release date: Oct. 28, 1985
format: digital (2015 remaster - 30th Anniversary Edition)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: John Ratcliff; Tony Mansfield; Alan Tarney (1, 6)
label: Warner Bros. / Rhino Records - nationality: Norway
Track highlights:
1. "Take on Me" -
3. "Hunting High and Low" -
6. "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." -
10. "Here I Stand and Face the Rain"
Studio album debut by Norwegian trio a-ha consisting of lead vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist and main composer Pål Waaktaar, who's also credited for drum programming and backing vocals, and bassist & keyboardist Magne Furuholmen. The album was originally released on Warner Bros. and John Ratcliff is main producer on all tracks (aside from also mixing and playing additional keyboards), Mansfield is producer on seven compositions, and Tarney on two.
Didn't they just make it to all the little girls' bedrooms back then... I thought it was too slick and cheesy, too much happy-go-lucky without sufficient original content and the music completely failed to interest me then. Today, it's very much what has been labelled 80s pop music, and tracks #1, 3 and 6 are the soft pop songs you'll find on compilations alongside Duran Duran, Madonna, George Michael, Cindy Lauper and the like - basically music I never really bothered listen to. I think, the band owe much of their success and widespread popularity to video director Steve Barron, who stood behind the highly original pencil-sketch animation music video to "Take on Me".
This album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", which I really find a bit hard to understand as I basically see the album as interesting but also as a somewhat generic pop album without much new to offer.
