All the songs on this cd are excellent, and my favorites are Living A Boys Adventure Tale, The Sun Always Shines On Tv and of course, Take On Me.

But if you live in the U.S., then you must think that Take On Me is the only song ever put out by this misunderstood and mislead band. Well I have learned that the radio is NOT the place to go to if you want to listen to good music.

a-ha's second (Scoundrel Days), and third (Stay On These Roads)albums are also excellent and the band sticks to their previous style and sound as in Hunting High and Low. They are both worthy additions to your library. But read on.

But if you want to understand what a mistake the U.S. has made with this band, Warner Bros. especially, then I would recommend you also pick up East of The Sun, West of the Moon and Memoral Beach. These two albums show just how mature the band has become. The songwriting is excellent and the sound is like none other. These albums are TOTALLY different from Hunting High and Low, but then again, why would you want the same thing? Early Morning on EOSWOM and Cold as Stone on Memorial Beach are two examples of this bands greatness. Both could be hits in the U.S. today, if they could just get a little radio airtime. Yeah, right. Most of what is on the radio today is TRASH! Record companies today are signing one album wonders instead of promoting AND supporting good musicians, which in the long run, is beneficial to both parties involved. Radio broadcasters have their songs preselected for them and don't dare play anything not on their list. What a shame and a sham.

Pick up Hunting High and Low, then pick up one of their most recent releases. Go into a quiet room, turn off the lights and simply listen to the albums 3 or 4 times. You won't be dissapointed.


Stop Playing "Take On Me" and Listen to Their Other Stuff!   June 13, 2004
Matt J. Craven (Everett, WA United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Everybody and their mom has seen the awesome video for "Take On Me," which is deservedly always on many of those "Top 100 Music Video" countdowns, and that's probably the extent of most people's knowledge of A-Ha. However, their debut album had much more to offer than a throw-away pop song with a great video (which is good since "Take On Me" loses a lot of its coolness when you listen to it without getting to see the video). "Train of Thought" is brilliantly catchy, and the title track is hauntingly beautiful. And then there's the masterpiece: "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." Despite being a US top 20 hit and having a video almost as stunning as "Take On Me," this song has seemingly disappeared from our collective memory of the '80s. Which is too bad since it's the perfect pop song and deserved to be a major hit.

After this album, A-Ha never again had success in the US, so you might want to get their greatest hits collection instead (which includes all four of the aforementioned songs).


An all time pop classic   June 7, 2003
kozmikrokker (Highland, Utah United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

When I first heard "Take on me" back in the 80's when I was 11-12 years old, I thought it was a cool new sound defining the growing new wave movement. I bought the cassette a couple of years later expecting it to be "take on me" and filler, as no other singles had been played from it. I was amazed as track after track of fantastic music kept me soaring on a musical cloud. They were immediately my favorite band, and I listen to a ton of other stuff. I have played this tape and it's replacement over and over for years, awestruck every time. The beautiful strings and guitar ballad "Hunting high and low" is one of the best songs ever written, a real tear-jerker. I play this song as part of my own musical repertoire, a-ha kept me inspired to become a musician myself. The child-like "Living a boy's adventure tale", with the band's first use of clarinet is a masterpiece. The album includes vastly contrasted themes such as the dark and teen-spirited "Dream myself alive" and "Here I stand and face the rain", probably my favorite song on the album with it's ethereal synths and haunting acoustic guitar and mysterious lyrics. The whole album rocks, soothes you, and trips you out from one song to the next. Lots of changing sounds and textures. Very talented musicians. I would say they are one of the top 5 most skilled users of synths. Skilled because they don't sound like computer music but rather like a pop orchestra with the great singer, lyrics, guitar, cool rhythms, nothing is overshadowed. All of their other albums are good too, but I agree with other reviewers that after "Scoundrel Days", something was lost and the magic was not as strong as their first two albums. Their music became more organic, less youthful and dark, less colorful and changing. This album and really "Scoundrel Days" too, are must-haves for any music collection. I just wish they'd remaster them.


Before the "curse" hit them   September 14, 2002
TammyJo Eckhart (Bloomington, Indiana United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

You know the "curse", right? Once a group or singer wins "best new artist" of the year on any music awards show, they seem to be doomed. At least in the USA that is what happened to a-ha. A pity becauase there isn't a single track on this album that I didn't like. The lyrics speak of a yearning and a searching, and if you saw any of the videos they were well matched to the lyrics. But ultimately a-ha was very pop and the British accent very strong and the "curse" kicked in. If you have only heard their sole American hit, listen to a few of these and then buy this album if you like what you hear.