a-ha's 'Hunting High and Low,' 'Scoundrel Days' 2CD reissues

Waveforms? You can't handle the waveforms!

Take a look if you can at the nice uneven peaks!

 

Looks and sounds promising, got word from Amazon they'd shipped them the other day so now I am even more anxious to hear them for myself.

I couldn't restrain myself so I popped in the bonus disc from the book "The Swing of Things".

 

Very nice looking waveform, I was holding my breath.
Looks like I will have to try and get both of these. My CD doesn't play anymore, my vinyl copy of Hunting is still in really nice condition and plays beautifully.

 

In the UK these albums are in the shops packaged in normal double CD jewel cases.

I pre-ordered from CD Wow who are quoting 7-10 days delivery so I'm hoping I get the Rhino digi-packs which look really nice from the photos I've seen...

 

I got the double jewel case from amazon.

 

I meant copy. As in the album on vinyl.

 

Now that one looks very good, I may pick up a copy. I haven't had any a-Ha in my collection since I owned cassettes olf Stay On These Roads and East Of The Sun about 20 years ago.

 

i'm hoping to God it's not going to be another new order fiasco

 

I don't think you need to worry about that in terms of Hunting at least.

 

I was pleasantly surprised myself. I had listened to bits of the CD before I waveformed and I was quite suprised at the relatively quiet intro to The Sun Always Shines when I was listening.

I'm hoping for an expanded Stay on These Roads at some point.

 

Stay on These Roads [Blu-ray] with 24/192 5.1 would be frikkin' sweet! I really do love the songwriting on that album, fantastic soundscapes especially on the title track.

This Alone is Love and Out of Blue Comes Green are also faves. I think I was the only person I knew that really liked The Living Daylights upon first seeing Dalton's first 007 outing.

 

Yes, those 3 were my favourites as well. They would be perfect for the 5.1 treatment. Interesting that I would say that, as I haven't heard these tunes since long before 5.1 came along.

I really love The Living Daylights, Dalton is very different from all the other Bonds but his performance is excellent, while Jeroen Krabbe (General Koskov) remains one of my favourite Bond villains. I played the DVD recently and was amazed how much I liked it.

 

- Originally the b-side to the first single from the previous album! I think it's a different mix on the album, but the same recording. Haven't heard the b in a while.

 

thanks mike for the the sound info,i ended up getting the Japanese remasters of new order,not perfect but cleaned up,yeah i tried pre-ordering from rhino the other day,but wouldnt show in my cart,huh,i'll try again in a few days

 

Oddly enough one Swedish online store shows both the digipak release and the jewelcase release as available for purchase, the former at a higher price of course.

 

I think the version of "The Living Daylights" on A-ha's album is miles better than the soundtrack re-recording.

Hear it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bqITfmVdUI

The soundtrack version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JhlOVQNyBs

 

Soundtrack was first IIRC. Album version followed sometime later - in terms of release anyway.

 

I actually prefer the 'soundtrack' version which was the single version. There was a great 12" remix based around this version, which hopefully will turn up on a future 'Stay On These Roads' reissue.

I think they only re-recorded it to annoy John Barry who by all accounts they hadn't got on with at all well in the studio (I think Duran Duran had similar problems..)

 

There is a brief notation about John Barry calling Paul, Morten and Magne 'Hitlerjugend' in Jan Omdahl's book "The Swing of Things".

 

I've never seen it cheap enough to pick it up and I wondered if it was any good. Is the Blood That Moves The Body 12" mix any good? (1st release, not the rerelease with three mixes on.)

 

Yes there are both very good. Classic 80s remixes with long instrumental intros, extra bits, but with the song intact.

I never liked the re-released versions of 'Blood' but I can understand why they've chosen it for the new 25 comp since it's probably quite rare (it didn't chart in the UK). I think the selection for '25' is outstanding.

 

You can hear it on this YT clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=majYgjFcKhk

 

I've compared the remaster of Hunting with an imperfect vinyl copy (UK issued, Germany pressed.) The general tone of the album sounds pretty much identical between the two - as for detail I couldn't really say too much as the vinyl sounds like it has some dirt stuck in the depths of the groove, and I was listening on inexpensive (but not hideous) headphones. The wow that I was concerned about on some keyboard sounds is present on the vinyl as is some vocal distortion on And You Tell Me. Consistent sound throughout the main album and the bonus tracks, and not tiring to play several tracks in one go! Those after extended bass and treble amplitude/frequencies on playback may be disappointed.

 

My debit card was charged yesterday, so I should see these in my mailbox soon.

 

I got both this week. I've started out with Scoundrel Days. At least in the car (which may not be a fair comparison), it sounds fine but no better than the earlier release. Of course, these are must haves for A-Ha fans due to the disc of bonus track, but the perpetual quandry for remasters remains- do I keep the original CDs in my collection as well as these, or just replace them with these reissues?