Scoundrel Days - A-Ha

I'm continuing my poke through my record collection with another offering from Norwegian legends a-ha.

_Scoundrel Days_ was a-ha's "difficult" second album. It was a move away from their "synth pop" reputation after _Hunting High and Low_, and was perhaps a bit of a shock for their teenage fans, but at ten years old I was too young to be disappointed. I loved it. I held long scarves in my hands and danced, with ...
...my bedroom to every song on this album, and it's probably the reason why, by the time I was a teenager, I was into rock and metal. Luckily since then I've realised I'm a TERRIBLE dancer.

In a highly unscientific poll (a search through my memory to remember the opinions of fellow a-ha fans over the years) the vast majority of a-ha fans named _SD_ as their favourite ever a-ha album. It's certainly the one I'd want on a desert island, ... more

I'm continuing my poke through my record collection with another offering from Norwegian legends a-ha.

Scoundrel Days was a-ha's "difficult" second album. It was a move away from their "synth pop" reputation after Hunting High and Low, and was perhaps a bit of a shock for their teenage fans, but at ten years old I was too young to be disappointed. I loved it. I held long scarves in my hands and danced, with an abandon that can only be described as "gay", around my bedroom to every song on this album, and it's probably the reason why, by the time I was a teenager, I was into rock and metal. Luckily since then I've realised I'm a TERRIBLE dancer.

In a highly unscientific poll (a search through my memory to remember the opinions of fellow a-ha fans over the years) the vast majority of a-ha fans named SD as their favourite ever a-ha album. It's certainly the one I'd want on a desert island, and it's the "classic" a-ha album they play the most songs from when they perform live. In the UK alone it has sold 600,000+ copies and is certified double-platinum. In Norway, it is a triple-platinum album, naturally.

The Songs

1. "Scoundrel Days" - 3:56

The album opens with an urgent keyboard riff, consciously evoking Take On Me, perhaps, then Morten's voice joins it:

Was that somebody screaming...
It wasn't me for sure

No, Morten, it was us! It's two verses before the stark keyboard backing are joined by drums and guitar, and they build up to the epic chorus. The song feels urgent and Morten exploits his voice to carry the listener along. It has themes of death and suicide-- though I'm not sure I realised this as a 10 year old. I think that's the thing with a-ha-- they work on so many levels that their music will continue to satisfy as you grow up. 9/10 from me, a blinding start to the album.

2. "The Swing of Things" - 4:14

Another song that opens with a deceptively simple sounding keyboard riff, this is a fan favourite and a lyric from this song - "how can I sleep with your voice in my head?" was used as the title of a 2003 live album. It's a much older a-ha song than others on the album, having been demoed even even before a-ha had a record deal, which might explain why it has a pleasingly "spartan" feel in comparison with some of a-ha's more epic songs on this album. I like it a great deal. 7.5/10 for me.

3. "I've Been Losing You" - 4:24

This is my second favourite song on the album. It's the first on the album to forsake a keyboard opening in favour of starting straight off with drums and guitar. It has themes of love and murder, and unlike "Scoundrel Days" I did get this one as a child-

It wasn't the rain that washed away...
Rinsed out the colours of your eyes
Putting the gun down on the bedside table
I must have realized

I do believe it's also the first song that motivated me to play air guitar. The guitar sound hints at the 21st century a-ha, when in reality their next album (1988's Stay On These Roads) was a return to a more "pop" feel. It has a false ending and then a genuinely epic, rocking coda. 11/10 from me. This song is so perfect as to be divine.

4. "October" - 3:48

This isn't one of my favourite a-ha songs, although I like it frankly it's a bit dull, but that's only in comparison-- because a-ha are generally so epic, even their dullness is worth listening to. It slides over the ear and is absolutely inoffensive, and of course it's technically very good, but it's not a-ha at their greatest. Actually, it's very like the month it's named after-- unremarkable, but far from terrible. 6/10 from me.

5. "Manhattan Skyline" - 4:52

Another fan favourite, live this is always an enormous sing along. It's perhaps the best demonstration of a-ha's ability to combine what could easily be two different songs-- on fast, one slow-- by alternating them and bringing them together with Morten's voice as the constant. It's a distinctive part of their style and this song is is a fine example of "typical a-ha". It's emotive and smooth, yet rocketh mightily when it wants to. Can I say "epic" again? 9.5/10 from me.

6. "Cry Wolf" - 4:05

This was the biggest selling single from the album. It's got less emphasis on rocking guitar than "I've Been Losing You" or "Manhattan Skyline" but is still blistering in the way you expect rock rather than pop to be. 8.5/10 from me.

7. "We're Looking for the Whales" - 3:39

At around this period of a-ha history Magne was known as being a bit of a loon, skateboarding on stage and generally being a bit of a joker. He still is, although sadly the skateboard is long gone. This song manages to be both silly and slightly sinister at the same time, like Norway itself, I suspect, which manages to be both one of the most civilized countries in the world yet is still one of the few whaling nations.

I found angels
Beached outside your doors...

O-kay. 7/10 from me.

8. "The Weight of the Wind" - 3:57

This is my favourite a-ha song, ever. No argument. It's an exquisite combination of jaunty keyboard and epic guitar with Morten's voice managing to convey the very weight of the wind. I have very long hair now, I think entirely because when I was ten and dancing round my room, I wanted to have hair to match the way the song made me feel-- like I had waist length hair that was being blown behind me as I faced a strong wind. Whenever this happens to me, I remember this song. It's evocative and emotional, and I love it. A zillion out of ten from me, and far too many emo moments when I heard this song after being dumped. What can I say but EPIC. I'm not alone, either-- a-ha still play this live, I was relieved to discover when I saw them. I can die happy having seen this song live.

9. "Maybe, Maybe" - 2:34

A short, unremarkable, deliberately silly number. It's not bad, but coming after "The Weight of the Wind", I really just feel... underwhelmed by it. It's perfectly fine, though, and noteable for some of Magne's jauntiest keyboard riffage- 6.5/10 from me.

10. "Soft Rains of April" - 3:12

a-ha close the album with a song that opens with drums building up to a crescendo then a distorted keyboard sound and Morten's voice. It's a very musical finish, depending more on the instruments than the vocals, which does make it seem a bit different to a lot of a-ha's other work. It would have followed on perfectly from "The Weight of the Wind", like a mature and dignified cool-down after the previous epic epicness. It's a soothing finish, and gets 9/10 from me.

Conclusions and Waffle

The sound of the album is what I consider to be a-ha doing what they do best, but I'm still at a loss at how exactly to categorize it. Too rocky to be pop, too poppy to be rock, and too emo, perhaps, to use a modern word, to sit comfortably next to the other mid-80s pop offerings. For this reason, though, it stands the test of time in a far superior way to other albums that came out at about the same time: Madonna's True Blue, for instance, although considered by many to be her first decent album and a pop classic, has dated terribly in comparison. I would go so far as to say this album, apart from a couple of tunes that probably will only appeal to a-ha fans and true 80s pop tarts, is timeless.

Musically, starting at the bottom, there's a strong rock drum sound to this album, and a heavy bass. Built on this are the keyboards and guitar of Magne and Paul, then Morten's voice soaring and plunging around the interplay of the instruments. Sometimes his voice is set against a stark background, other times it spirals round complex guitar and keyboard melodies. Sometimes they are slow, sometimes they are fast, and in individual songs and throughout the album they play with your mood and your expectations of what a pop song- or even a rock song- should be like.

The strong moments of the album hint at the mature sound of a-ha, but there are also moments that remind us why, exactly, they got this "synth pop" label that has proven in the long run to be somewhat of a sword of Damocles, hanging over their head, making it hard for them to get exposure.

This album has excellent clear production throughout, and was produced by Alan Tarney, who also co-produced HHaL, except "I've Been Losing You", "Maybe Maybe" and "Soft Rains of April", which were produced by Magne and Paul.

I would recommend this album to anyone, really since it is so hard to categorize it, it should appeal to fans of many genres of music. It has a couple of songs that do anchor it firmly in the 1980s, but songs like "I've Been Losing You", "The Weight of the Wind", "Manhattan Skyline" and "Scoundrel Days" show exactly why a-ha are considered to be some of the finest musicians around by their fellow musicians and their still huge number of fans.

I'm going to summarize this album in a word now, and I'm sure you know what it is:

Epic. 

...less