If you just rediscovered a-ha, here are 5 songs you should check out that aren’t ‘Take On Me’
The other day, out of what seemed like nowhere, people were talking about a-ha on social media.
Turns out the reason was a new live recording of “Take On Me” which, as everyone knows, is The Song By A-Ha, Which Was In The Video By A-Ha.
Well, why not? It’s a terrific song, and a nice arrangement. Here’s the thing, though: While a-ha only had one big American hit, they have loads of terrific songs, many of them not on “Hunting High and Low,” the “Take On Me” album.
Here’s a quick list of five of my favorites. (I’m leaving off everything from “Hunting,” and I’m also excluding “The Living Daylights” because, while it’s a good song, chances are you heard it.) I put them in alphabetical order because I’m too lazy to rank them.
And yes, obviously, they have more good songs than these here.
Nothing is Keeping You Here (from “Foot of the Mountain,” 2009) — a fun song, with a healthy helping of Morten Harket’s singing voice, still doing its thing 25 years after “Take On Me.”
Scoundrel Days (from “Scoundrel Days,” 1986) — The follow-up album to “Hunting High and Low” has plenty to offer people who liked the first one. Great chorus here.
Stay On These Roads (from “Stay On These Roads,” 1988) — A big, soaring, sentimental slow number.
Summer Moved On (from “Minor Earth Major Sky,” 2000, though I first heard it on the 2003 live album “How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head,” so that’s the version I’m posting here) — Great chorus, and Morten lets loose a long note toward the end that the crowd goes nuts for. Good times.
The Swing of Things (from “Scoundrel Days” — hey, it’s a good album) — It’s the source of the aforementioned live album’s title, a great ’80s sad love song.
I’ve never seen them live (don’t get me started on the New York show I had to sell the tickets to many years ago) but there are some pretty good shows on YouTube worth checking out if any of this is working for you.
(EDIT: To all of you who found this because the band tweeted it, thanks for reading and sharing! I wrote this in 15 minutes while the baby was napping yesterday morning and didn’t think to share it further than my friends on Facebook. It gratifies me that it might have pleased a few more people.)
