Ten For... A-HA (Pt. 2)
A look into ten tracks - okay, maybe twenty - by an artist whose work you may only know from their hits
It’s been awhile since I did one of these, but when I originally introduced this feature, it was because I wanted to try something a little bit different for the newsletter, and I thought, “Why not try some sort of playlist?” But rather than go through the traditional Spotify playlist format, I decided to put together a collection of ten videos by an artist whose work you probably only know from their singles.
But here’s the thing: when it comes to a-ha, there’s been an unfortunate tendency here in America for radio to treat the band as if they only had one album - 1985’s Hunting High and Low - when, in reality, they’ve actually had TEN albums. And when it comes to their singles, well, yes, you can often find folks who’ll happily remind you that they weren’t just a one-hit wonder here in the U.S., because they also had a top-40 hit with “The Sun Always Shines on TV,” but if you look at their success on the U.K. singles chart, they’ve had 18 top-40 hits, nine of which made their way into the top 10.
As such, I am - as the title of the piece indicates - offering up not just one list but, yes, two lists of 10 great a-ha songs, because I’ve been a fan of the band since “Take on Me” and an obsessive fan since their third album (1988’s Stay on These Roads). Also, even though I’ve tried to avoid including singles in the past, I decided that, in this instance, because of the fact that they’ve had such a low profile here in the States beyond those two aforementioned top-40 hits, I’m going to include songs that were hits elsewhere, because in most cases they’ll still be new to American ears.
Did you miss Pt. 1? If so, you can check it out by clicking right here.
All caught up? Great, ‘cause here comes Pt. 2!
1. “Minor Earth | Major Sky” (Minor Earth | Major Sky - 2000)
2. “Summer Moved On” (Minor Earth | Major Sky - 2000)
3. “Lifelines” (Lifelines - 2002)
4. “Afternoon High” (Lifelines - 2002)
5. “Turn the Lights Down” (Lifelines - 2002)
6. “Celice” (Analogue - 2005)
7. “Analogue (All I Want)” (Analogue - 2005)
8. “The Bandstand” (Foot of the Mountain - 2009)
9. “Foot of the Mountain” (Foot of the Mountain - 2009)
10. “Forest Fire” (Cast in Steel - 2015)
Well, there’s your second 10 tracks! Truth be told, I could do another 10 tracks without even blinking an eye, so don’t be surprised if that comes to pass sooner than later. If you’ve got any suggestions for inclusion, let me know. (I already know that at least one of you is disappointed that “I Wish I Cared” didn’t make the cut.)
Until that comes to pass, I’ll close by continuing the trend that I started last time and offering up another bonus video that may also serve as a slight education: it’s a song from Savoy’s 1996 album Mary is Coming, and to clarify why this is a-ha-related, Savoy is a band that consists of a-ha guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, his wife Lauren Savoy, and percussionist Frode Unneland.
Of course, if you’re a hardcore a-ha fan, you’ll recognize the song immediately, since the band not only covered it for the aforementioned Minor Earth | Major Sky album but also released it as a single. This, however, is the original version.
Enjoy!
I can see that you've tried to choose 20 tracks across their whole career, so good job, but the omissions of "Scoundrel Days" and "The Swing of Things" made me do a quadruple-take. And three songs from Memorial Beach! I can see that you are as big an a-ha fan as I but I can also see that we have very different tastes. :D