Analogue --- a-ha --- 2005 (Universal)
When most people think of a-ha, they inevitably hear “Take on me” in their heads, but there's a lot more to this band than that one hit single, or the others they had around the late eighties. Although there's no way they could ever be called a rock band, a-ha for me transcend the usual formula of pop bands: their material is their own, they're not controlled by any mega-star producer, and they explore interesting themes in their songs. Okay, they're not going to set any rocker's world alight, but I consider myself primarily a rocker (albeit an old one!) and I really love this band.
As far as music is concerned, mostly Norway seems to be associated with death/doom/black metal bands, all Viking and brooding stares, gutteral growls and screeching guitars. Against this backdrop came a-ha, bursting onto the charts in 1985 and looking like escapees from a conventional of male models. They could have been just another flash in the pan, with the mega-success of “Take on me” and follow ups “The sun always shines on TV”, “Cry wolf” and “Manhattan skyline”, but when all the chart hits are done and the trendy kids have forgotten them and moved on to the next flavour of the month, a-ha have stood fast and weathered the test of time, producing nine fine albums over a career spanning almost 25 years, and though they are now no more, having disbanded in 2010, their music lives on.
“Analogue” is their eighth studio album, and in my opinion, one of their best. It contains both fast-paced boppy poppers as well as thoughtful tracks and of course ballads. Of the former, “Don't do me any favours” rattles along on the flowing keyboards of “Mags” --- Magne Furuholmen --- which have created the distinct soundprint of the band since the first arpeggios of “Take on me” smashed the charts wide open, while the guitarwork of “Pal” --- Paul Waaktar-Savoy --- may not be as overwhelming as you would expect in, say, a Gary Moore or Bryan Adams album, nevertheless hold the melodies together perfectly. And of course what need be said about the clear, unmistakable voice of Morten Harkett, still sounding like a boy of eighteen even after all these years?
“Halfway through the tour”, clocking in at almost seven and a half minutes, is a monster track that becomes more or less the denoument of the album, starting off as a fast, chugging, bopper and then slowing down near the end and becoming almost an instrumental waltz as it fades out. Great stuff! Other notable tracks include the rather poignant “Birthright”, the bittersweet “A fine blue line”, which showcases Morten's soulful and sweet voice as he croons
“We read each other's books/Gave each other looks/Like we couldn't trust ourselves/And we knew it/ So tell me where you've been/ And I'll show you where you're going/ You can shout, you can scream your way through it.. “
Another fine ballad follows in “Keeper of the flame”, with Mags's beautiful piano lines forming a musical canvas on which Morten paints the most delicate vocal lines, while “Over the treetops” is a song that just makes you want to dance. No bad thing, I would say! The closer is an oddity. “The summers of our youth” is a beautiful, heartbreaking ballad, a fitting ending to the album, but for only the second time in his career in a-ha, Morten hands over vocal duties to Pal, and a very fine job he does on it, too, joined in the choruses by the mainman.
“Analogue” is not going to make anyone rush out and buy the album, or become an instant a-ha fan, I would expect, but it's well worth a listen if you have dismissed one of Norway's biggest and most successful musical exports as “that band who had that hit”....
TRACKLISTING
1. Celice
2. Don't do me any favours
3. Cosy prisons
4. Analogue (All I want)
5. Birthright
6. Holy ground
7. Over the treetops
8. Halfway through the tour
9. A fine blue line
10. Keeper of the flame
11. Make it soon
12. White dwarf
13. The summers of our youth
Suggested further listening: "Scoundrel days", "Stay on these roads", "Minor earth major sky", "Lifelines"