Hunting High And Low

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!

"Hunting High and Low" with its distinctive soaring vocals and massively successful pop melodies was one of the seminal albums of the 1980's. Songs like "Take On Me", "The Sun Always Shines on TV" and "Hunting High and Low" remain popular to this day throughout the world. This double album is a wonderful 25th anniversary package. The first CD contains a remastered version of the original album as well as 4 bonus tracks (mainly extended remixes) and is a total of 60.52 mins in duration.

The 2nd CD has no less than 23 tracks (providing an eclectic mixture of demo versions, unreleased material, B-sides and other rarities) and is 73.43 mins long. This extra CD is a real scoop for the purist fans. Yes, some of it is very raw, but it provides the listener with unique glimpses into the band's development and how the renowned a-ha sound was not an overnight success, but was instead built on years of hard work, sonic experimentation and creative drive.

I would have bought this album on its own just for Track 5 on Disc 2 - the early version of "Living A Boy's Adventure Tale" so I was very happy to get such a great and comprehensive collection of a-ha's material all in the one bundle.

All credit to Warner Music for putting this top notch double album package together for the fans. As if the 2 hours and 14 minutes of music wasn't enough, there's also a 20 page inlay booklet packed with insight and anecdotes.

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.

This was the first albulm I ever owned from about 1986 I think. It is as good as I remember. The pure pop excellence of Take on Me and The Sun Always Shines on TV really stand the test of time, sounding fresh to this day. The textured keyboards and the beauty, yes sheer beauty (!), of Morten Harket's voice shines in the title track and Living A Boy's Adventure Tale. Maybe its my age but this remains, in my opinion, a classic pop albulm and I would recommend it to all those who remember A-ha. ...

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.

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.