Herewith the album cover for a-ha’s MTV Unplugged session, recorded on pretty close to the Summer Solstice in north-western Norway. 
It’s due for release on 6th October and will feature two new songs: This Is Our Home and Break In The Clouds, along with nineteen acoustic versions of previous work.
Of course I’m looking forward to it. Why wouldn’t I be?
Ag, you must know what’s coming. Yes, it’s ANOTHER cover version of a-ha’s biggest hit* Take On Me, this time by Brooklyn Duo and Ensemble Connect.
You’ll note a violin, a viola, two cellos, a double bass, a piano (big black thing at the back), a trombone, a bassoon and a very enthusiastic clarinet.
Classical.
Lovely version, and a hat-tip to whoever tied in Magne’s keyboard solo to Nikolai Rimsky-
I have now heard 261 cover versions of this song, but this one is a real original, and must rate somewhere in the top 10.
* terms and conditions apply
One of those days where time just slips by so easily. Visitors, an afternoon chilling in the sun before an evening braai. It’s all good, until you remember that you need to write a blog post.
I hadn’t quite forgotten, honestly. In fact, I was just settling down in front of the fire, under impractical, romantic lantern light, with my first brandy this week (I haven’t been 100%) to pop some words onto the site when the huge beetle hit the back of my neck. And in the shock of that, I did almost forget that you readers deserve some verbiage.
So this is it. I’m sitting in front of a cosy, if now slightly past it, braai fire, the sounds of the South Atlantic and a-ha’s 2010 concert in Oslo vying for my aural attention, and yes, that glass of brandy in my hand, and yes, that beetle on the back of my neck.
I’ll be honest: it’s not a bad situation.
Apart from the beetle, obviously.
Just when you thought it was all over…
a-ha will make a live acoustic album and concert film from a series of intimate performances to take place between June 26 – June 30, 2017.
The album, DVD and broadcast are scheduled for release in November 2017.
In early 2018, a-ha will take this special acoustic set on the road, giving the fans a new way to experience the music they love.
So… where are we going to see them this time, I wonder? After all, there’s still time to slip a couple of tickets into my Xmas stocking, darling…
The a-ha.com page is currently oversubcribed, suggesting that there is significant interest in this endeavour. The venues for the “series of intimate performances” haven’t yet been announced, but the first confirmed dates are in January 2018 and are in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Presumably, the Cape Town leg of the tour will be in February or March.
I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Apparently, it’s a thing. Young band bursts through, full of promise and innovation, releases a fantastic debut album to widespread acclaim and sales and then has to follow it up with something equally good to show that they are more than just a flash in the pan.
Back in late 1986, a-ha faced this hurdle – having given us a debut album which spawned 4 top 10 hits – and thirty years ago today (thirty…!) they released Scoundrel Days.
Despite enjoying what had gone before – and the eight studio albums which have followed since – Scoundrel Days remains my favourite a-ha album, and with that, my favourite album. In fact the eponymous single is my favourite a-ha track. The power of Morten’s voice in the chorus is spine-tinglingly good.
The album sold over 6 million copies worldwide (c.f. 7.8 million for Hunting High And Low) and gave us three singles: I’ve Been Losing You (in which the protagonist expresses a certain amount of regret over murdering his partner), Cry Wolf (in which the band repeatedly insist, somewhat prophetically, that the time to worry is “now”) and the ever-beautiful Manhattan Skyline (in which our star gently describes the blustery scene juxtaposed with his wiild frustration as he leaves his lover during a storm, and which features a fantastic Roland Juno-60/106 synth intro).
Oh, and there was the strange case of Magne’s Maybe, Maybe featuring lines such as:
Maybe it was over when you chucked me out the Rover at full speed.
The doubt in his statement here was probably caused by the fact that in 1986, full speed in a Rover was virtually unattainable because they were usually found broken down at the side of a road.
Maybe, Maybe was released as a single, but only in Bolivia.
It failed to chart. A lesson there for us all, I feel.
I remember reading a review of the album in Smash Hits in October 1986, and being disheartened as they predicted the end of the band, proclaiming that anyone coming up with stuff like:
One left low left two who left high: they seem so hard to find.
Three came twice took once the time to search.
was probably on their way out. And at the time, it seemed a reasonable assertion to be honest, but the album was so good, I bought the CD to go with my cassette tape version – before I even had a CD player.
This was advanced technology, hey?
And yes, I still have the CD. Finding a CD player to play it on is difficult for entirely different reasons now though.
Thirty years seems an awfully long time ago. It is an awfully long time ago, but this one has really stood the test of time and I still enjoy listening to it as much now as I did back then.
a-ha’s next 30 year albumaversary is in May 2018.