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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Hunting High & Low, A-ha's first and biggest selling album, contains four UK top ten hits, including "Take On Me" and "The Sun Always Shines On TV", their only number one hit, which sold 500,000 copies in the UK alone. Arguably the last in a generation of instrument playing and songwriting teen bands, A-ha--like Wham! and Duran Duran--were always far better than they were given credit for, although their lack of enduring crossover success has meant that, unlike, say, George Michael, there has been no widespread re-appraisal of their work. This is unfortunate, because Hunting High & Low is a great album: most definitely not four singles and a bunch of fillers. "Here I Stand And Face The Rain" and "And You Tell Me" in particular are at least as good as the hits. If you liked the singles but had never investigated any further, Hunting High & Low--like the rest of the band's back catalogue--is an undiscovered and underrated gem. --Ronita Dutta
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
None of a-ha's album's are perfect - but it's impossible not to give them 5 stars, because each of them is so enjoyable in its own way.
I love this band - it started when I heard 'Take on Me' when I was 13, and this was the first album I bought with my own money.
Admittedly, it's sooo 80s, and not all of the songs age as well as their subsequent material. But it's immense fun, and reflects the energy and enthusiasm that the band obviously felt on the verge of success and stardom. They were so fresh-faced back then (with full hair and tight denim trousers!)
The band's better-known singles are here - Take on Me, The Sun Always Shines on TV, Hunting High and Low, and Train of Thought, but there are also some other unknown gems - particularly Living a Boys Adventure Tale.
As I said, some of the tunes are just too 80s to appeal to anyone other than die-hard fans - like And You Tell Me and Love is Reason.
But overall it's a great album of perfect syth pop, and a good starting point for a band that went on to have a great career!
I love this band - it started when I heard 'Take on Me' when I was 13, and this was the first album I bought with my own money.
Admittedly, it's sooo 80s, and not all of the songs age as well as their subsequent material. But it's immense fun, and reflects the energy and enthusiasm that the band obviously felt on the verge of success and stardom. They were so fresh-faced back then (with full hair and tight denim trousers!)
The band's better-known singles are here - Take on Me, The Sun Always Shines on TV, Hunting High and Low, and Train of Thought, but there are also some other unknown gems - particularly Living a Boys Adventure Tale.
As I said, some of the tunes are just too 80s to appeal to anyone other than die-hard fans - like And You Tell Me and Love is Reason.
But overall it's a great album of perfect syth pop, and a good starting point for a band that went on to have a great career!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
From the amazing sleeve (how many people can you spot in the picture?!) to the amazing songs - this album is a classic.
'Take on me' There is'nt much to say about this song as everyone knows it, and most people love it (and the video)
'Train of thought' This is a simpler version than the one released as a single (the remix version available on a Greatest hits album)This song doesnt sound like anything else - dance pop with pan pipes and lyrics about a bored business man.
'Hunting high and low' A great ballad, and again a simpler version than the remixed single. This version is less orchestral, but also sweeter and fragile.
'The blue sky' Back to full-blown pop, with some great lyrics.
'Living a boys adventure tale' A somewhat epic ballad that really transports the listener to another place, Morten's vocals are soaring and heart wrenching.
'The sun always shines on T.V' The number 1 single is A-ha at their best, mixing pop sensibility with darker meaning.
'And you tell me' A song in the vein of the Beatles, simple short and catchy ballad.
'Love is reason' A pop stomper with a high energy feel, could have easily been a single.
'Dream myself alive' A deceptively good song, this must be one of the first songs to use samples - news clips and t.v show soundbites- mixed in with a catchy pop song.
'Here i stand and face the rain' This again, could have been a single, along the lines of 'Sun always shines' but even better!
It starts with an opera singer and acoustic guitar and ends with Morten singing his heart out over driving drums and synths.
'Take on me' There is'nt much to say about this song as everyone knows it, and most people love it (and the video)
'Train of thought' This is a simpler version than the one released as a single (the remix version available on a Greatest hits album)This song doesnt sound like anything else - dance pop with pan pipes and lyrics about a bored business man.
'Hunting high and low' A great ballad, and again a simpler version than the remixed single. This version is less orchestral, but also sweeter and fragile.
'The blue sky' Back to full-blown pop, with some great lyrics.
'Living a boys adventure tale' A somewhat epic ballad that really transports the listener to another place, Morten's vocals are soaring and heart wrenching.
'The sun always shines on T.V' The number 1 single is A-ha at their best, mixing pop sensibility with darker meaning.
'And you tell me' A song in the vein of the Beatles, simple short and catchy ballad.
'Love is reason' A pop stomper with a high energy feel, could have easily been a single.
'Dream myself alive' A deceptively good song, this must be one of the first songs to use samples - news clips and t.v show soundbites- mixed in with a catchy pop song.
'Here i stand and face the rain' This again, could have been a single, along the lines of 'Sun always shines' but even better!
It starts with an opera singer and acoustic guitar and ends with Morten singing his heart out over driving drums and synths.
This album is incredibly ambitious for a debut and although it sold in bucket loads, it's still underrated - if you don't have this album then give it a try, it should be in everyone's music collection.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've had "Hunting High and Low" for over 20 years, but it was only listening to it again recently that I consciously realised just how good it really is.
What's great is that it manages to fit way more depth, intelligence and atmosphere into the 80s synthpop mould than you'd expect, yet still remains a fantastic pop album.
"Take On Me" may be the best-known song here (in part because it was their only major American hit). It's a good song, but possibly overplayed at the expense of the real masterpiece at the heart of the album, "The Sun Always Shines on TV"- a UK number one, and deservedly so.
The most generic 80s track here is "Love is Reason"- actually quite decent in its own right, but this simply highlights the fact that most of the other non-single songs are way better than the filler you'd expect from a debut album. I mean, "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale" is brilliant.
Morten Harket's singing is one very obvious reason for this album being a cut above the typical 80s synthpop offerings, but not the only one; aside from the songs, there are also some nice touches with the arrangements, like the clarinet in "Living a Boy's Aventure Tale" or the voices and strings in the middle of "I Dream Myself Alive".
Better than you'd have any right to expect from a debut, Hunting High and Low may be pop, but it's certainly not disposable, and it still sounds great over 20 years later.
What's great is that it manages to fit way more depth, intelligence and atmosphere into the 80s synthpop mould than you'd expect, yet still remains a fantastic pop album.
"Take On Me" may be the best-known song here (in part because it was their only major American hit). It's a good song, but possibly overplayed at the expense of the real masterpiece at the heart of the album, "The Sun Always Shines on TV"- a UK number one, and deservedly so.
The most generic 80s track here is "Love is Reason"- actually quite decent in its own right, but this simply highlights the fact that most of the other non-single songs are way better than the filler you'd expect from a debut album. I mean, "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale" is brilliant.
Morten Harket's singing is one very obvious reason for this album being a cut above the typical 80s synthpop offerings, but not the only one; aside from the songs, there are also some nice touches with the arrangements, like the clarinet in "Living a Boy's Aventure Tale" or the voices and strings in the middle of "I Dream Myself Alive".
Better than you'd have any right to expect from a debut, Hunting High and Low may be pop, but it's certainly not disposable, and it still sounds great over 20 years later.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a-ha - debut album on cd
a-ha's success is almost entirely dependent on Alan Tarney, who is a genius.
debut album shared between Tarney and Mike Mansfied as co-producers
not exactly... Read more
debut album shared between Tarney and Mike Mansfied as co-producers
not exactly... Read more
Published 9 months ago by allister m hardwick
Happy memories
The original album was what brought me into the world of being an a-ha fan way back in 1985,my moment of never having heard of them, hearing the album and getting up as a convert... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Rosie
What was I thinking of ?
I had just moved to New Jersey when I first heard of a-ha. I was made aware of them by a Norwegian girl I knew but apart from 'Take On Me', I didn't really know their music. Read more
Published 17 months ago by S. Roberts
Great deluxe package for a-ha fans
"Hunting High and Low" with its distinctive soaring vocals and massively successful pop melodies was one of the seminal albums of the 1980's. Read more
Published 17 months ago by LXIX
remastered classic album with extra tracks
this is one of my favourite albums of the 80s - it is clear that the production brought a lot of the demos to life. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Lee
A True Fan's Edtion
This is a two disc album the first being the original album with a couple of extra alternative mixes. Still a great album 25 years on... Read more
Published 20 months ago by A. M. J. Withers
This is where it all began...
One could see through the synthesisers and computers,particularly the FAIRLIGHT in the making of this groundbreaking 1st album by Morten ,Pal and Magne. Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. P. Boyle
an excellent deluxe edition
The original album was enough to give this five stars. 'Take on me' is one of the best songs i have ever heard, period. And that is with repeated listens. Read more
Published 21 months ago by D. Moses
one of the best
Still a brillant album 25 years on,even with the demo`s on there as well .
Published 21 months ago by M. R. Johnson
A warning about this deluxe edition.
First a note about the 1 star. This is a 5 star record but this edition was not at all what I wanted, so therefore it is useless to me and I'm trying to get rid of it. Read more
Published 21 months ago by MORTEN AASTAD
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