Hunting High And Low

Take On Me is a 5, but the rest is kinda boring

Hunting High Hunting Low… A-HA! With Alan Partridge. ALAN PARTRIDGE: Let's take a break from all this chat, for a little light relief. Fifteen years ago, on a Hoseasons holiday in Bournemouth, I went to the cabaret. It was mediocre. Then, one man came on and raised the roof. He made me laugh, literally, like a drain. I went backstage and said to him, "I'm Alan Partridge. If I get my own TV series, I'll give you a break." Hold your sides, they may split, as I welcome on Joe Beasley and Cheeky Badger! APPLAUSE ALAN LAUGHS JOE BEASLEY: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, my name's Joe Beasley and Hey! This is Cheeky Badger. It's a privilege to be here on Hunting High Hunting Low. That's an A-Ha song, in't it? Well… it’s nearly an A-Ha song. So here's a joke. What do you get if you cross Fred Flintstone? No, not if cross What do you get if you, um? What does a Norwegian… what does a Norwegian Fred Flintstone say? YABBA DABBA DO! No, he says A-HA DABBA DO! A-ha dabba do, that's what he says. The other week… Pack it in. The other week. Stop! We went to Blackpool pleasure beach, and I don't know if you know, they have the world's biggest roller coaster, and we went up it Oh, God! We went up the big dipper We're on the big dipper, going about 200 mph ..200 mph on the big dipper, and er We go on the big dipper, come round the corner, and Cheeky Badger, he We're on the big dipper No. Oh, you Cheeky Badger! He's made me forget. It's his fault. He's made me forget. He's made Ooh! He's always doing that, ladies He's made me forget the joke. You Cheeky Badger. Cheeky, cheeky! ALAN PARTRIDGE: Thank you, Joe Beasley and Cheeky Badger! APPLAUSE ALAN PARTRIDGE: Thank you. Well done. Joe, I think you've been… You've been very brave. JOE BEASLEY: There's plenty more jokes. Just a mistake. ALAN PARTRIDGE: It's not working. JOE BEASLEY: Apologise to him. He's upset. ALAN PARTRIDGE: It's not real! JOE BEASLEY: Aw, he's upset him. ALAN PARTRIDGE: It's not real. JOE BEASLEY: DON'T TOUCH IT! I'm sorry. ALAN PARTRIDGE: You've got a big problem. If you have any sense of dignity - your act is so poor - you'll leave the stage. I'll get you applause. Quit while you're ahead. The wonderful Joe Beasley and Cheeky Badger! APPLAUSE [Joe Beasley flings Cheeky Badger to the side of the stage as he walks off]

Solid new-wave record with catchy hits. I expected a snoozer but it was better than I expected. The Sun Always Shines on T.V. is a great song.

Not bad, just not good either. The kind of music my mom would listen to.

Outside of "Take on Me", I can't say this album did anything for me. Just sounds like a lot of generic 80s synthpop. 2.5 stars.

the only thing keeping this above a 1 is the strength of "Take On Me"

A classic! Plenty of hits, well produced and not too long. Love it

I remember listening too it, but obviously didn't leave an impression

Take On Me was everywhere when I was a kid. It was a massive hit, and the video became iconic. Take On Me is the best thing on this album. There are a few other decent songs (the title track and The Sun Always Shines on TV were fine), but most of the songs just sound like dated 80s synth pop. I think I prefer Ultravox if I have this sort of craving. 3 stars.

This band came to exist just to make Take on me. It will play forever and probably solved their lives but at least in this album there's not even a glimpse of the same inspiration that wrote that song. 5 stars for Gryffindor and for take on me, 2 stars for the album as a whole for having the song.

There are a couple bangers like Take On Me, but this is mostly miss for me. 2/5

1. Take on Me - 8/10 2. Train of Thought - 7/10 3. Hunting High and Low - 7/10 4. The Blue Sky - 7/10 5. Living A Boy's Adventure Tale - 6/10 6. The Sun Always Shines on T.V. - 8/10 7. And You Tell Me - 5/10 8. Love Is Reason - 6/10 9. I Dream Myself Alive - 5/10 10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain - 4/10 OVERALL - 6.3/10

Uneven album, has some certified bangers, but unremarkable songs as well.

A couple classic tracks but the rest of the album is listenable but forgettable.

I think they are a one or two hit wonder. Every thing else is mid.

Short and not so sweet: This album has Take On Me (not a song I love) and a bunch of other stuff. It wasn't offensive, but it wasn't enjoyable. Not sure why it's on the list.

Prolly rocked the club in the 80s

Pretty non descript but ultimately perfectly pleasant synth pop. Couple of moments lost in translation but a couple of tunes for the liked songs playlist.

Good album, but there are 2-3 good songs the rest is middle of the road. Some songs are even skip worthy

Another album on the list that’s only here for one song. There’s not much to say about it. The voice sounds so Morrissey-esque, and that can be either good or bad.

Ça sonne la canne de soupe, et pas de la Campbell. C'est de la musique pour les oreilles indulgentes et les gens pas difficiles. Les amateurs de cet album sont assurément des personnes débordantes d'amour.

Une autre cochonnerie qui devrait s'en aller dans le bin des 1001 tounes que t'as pas eu le choix d'entendre au moins une fois dans ta vie. Album plate à mort.

solid opener, classic title track is like if dave gahan and dean martin had a child who turned out interesting but mediocre a bit boring in a drum machine kind of way fun though a little bit pathetic at points, cute satisfying closer

They used up all their creativity when they made Take On Me. Unfortunately they should have left some for the rest of the album too 3 ⭐️

Even the book entry acknowledges that this is very much dining out on one song, or more accurately, the music video of one song. And we all love 'Take On Me' but the goodwill runs out pretty quickly as the remaining 30-odd minutes peters out into an utterly forgettable and nondescript synth-pop cheesefest. One silver lining: its length.

I only knew "Take me on" and "The Sun always Shines on TV" from a-ha. They're absolute bangers, so I don't know why I never checked the rest of their music. I should have, because synth-pop is always a pleasure to hear and this album is pretty lit. The titular song, "Hunting High and Low", is the one that surprised me the most. It has an unexpected depth, both lyrically and musically, with that whole orchestra near the end. "I dream myself alive" is also incredible. Not all the songs reach those heights, but they're still very entertaining, and make you want to dance.

Amazing first track but the rest of the album is a real dud.

Take on Me is a good song. The rest are kind of just decent pop songs. I really didn’t need to hear the rest of this album. It wasn’t very good.

Quite possibly the best pure 80s album. Favorite track: Take On Me

Carried by the singles big time

Outside of the vocals it sounded like a lot of other 80s music. It was still good and enjoyable, just nothing to make it distinguished except for 'Take On Me'.

Ah yes, the album with take on me

I don't really have any funny comments to make about this album cuz I know like nothing about a-ha so like I guess my brief thoughts on every individual song will suffice. As overplayed as the song is, Take On Me is a really great song and its impact is undeniable, great stuff. Train Of Thought isn't as great as the opening track but it's still a solid song with a solid instrumental. The title track isn't as great as either of the previous tracks but I still like it, it's just not that interesting. Somehow it gets worse as the tracks go on, The Blue Sky is a decently boring song but at least it doesn't pan on for too long and it's really not a bad song, just boring. The album recovers from the last 2 tracks with Living a Boy's Adventure Tale, it's a solid song on the same level as Train Of Thought. HOLY FUCKING SHIT I DID NOT EXPECT THIS ALBUM TO HAVE A BETTER SONG THAN TAKE ON ME. The Sun Always Shines on T.V. is an absolute gem of a song even if it's not nearly as iconic as Take On Me this is a way better song and definitely the highlight of the album in my opinion. On a less interesting note, And You Tell Me is a really boring song but at least it's really short so it's not horrible, it's an okay song. Love Is Reason is a really fun song and while not a highlight on the album for me it's still really enjoyable. I Dream Myself Alive is another song that's good but not crazy I don't have much to say about this one ngl. The closer, Here I Stand and Face the Rain started off promising but again it's another song that's enjoyable but not very crazy. Overall this is a good album with a few great songs but uhhhhh a lot of it is just really okay it's not horrible but it's not mindblowing.

Grandiose and beautiful. One of the best ever made, and possible in my top 10. Filled with banger after banger, including Take on Me, Hunting High and Low, and The Sun Always Shines on TV.

- i like living "a boys adventure tale a lot" - also like "and you tell me" - in general i like this album but i don't love it

#115 Take On Me, followed by a bunch of forgettable and generic 80s pop songs.

Inessential 80s pop album

#468 I guess this is not quite my thing but in some ways it is close to it. There is a very 80s synth pop vibe here that sounds like it is very much still preserved in that time. Take On Me is great but feels like it is doing a lot of heavy lifting, whether that’s a fair assessment or not. The album just lacks a little grit for my liking. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Listen before you die?❓ Fave track(s): Take On Me Rating: 4/10 ⭐️⭐️

Best song is the first song, all the others are unmemorable. I’m convinced this album only blew up cause of the music video. Also you know it’s bad when you listen to a song and say “why is this so much better” and then it turns out the albums ended and you aren’t even on the same band.

The three big tracks promise so much and surprisingly still hold up pretty well, but it’s otherwise pretty dated across the board, and, at times, let’s face it, it’s comically shit.

Add To Collection

It's that one song with the really cool artistic video! Can't say I've ever listened to an a-ha record in its entirety before, but I really liked this one. Fun and entertaining throughout the entire journey and the music, vocals and sequencing all flowed and fit together nicely. This was really enjoyable!

Гимны.

Didn't really need a whole album of this, to be honest. In a-ha's defence, I do remember enjoying a bunch of tracks from their comeback album Major Earth Minor Sky and its follow-up back in 2000/03. So... I don't hate them, I just prefer their later period, not their 80s major hit machine years.

It's become very easy to forget that Take on Me is one of the best songs ever made.

A great single everyone should hear before they die; the rest of the album was a bad version of Erasure, New Order, and the Pet Shop Boys. (My wife enjoyed it though, so a begrudging two stars:)

The one song? The one a-ha is known for? Still a stone cold classic. The rest is fine to just okay synthpop though

If I never have to hear Take On Me again, I'll be a happy person. This song was everywhere in the mid to late 80's and I've never been a fan. The only reason (in my opinion) it got so much airplay was because the video was innovative and MTV played it like every hour. The whole album is 80's synth-pop trash.

Good singing, but the songs are just so twee. I really thought I would like this more based on "Take On Me".

A nostalgic album for me. Been listening to it since it came out. I'd say it's among the best 80s synth albums out there. Maybe not Talk Talk greatness, but pretty damn good.

I felt this album definitely had its highs and its lows. Was listening in a car with distractions. Will listen again sometime with headphones to get the full experience. What can be said about the opening track that hasn't been said before. That song alone is the masterclass of the 1980s

I can tell there is quite a lot of soul in this project - behind the walls of synth, there are lyrics questioning one's place in society and their relationships with others deeply. However, sadly, it just doesn't do much for me. Singer Harket's vocals have a strange twinge to them (they are Norwegian after all) and it all sounds like a rather excessive and plasticky affair. Key tracks: "Take On Me," "Train of Thought"

Take On Me truly is one of the best songs ever written!!!!

"Take On Me" was really a one hit wonder, eh. "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." was also good.

2.75 stars. Album has an all timer on it. And it sonically it sounds amazing, at least on the apple music app. Theres a couple songs on here that are really enjoyable. But also a lot of filler, to me. Its quintessential 80s music, with all the good and bad that comes with it. Take On Me: All time banger, obviously. Music video also a banger. Train of Thought: ok now for songs I haven't heard by them. Pretty standard 80s dance pop, done well though. This 2015 remaster apple music sounds really good. Hunting High and Low: I was caught off guard at the start, but this song is kind of a parody of melodramatic 80s songs. Oh my god is that seagulls I hear? The Blue Sky: Didn't hate this song. Was better than the last two. Living a Boys Adventure: you know, if they got rid of that clarinet sound and just let the bass carry verse, I think this song would be better. Still, decent song. The Sun Always Sines on TV: Whoever did the audio mix or mastering on this was in their damn bag, man. This song slaps too And You Tell Me: Actually, like this weird little song. Love is Reason: They are turning this review to a solid 3, possibly 3.5. Three straight bangers. Can we keep the momentum going? I Dream Myself Alive: Nope. The song is fine but its not a banger. Here I Stand and Face the Rain: yea, fine.

OK I didn't see this coming. I knew I would have a fabulous time listening to Take On Me, but I think I love this whole album? The Sun Always Shines on TV is about to hit heavy rotation here.

Is the bridge of Beautiful Day just fully ripped from The Sun Always Shines on TV?

A-ha should’ve been much bigger than a one hit wonder. Though Take On Me is good enough that their place in history is already pretty well established

3.5

This is definitely a case where one incredibly well-written and produced pop song turns an otherwise mediocre album into an all-time classic. "Take On Me" is still a banger still one of the best '80s songs. "The Sun Always Shines on TV" was a great follow-up but nowhere near as glorious. "Here I Stand Face in the Rain" is the only other track on the album that I think I really enjoyed on the album. The title track even though I like the vocals and the melody I'm really not keen on the instrumentation the vocals actually sound more like a great James Bond tune then "The Living Daylights" did, but I thought the backing tracks was really that ubiquitous '80s gloss. The rest of the album to me is pretty much generic mid-80s pop music that I may have gotten into more back when I was 16 and that sound was big but today just sounds dated and kind of bland. I think the three highlights keep it from sinking into the three star zone. (7.1) ★★★½ (7.1)

The most classic Norwegian album of all time. 4 stars

Take On Me is great but other than that, nothing else stands out.

For the sake of Take on Me.

Man, how do you compete with Take On Me? While I love a-ha’s overall sound (and it’s all over this album) they came out of the gate with one of the best 80s songs of all time and everything that followed just felt flat. The Sun Always Shines on TV is obvi great but man they fucking nailed it with Take On Me (I’m constantly thinking about the music video too). 3.5 rounded up because you gotta hand it them.

I didn't really think of a-ha as being an album band, perhaps because Take On Me just completely eclipses everything. Nothing else on this album could top (or come close to) Take On Me, just a singularly transformative song. While the sounds of this album are very of its time, I've quite enjoyed the big 80s pop albums from the list because the hooks are so strong and the sound is just big and hard to resist (similarly to how I felt when we had Duran Duran on here). The Sun Always Shines on TV probably my other favourite (I learnt this a few years ago but still always surprisingly to be reminded that the post-chorus/bridge melody from Beautiful Day by U2 was interpolated from this song?????? Anyway sounds great

i was expecting this to be super shlocky based on Take On Me but actually I enjoyed this. Also listening to that song in the context of close-listening to an album really changed my appreciation for it...the intro is pretty amazing actually when you hear all the intricate details rather than just hearing it in the background of cvs or whatever. if you submit to the 80s-ness of it then it's pretty fun! Fav tracks: Take On Me; Hunting High And Low; The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

Sounds just like all the other synth-pop garbage that came out in the 80's.

I went in with high hopes as there are 4 different versions of this album on Tidal which I took to mean there was reason to reissue remastered and expanded versions, but sadly it’s Take on Me and 9 forgettable songs. Take on Me is a 5/5 and the rest are 2s so I think that’s a 2.3 star album of my math checks out.

2.4 Take on me is pretty catchy, I will admit to that. Didnt mind the vocals all in all, got quite the range. But a bit of a slog to get through,

This felt like ‘Take On Me’ and then a bunch of 80’s department store background music

Groupe connu par ses tubes, en particulier ‘Take on me’ que j’apprécie beaucoup. L’album contient quelques autres tubes, et aussi … un peu de remplissage. Il ne rejoindra donc pas ma collection, mais globalement j’ai plutôt apprécié l’écoute et je pourrais l’écouter une seconde fois. =>3/5

Music for mfs who just got an idea It is weird to listen to full albums by "one-hit wonders" bc it's like... none of this other music is supposed to exist......

this album really reminds me of highschool... i like it a lot (lloyd christmas voice) and i didnt know they were from norwary... huh!

definitely leading with the best song on the album, but pleasantly surprised overall. not something i will be revisiting. i was not alive, but i can see how this was big. i don't think it's album i need to hear big tho.

Soft, oddly jangly

Surprisingly good for a commercial 80s album. Rather enjoyed it I must admit.

Абсолютная классика синти поп и 80х. Если вы считали что карьера группы держится только на песне Take On Me, то вы ошибаетесь. На этом альбоме есть множество треков не уступающих этому избитому но гениальному треку

I was prepared to hate this album, feeling oversaturated by “The Song” and by New Wave in general on this project. But I was pleased to find some interesting post-punk sensibilities on here, reminding me of The Jam or The The. Alas, I grew tired of their sound after only 37 minutes, so I don’t think I’ll be back again.

Starts off like "Wow, I've heard this song thousands of times but it has such replay value that I somehow always find myself enjoying it!" Ends up like "Wow, I will never seek this album out again" +1 star for the synth work +1 star for the everlasting single +1 star for being listenable

Really good

I adore Take On Me! It's one of my favourite songs! I was expecting not to care too much for the rest, but it's pretty good. The title track is better than I remembered. Maybe I underrated The Sun Always Shines On T.V. as well.

I dunno. Maybe it was the environment I was listening to it in. Of course I've heard the hits before from this album. Which are nice. But the rest of it just didn't move me. I'll be nice and give it a three, but it really doesn't deserve it

first half better than second 6.5/10 best song - take on me

4 out of 5. What can I say? This album is good. Also it's not on here but shout out to their Bond theme The Living Daylights, it's underrated.

Was skeptical this was going to be mostly filler, given the band's one hit wonder status, but this was actually super fun. Extreme 80s cheese, so if you don't like that thing this album is probably not for you, but I'm kind of a sucker for it. Super dramatic vocals too, the lead singer has some serious pipes.

Favorite Track: Here I Stand and Face the Rain

More highs than lows, and inescapably eighties

I mean it works. Not much to say here. For the most part I feel like 80s-isms kind of ruin most music, but when you go so far with them to the point of true cheesy synth-pop, somehow it works again. This is such a relic of the year, and there are some really fun, timeless tunes. Also a lot of duds. Such is the way. Fave tracks: - Take On Me - Hunting High and Low - The Sun Always Shines on T.V. - Here I Stand and Face the Rain

Stupid. First song is jammin though except for the super high pitched part

a-nah.

3.5 - cheesy 80s but good

Favorite track(s): Take On Me, Hunting High and Low, The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

dobar album, načelno »take on me« u obliku albuma, fakat nije loš, ali nedostaje mi nešto za ocjenu više

(Light 8/10) Lovely 80's synthpop that proves that A-Ha are no mere one hit wonder group. The songwriting is great and the layers of electronics create lovely soundscapes. There's one or two less outstanding tracks, but this overall is great.

A-ha wrote the best Bond theme song (View to a Kill is a close second, but Living Daylights gets me moving every time). I owned this album in the 90s, haven’t thought of it since. Take On Me is a classic. The rest of the album is a decent representation of 80s music. A few standout tracks but nothing as memorable as their main hit. Didn’t need to be included on the list.

Look, this is definitely a fun album. It has a song literally everyone knows and a sound that is pretty polished for the 80s. a-ha was never a great band but they made some pretty good music for the era. For now, i'd rate this highly.

Some great tracks, but also a few weaker ones which drag it down for me.

So average I didn't realise when it finished

**take my advice and other reviews have noted - start this album with track 2 then at the end go back and listen to track 1. First listen rates a 2. Second Listen I am starting from track 2 as an experiment. Hmm Train of Thought sounds a little bit like Bowie! That's kinda neat. I also got the Smiths overall (whole album) from the previous listen. Nice little disco tune that chugs right along. Hunting High and Low. Sensitive ballad which is OK to follow up a disco tune with. Kicking into high gear at the halfway mark which is the mark of a good power ballad, nice triplets drummer to get us to the last verse. Blue Sky was a thing. Jazz ballad (skies, Ella) by that name is a good tune. Living a Boy's Adventure is likely what triggered the Morrissey Smiths connection with the versatility in the upper register. Sensational opening to The Sun Always Shines kicking into another up-tempo tune that serves. And then some. This is an outstanding track! Solid soft/harder combo for And you tell me/Love is Reason to get us closer to the finish line. Dream myself alive is a good tune but fatigue is setting in. Lots of these tunes are generic disco tune #3 AKA the entrance music for Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. Here I Stand is no the song I would have ended with. This album could use some reshuffling imho of the order of songs. And now back to track one and this is likely the only one I'll every come back to again and again. 3. and it was originally going to be a 2 (cause 1 is reserved for Kid Rock)

Brilliant if you take it off the first song then the song quality drops after that for me