Rolling Thunder
11. (Seemingly) Nonstop July