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

for me i've kept all my originals,neworder,mode,cure, my remasters are in protective jackets so kind of a pain,if i've got time to actually sit and enjoy the remasters i play em,for me though its nice to throw in the old ones if i'm not really paying attention,ie friends over,family,other peoples kids,lol are the us a-ha in the flip open digi like the neworder ones?

 

OMG I didn't know of these remasters. I'm in! Does anyone know if they will get a domestic release? I'm glad the consensus seems to be that the sound is fine... as always too many remasters are horrible these days. YAY this is good news. (doing Snoopy dance)

 

Wow! I'm really looking forward to these now. I will try to get the digipak version if I figure out how to know the difference when I order.

 

Rhino was still claiming exclusivity on this stuff on their site recently, so maybe that refers to the double digipacks?

 

They're available in North America but only through rhino.com.

Content is the same, only the packaging is different. It does appear that both the jewel-packs and digipak are available in Scandinavia. The digipaks cost a bit more though, at least going by CDON.

 

First up Lars, the original CD pressings of these were mastered using a torturous route that saw 16 bit files being downgraded to 12 bit then back to 16 bit. With all the obvious loss of sonic information that that entails.

I'm not going to comment on what comments you've seen about Bill Inglot's credentials but I'll say this: I worked with Bill on these releases and it is ONLY because of his attention to detail and love of the music contained in these CDs that they now sound as good as they do. Forget the loudness wars, these CDs BREATHE as one cursory look at the waveforms will tell you. Not to mention the time and effort it took to locate as many source masters as possible.

I'm an a-ha fan of 25 years standing. I know what i'm listening for. And to me, they've never sounded better than on these new releases.

As for your ill-informed comment about being sacked from Rhino...it might be more productive for you if you researched a little more before you criticise someone without even hearing what they've done.

 

Inglot left Rhino during a round of layoffs that was confirmed by the host of this board and which was noted in Billboard at the time. It certainly gave the impression that he was let go, and nobody in a position to know otherwise has stepped up to claim any differently. But feel free to enlighten us!

 

Hi Chris. Welcome to the forums, and thanks for your contribution to these CDs.

Hunting is very easy to listen to without fatigue - which seems like a brave decision these days. I'm glad I didn't shell out £75 for Stop! And Make Your Mind Up. The alternate album idea on disc 2 is a good too, but some of those demos are challenging, although historically interesting. Was there anything else considered for the issue (like the alternate mixes listed in a previous post)? Is the Tarney 12" mix of Sun Always Shines less common than the Steve Thom(p)son Mix?

 

Thanks for your reply Chris. I didn't mean to criticise Bill Inglot. It was more a matter of being too tense about these reissues after waiting for ages for them to be remastered. So I did some research both on this forum and other sites and found both praise and the opposite. Unfortunately remastering isn't always an improvement and I guess I was afraid of being dissapointed after decades of waiting. As for these releases I like what I hear on Spotify etc and can't wait to get them in all their glory and put them on. Most people seems to be happy about them as well.

I must say that I'm impressed by the amounts of work being done both on the original album and tracking down the bonus material.

Now there is a lot in the vaults for the following albums I think. I would be thrilled if the other albums could get the same treatment. Even the post comeback albums.

 

Agh! Four extra tracks on Spotify! There was space on the CDs too! Still stuff missing!

These are:

The Sun Always Shines on TV - Steve Thom(p)son 12" Mix
Take On Me - instrumental mix (1985 track)
Hunting High & Low - slow demo
Take On Me - 1984 12" Mix

plus bonus minute of silence!

Four additional for Scoundrel Days too.

 

...which are:

I've Been Losing You - Dub
Soft Rains of April - Piano Version
The Swing of Things - Demo #1
I've Been Losing You - Early Demo

 

I wont be drawn on this more than just to issue a rhetorical question: Would he still be doing work for Rhino if there was a problem?

Thanks Mike. Do you think the demos are challenging? I think if they are compared to closely to the released versions then people may have a problem accepting them. Personally, I view demos as little strays that almost got put to sleep but were saved. They're not meant to be perfect (hence the word 'demo') but there's a kind of imperfect perfection about them.

The Tarney 12" of TSASOTV was indeed chosen for it's rarity, the other 12" mix being freely available across several sets.

Yes, there was space left on CD1. My take on this (if you will excuse the pun) is that there has to be a balance struck between the casual fan who wants a sound upgrade and a few bonuses and the diehard who wants every fart and cough the band put on tape.

If those bonus tracks had been put on CD1, the set would have looked messy and desperate. Plus, how many versions of TOM can you bear listening to in one session?
I don't think you can ever please everyone when doing deluxe versions. There are always going to be moaners. That's their right. But let's look at the positives...Combining HHAL and SD on the original format = 20 tracks. Now, it's 68 tracks. I call that value for money.

 

i'm just happy it's available,it's nice seeing the band get it's due!

 

It's actually a different recording. The b-side version was recorded in Hawaii during the first world tour in 1986. Album version was a 1988 re-recording.

 

I like both versions. I prefer the ending on the B-side which is a bit of free psychedelic organ work and I prefer the way they enter the chorous on the album version but that might be because I'm more used to it and it sounds a bit "sudden" on the B-side.

 

For me, the b-side version wins on every count. It's so nice and vibe-y.

 

I had no idea - I don't think I ever compared them. Thanks for this info. I understand what you're saying about the CD format and the extra tracks. Download is better than nothing. I am pleased that the demos are there, they are definitely interesting and I am grateful that we have been allowed to hear them.

It's also interesting to hear Morten's vocal technique change between demo and finished product. These are excellent sets. (I may even get Scoundrel Days despite never loving the album - I used to have the 12" of Manhattan Skyline and listening to it again today on Spotify was good.) BTW Spotify also has an extra Dream Myself Alive track at the beginning of the bonuses. A cursory dip suggested that this is the same version as the album. Is this correct?

Do you know if the early version of Living A Boy's Adventure Tale is the one that was thought of as the first single? Also, was the album effectively finished and sequenced before the additional Tarney tracks were recorded?

 

I also found it interesting to see that Living A Boy's... was considered as a first single, then ultimately never released in that format. At least in the UK anyway.

 

Spotify have possibly listed the same track twice then.

The early version of LABAT is essentially the same recording as the album version but the vocals and other parts were subtracted and replaced after this mix was done.
The version that was being talked up for the first single would've been the final, completed mix.

May I just completely whore myself here and let you know that I am in the process of writing a book about a-ha's recordings with another a-ha fan, P.A. Stenersen, where hopefully every question the fans have ever wanted to know about the music will be answered. We are on course for a 2011 release.

 

That is excellent news Chris! I'll share this on the West Of The Moon a-ha fan forum. I'm sure this will be candy for many of us.

 

Do you have any idea why bits were chopped off like that?

Mmm! I'm getting interested in this release now.
I only have the old CD version, and have never listened to this album on vinyl.

 

Well it was new technology then. The CD was just a few years old when those albums came out. In future years, the CD mastering process was developed to a fine art (or maybe destroyed in the loudness wars).
The Japanese a-ha releases always sounded better though so they obviously had a better handle on it in the early days.
There are better qualified people here than me to explain exactly why this affected the sound. I'm more of a musician/mixing engineer than a mastering engineer.

 

Ref the Tarney SASOTV 12", I noticed in the UK that the Steve Thom(p)son remix came with the same cat number, even on the deadwax for one pressing. I wonder what that was about... Also, any plans for the flexidisc version of SASOTV do you know? The sticker on the front of the CD suggested it contained the demo of Driftwood, but I'm suspecting this is confused with Driftwood being a demo (?)

 

If anyone is wondering whether or not to download the bonus silence for the Hunting package, it seems you can get it for free as it's a hidden track on the 1984 12" mix of Take On Me.