Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Fun electropop, nothing too outstanding
one hit surrounded by a lot of 80s synth pop. It does deserve its placement on the list for the influence it's wielded for almost 40 years - that has to count for something. 3/5.
This album is definitely 80s. Take Me On is the biggest hit. I enjoyed it for the most part and it was relatively short. I still don't see myself revisiting this album though. Close to being a 4.
80s synth pop fun but I wish the rest of the album lived up to "Take on Me'
If the rest of the album could have been half as good as Take on Me we would have easily had a 4-star album. Unfortunately, it falls off pretty hard after the first song.
This is a fun new wave pop album from the mid-80s thats a bit one dimensional. Take On Me is an absolute banger, obviously. The rest kind of fails to live up to their hit.
It was all downhill after Take On Me. Pace slowed, and went into crooner mode. It was fine.
The Sun Always Shines on T.V., Take on me.
Je kunt eigenlijk bijna niet aan iets anders denken dan die voor die tijd fascinerende 'getekende' clip van Take on Me, maar ook het hele album blijkt verrassend goed luisterbaar voor een synth-pop plaatje uit 1986.
Vond dit nog best goed te pruimen. En zeker de hitjes zijn te gek.
Mixed bag. De bekende nummers zijn top/jeugdsentiment, de overige nummers kon ik niet zo goed plaatsen.
A classic, but nothing outside of take on me really blew me away.
The sound of the 80’s. Great then, now outdated.
Sort of a one trick album. It features some okay ‘80s tracks that are all overshadowed by the Goliath opener.
surprising album coming from a band that i thought was a one hit wonder, still not really my thing but i can appreciate it
After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back. I enjoyed this album alright.
oh it has THIS SONG didn't have super strong feelings. it was fun, but just ok.
Good album. Best song is obviously “Take on me.”
It was alright. Very very 80s. Take On Me was great and it was an enjoyable album, but I can't see listening to it again.
Eh, it's good 80s pop I guess
I wondered if I’d recognize anything other than the big hit from this and the answer was no, I didn’t. Liked it all well enough, for its style and era, but not much of beside that one hit really grabbed me.
Best songs: Take on Me Like the use of string instruments in Hunting High and Low.
Didn’t listen
Take On Me is one of my favourite 80s pop songs, lot of good memories belting that one out on the dance floor with my buddies. But the rest of this album does nothing for me... they call it a one hit wonder for a reason.
Great classic songs
A bit fluffy and it’s short for a debut.
Surprisingly enjoyable. Really only one radio hit, but the whole thing feels like 80's montage music. Will definitely revisit a few tracks in the future.
C’est quand meme bon serieux, j’ai ete surpris et j’aime ca hehe 3.85
3.5
Pretty good synthpop album, really loved the first half but the latter half was a little one note and uninteresting but I still overall enjoyed it. The instrumentation is fantastic and Morten's vocals are absolutely transcendent, one of my favourite singing voices of the 80's.
Solid
Good individual songs, but not enough to sustain an album. You can see why they were (and still are) so popular though
One hit wonder, but overall good album. Everything kinda sounds the same
Tja, niet helemaal mijn ding. Wel een paar klassiekers. 3*
Fun songs. Throwback vibes to being a kid.
Disco com hits dos 80 que funciona bem na sequencia.
All the Morrissey lately has tainted this version of New Romantic songsmithery. The accent didn't help me overcome the apprehension. Some pretty nice falsetto and triceps in the cover art though...
That is the most '80s sounding album of all time.
For whatever reason, the lead-off track, Take On Me, has entered the lexicon of earworm songs that have become ingrained in our society. Yes, the song is 37 years old, but I've heard it more in the past 10 years than when it was released and it's popularity has taken on a whole new level. Apart from that song, a-ha delivers a predictable blend of mid-80's mediocrity most people didn't listen to if you bought the album. Actually, the songs aren't bad and it wasn't difficult to listen to the whole thing through, but really nothing essential here.
Correct pop album
Has anyone heard this "unplugged" version of "Take On Me"? Shows how good the song is, even without its lush synth arrangements and Morton Harket having to go to the famous falsetto highs at the end of its chorus. https://open.spotify.com/track/7htt7UuxHL5wneOcMWJP5E?si=K-aG8WMmS5qCORpI0R96sg&utm_source=copy-link To return to the original album from which this timeless hit is taken from, not all of those eighties arrangements and vocal feats have aged as well as "Take On Me", unfortunately. As a matter of fact, and under closer scrutiny, a lot of the songs in this record are somewhat disappointing, and this only in the compositional level. For example, there's "Train of Thought" and its awkward faux post-punk grunts on verses, followed by incomplete choruses, leaving you dangling in the air--a bit of a problem that can also be found with "Here I Stand And Face The Rain". And speaking of chorus, there's much to complain about the ones of "The Blue Sky" and "Love And Reason", but this time for opposite reasons, as they confuse catchiness with bland, pointless repetition... Fortunately, two exceptions are saving this record from a 2/5 grade (which is a tribute to their inherent greatness, given how hackneyed and cheesy-sounding a lot of the other tunes are sounding today). There's the title track, whose epic chorus and incredible orchestral flourishes could have been recorded yesterday, and "The Sun Always Shine On T.V." that somehow transcends its dated sound through the sheer force of its vocal melodic lines, pretty much in the same way "Take On Me" does. Now I have two questions: can three great tracks against seven tedious ones make an essential album? But more importantly, where can I find those tracks without the clunkers and add them to my record collection? Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 835 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 90 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 40 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important: 36 (including this one)
I don’t get the love for The Sun Always Shines on TV. In contrast, I would like to have Take On Me played to me as I shuffle off this mortal coil, so this album’s got that going for it, which is nice.
It's only good if it's what you're looking for, but if it is easy 4 stars
VERY 80s
2 good radio songs.
Good pop music that’s fine for today… The album opens with the megahit take on me it’s a banger, just undeniable! Then is train of thought it’s a good song but it almost sounds like he’s trying too hard to sing in another accent (but this problem mostly goes by the end). But saying that about the last song I like his vocals quite a bit in hunting high and low this is an honestly amazing swooping ballad! I honestly thought that track 4 was called “ mr blue sky” but no it’s just “the blue sky” anyway it’s a little shit the instrumentation and singing quality is what I’d expect but the lyrics… wow they’re bad. Side one ends with living a boy’s adventure tale it’s great and honestly could’ve been a single great slow track to end the first half of the album! Side two opens with their second biggest song the sun always shines on tv, I loved how it starts all sad and slow then forms into this awesome new wave rocker ( but a-ha must’ve been a 1 hit wonder because I’ve never herd this song before). Then is and you tell me, a shortie and a slow song nothing special but good. Love is reason isn’t much of a song being like 80% repetitive chorus but it’s not bad. I don’t hate I dream myself alive but I think it feels a little static in comparison to the other songs on the album ( but the samples are cool). The album closes with here I stand to face the rain, I was actually surprised by this it’s really well crafted probably the best song on side two and well worth the wait! Side 1: 4/5 songs are great Side 2: 2/5 songs are great 4+2=6 Half 6= 3 3/5 solid but fairly weak for new wave to be fair.
Non-stop bops sadly did not reach the top
Enjoyable. I'll look more in to a-ha but wasn't my favorite. Take on Me is a classic still, but other than that, decent album.
Aparte del bombazo de "Take on Me" hay otras canciones interesantes como "The Sun always shine on T.V.". En realidad veo más influencias de este disco en bandas recientes de lo que pensaba (White Lies o Editors). En algunas canciones el uso de los sintetizadores ha envejecido muy mal.
Expected more. But still OK.
that one song
There's been a lot of albums from the 80s on this list, but this might be the most 80s of them all. You got the drum machine, the synths, and the voice. I think the synth is the most interesting work, some very elaborate beats going on.
Una llàstima que la resta del disc ni tan sols s'apropi a la força de 'The Sun Always Shines on TV', 'Hunting High and Low' o, és clar, 'Take On Me', un dels singles definitius dels '80. Malgrat la qualitat desigual, un disc encissador de synth-pop 80s, fantàstic per disfrutar a l'estiu
run of the mill 80s pop. take on me is a classic banger
Weak 3, one real jammer on this
I get how this album got its name after I kept having to hunt higher and lower for the right volume. "Take on Me" is at least 4 times louder than "Train of Thought", I had to keep alternate; screw Spotify whether it's their problem or not. Like an uplifting, energetic Tears for Fears. The synth effects are solid, danceable with a bit of melancholy and hope. Excellent vocals, appropriate usage of his higher register. Excluding the annoying volume shifts, the production is all-around superb. On the other hand, the tracks were formulaic and didn't experiment much, but there's diversity while still consistent. I'm a huge fan of synthpop, so I enjoyed all the tracks, but hardly anything grabbed my attention, and if it did it was usually some cool vocal technique. Still, it's a super fun album, and if I was looking for good mood dance vibes, this is a top candidate.
Better than I expected, but still not great. Nice of them to put their hit at the beginning. Best track: Take on Me
Take On Me deserves 3 stars. There’s not much else on the album but you might get into 1 or 2 other songs
it was good to hear some old tracks again
I was prepared to hate this album. It's new wave and that one song that I already know is kinda annoying. But I didn't hate the album. Sure, I hated some of the TRACKS on the album but not the album as a whole. That, in itself, is quite the achievement. Congrats, A-ha, on being new wave and not entirely sucking. Here's a 3-star rating as a reward. Don't spend it all in one place.
I won't dwell on "Take on Me", but it is quintessential 80s electronic pop. Somehow has transcended how cheesy it is with the catchy riffs and impressive falsetto. I think the video really cemented it though. I can really only say I've heard "Take on Me" though, the rest of the album is completely unknown to me. It's fine, but not my thing. I really can't listen to it in general as the 80-ness gets to be much, but I'd say in general I think the world slept on the rest of this album a bit. Maybe I just haven't met a-ha fans but I've never heard anyone talk about any of their other work. 3.5 to 3.
Not a big fan of this synthesizer/drum machine-driven sound of 80s alternative music. It's okay, but not something I would listen to again. 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3.
prilično dobro al je take on me duplo bolja pjesma od većine
ovaj album je stvarno dencibilan, moram priznati. ima dobrih stvari, nisu oni one hit wonder.
Dobar album sveukupno, al je jaaako dosadan I’m sorry.
Pop ochentero con toques de música de baile. Buenas voces y ritmos
Take on me is a classic but the album drifted after
Saved Prior: Take on Me, The Sun Always Shines on T.V. Off Rip: Living a Boy's Adventure Tale, And You Tell Me Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Take on Me is one of the greatest songs of all time because of how crazy his voice is on that chorus, but the album reaches nothing close to that high again and fades into run of the mill romantic synth pop. But man oh man is Take on Me incredible.
after the first song, just okay to me.
I thought that, after Take on Me, this album was gonna slide down a slippery slope with songs that don't catch up to that wondrous song but no this album has some good songs. I want to shout out The Sun Always Shines on T.V.; that's the best song on the album. There is definitely some mid 80s material but it's not that bad; definitely something to sink your teeth into if you want to hear more from a-ha. Favorites: Take on Me, The Blue Sky, Living a Boy's Adventure Tale, The Sun Always Shines on T.V., I Dream Myself Alive.
It doesn't exactly keep up with Take on me. But tbf, that would be a hard thing to do. I don't hate, just doesn't keep that fucking energy that radiates from Take on me.
foreplay should be before the main event
The sun always shines on TV is a great song but the rest is pretty dated 80's pop rock
National anthem
Wonderful voice, but New Wave just really doesn't do it for me, a few exceptional tracks aside.
Take me on is an all time classic song. However much of the rest of the album is pretty much just 80s pop and it doesn’t get nearly as good as the first song. 5.5/10
Groovy. That’s it it’s groovy.
It's not really my sort of thing, but no there's no denying it's a classic 80s pop album.
Obviously track 1 is great and the rest of the album is pleasant enough whilst mostly unremarkable. 3/5
Actually pretty good. Hangs together much better as an album than I imagined.
6/10. Well, it has Take on Me on it. Otherwise, fairly bland, though never too unpleasant.
Ach die 80ies. Es war nicht alles schlecht, aber noch weniger war wirklich gut. Ich habe 'Take on me' immer gemocht, dieses Album aber natürlich wie so viele nie durchgehört. Nicht richtig schlecht, aber auch nur mittelmäßig. Gnade vor Recht, muss man im zeitlichen Kontext betrachten etc. bla bla.
Holy falsetto
A couple of stand out tracks and even then I suspect Take On Me is only as successful as it is because of a genuinely great music video. This is not an album I can ever see myself listening to again. Not terrible but mostly dull to me and heavy on the 80s production that has never moved me.
Very 80s. I'd heard Take on Me of course but nothing else to my knowledge. Definitely sounds like the Take on Me band.
Opening track is 80's pop perfected. Rest of album hovers around this template without ever quote getting there again.
80’er synth pop, catchy
This synth-pop album was the debut album by a-ha - and boosted by its hit single "Take On Me" - it became the band's breakout album. The band was immediately launched into world fame, far from its humble beginnings as a Norwegian local group. The album itself is a fun journey through new wave music from the 80's and is a blast of nostalgia when listened to today.
Can't help but love "Take on Me", and other songs are also good, but averages out at about 3*
A-HA! Took me a couple of goes to get past the first song coz it's such a banger. Once I did though found the others pleasant enough, some I found a bit dull but some were fun, and yeah you know what I do think love is reason enough
Well, we know the main hit of this album don't we! Did enjoy a few more on here, some of them were just hilarious and made Luke and me laugh a lot
Obviously the big pull here is the opener, but The Sun Always Shines on TV was equally incredible. Unfortunately the rest of the album is just kind-of-okay synth pop.
Take On Me and The Sun Always Shines on T.V. stand out.
Att a-ha var ett one-hit wonder har och kanske fortfarande är min tanke? Men jag är inte helt övertygad, under några perioder under lyssningen fanns det något i mig som ändå kände att detta går att lyssna på. Jag måste också medge att det är en väldigt mäktig röst sångaren (Morten Harket) har. Vad jag trodde var en självklar 2:a jobbar sig nog ändå upp till en 3:a på grund av Harkets röst. Bäst: "Take on me"
Soft.
Solid first song, vibey
Come back to this one
Its sort of generic 80's pop but with more of a groove to it. Stand outs: Take on me, the title track, I Dream Myself Alive
It's really hard to reach the heights of that first track. That's an era-defining bit of business right there. Nothing else quite has that 80s synth kick.
Opening song, Take on Me, is very well known and liked. There's a good reason for that, too. The song is just good. Other than that, most songs are kind of a miss for me, but I can see why they'd be liked.
Not horrible, although take on me sounds totally different than the rest
It's an alright album, but I have to say that the lyrics and emotion they're going for don't match the sterile 80s synth sound. It can be done, but it just feels too silly. Like the backing synth in take on me... it just undermines the emotion. This is a great album to throw in the background for a party, but defies series analysis. I will say I did like stand and face the rain. I listened to this album 5 times and couldn't find a song that was truly bad, but I didn't find many super standouts. 3.25/5. Not bad for a one hit wonder.
Honestly thought it was gonna be different based off of Take on Me coming from this album, but a lotta synth of course, very 80s
Aha, wusste gar nicht dass die Norweger sind ;) Tolles Popalbum, teilweise vielleicht etwas seicht aber einige Hits mit Ohrwurmpotenzial. Ein Album wie eine laue Sommernacht in Skandinavien.
A combination of bangers and boredom, mincing and melancholy. It’s just about fun enough to save itself from a 2/5
Wonderful throwback to the camp 80's.
A-ha - an album bolstered by three bona fide pop classics - rest is likeable 80s synth pop ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good stuff, first track is overplayed but still a classic. 3.5
sounds a lot like Morrissey in parts - but not as morose or right-wing.
Decent, didn't love the whole album but liked enough I'd probably listen again. Plus, classic 80s vocals.
Actually enjoyable. Good 80's music.
Seems pretty dated.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would
Ok pop, some nice tunes wouldn't seek out more of their stuff
I like Take on Me but didn't fancy a whole album of it, but it was pretty decent. The title track was good
3.2 - After “Take On Me” it’s forgettable 80s electro pop. There are good power ballads but nothing worth a second listen.
Pretty good but Take On Me kinda overshadows the rest of the album
just meh
Tecno. Suave. Melódico.
Aww, man. I really wanted to like this more than I did. When you come out of the gating swinging something like “Take On Me,” I suppose it’d be difficult for anybody to keep up that momentum. That song has given so much it’s at least worth two stars. Third star for spelling the band name in a weird way. (Why don’t we pronounced the A with a long vowel sound??)
Nett, wie ich finde - 3
fun listen
Pur son classique 80. Take on me!
eh, this album was alright. I went on an 80's kick a while back and a few of the songs i heard were from this album, and, while good, weren't anything special.
Delightfully dated.
Take me on is pretty much the best song on this album
Synth pop. Not the greatest, not the worst
A pretty classic euro new wave album. There is better new wave out there IMO, but worth a listen.
This has the big ah-ha hits. Life changing? no.
not bad
first song is great, the rest meh
Fun synth-poppy new-wave. Good showing.
Great singles, good sound but not that memorable. Might listen again.
Some great songs. But, also, some boring songs. 6.5-7/10
I mean at this point I want to scream NO MORE FUCKING NEW WAVE but the book is already written. Take on Me is a good little tune, and the rest... some of it sucks, some is passable synthey rock, but hunting high and low holy shit what a fuckin tune!! 3/5.
Decent pop album. Few bangers, and few not-so-bangers!
This album contains a decade-defining, perhaps generation-defining, song. I can still vividly picture the music video. But this is the first time I've ever thought to listen to the actual album, and after listening, I can see why. The song gets a 10 on a 5-point scale. The album gets a 1. So I'll give it 2 stars, with apologies.
Oh a one hit wonder, the rest of the album is ok, it's fine
"high" refers to track 1 and "low" refers to the rest of the album
Really dated with a couple of catchy tunes
344/1001 A-ha - Hunting High and Low Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ Asides from Take On Me, which is a stone cold banger, the rest of the album just feels like generic 80s synth pop. Nothing wrong with it per se, but not exactly groundbreaking.
This Album has the One Song on it
a-ha are pretty much remembered for one song - or rather one song's music video - and the good news is that it's here. Even better, it's the first track on the album, so listen to it, then switch off and you can say you've heard the band's greatest hits. A lot of fluff, dressed to kill in some computer console synths, the most 80s drum sound you'll hear outside of a Human League record and the sort of pre-teen friendly angst driven falsetto vocals that were the rage at the time and, as an added bonus, a jaw line that could slice bread. Really does not need to be remembered.
All things 1980s - synth pop, high production video, compelling cover artwork, catchy tunes. The MTV generation in a nutshell. This album gave us some iconic pop songs, but overall it's bland and derivative.
Two decent singles and a lot of dated filler. Almost a 3 because at least it's short. 2*
It's another album to add to the list of records where the most famous track is up first. It always seems like a brave strategy: would it pay off this time? Take On Me is great, and inextricably liked to the Reel Big Fish ska cover version in my head, which takes a cheesy song and makes it cheesier in ways which I enjoy. The original is just a perfect 80s pop song, though I do have a sneaking suspicion that it's music video really cemented its fame. Train of Thought was instantly a downgrade because it added the 80's synth pan pipes which, even for this cheese lover, is TOO MUCH. The bones of the song were ok but Morten Harket sounded like Morrissey at points (so I didn't like it). Hunting High and Low I quite liked. The Blue Sky was a bit Depeche Mode in backing music if not vocal. Living a Boy's Tale was back to sounding a bit Morrissey if he were synth-pop. The Sun Always Shines on TV I recognised and can see why in got to number 1 in the UK in the mid-80s. Its very much the type of thing that was popular. Take On Me is still superior though. And You Tell Me was dull. Love Is Reason was very Stock, Aitken and Waterman due to the synths and being extremely repetitive despite being so short. I Dream Myself Alive: ditto. I had sort of run out of enthusiasm by the time Here I Stand And Face The Rain came around, but I do like how the backing vocals swell towards the end. Yep, it was all downhill after Take On Me. It's going to scrape a 2 from me, because I think there's the bones of a much better album hidden under the production and 80s synths. 2/5 P.S. There's a super deluxe version of this album that's 3 hours 54 minutes long and its existence is baffling to me.
109. Hunting High And Low - a-ha (1985) 6.11.26 Variety: 1 Adequacy: 3 Listenability: 2 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 2 = 1.8 rounded up to a 2 "I don't know what I'm to say/ I'll say it anyway" I've known for a while that these guys were more than the "one hit wonders" they were written off as stateside, but have never taken the time to investigate any further than the big hit and the Bond theme they did for The Living Daylights ( meh...). I know from experience that other bands that were similarly labelled over here have ended up being pretty damned awesome ( both Big Country and A Flock Of Seagulls self-titled) or have very deep discographies that have yielded some enjoyable listening ( Simple Minds, Madness). This band though falls into the category with Dexys Midnight Runners ( 3 albums on the list!) where I just haven't taken the plunge. Happy to do so now. THE TRACKS Side one "Take On Me" - There are plenty of mediocre or bad songs, and even a few great ones that are overshadowed by iconic music videos. As memorable and still influential as the video for this one is, I would argue the song itself still manages to outshine it. And the proof is how it STILL lives on in the pop culture today. All my kids know this song. It's still all over the radio, and used in tv, movies, and video game soundtracks. Sometimes there is an exact accounting for good taste. This is one of those undeniable classics that will live on for decades to come probably, even well after the band itself ( has this time come and past already?) is long forgotten. Possibly the definition of what a hooky melody is, this is up there with "Don't You Want Me", "Beat It", "Oh, Pretty Woman", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Dancing Queen", "Every Breath You Take", and "Don't Stop Believin'" in that respect. The driving synth, that melody, and the yearning, pleading vocals have likely inspired untold numbers of would be karaoke stars, and remains emotionally gripping to this day, undeadened by the thousands of times I've heard it. There are very few songs in this category that don't wear at least a little bit thin after so long. I wonder if this is truly the band's curse though. Can anything else after this possibly not pale in comparison? I would guess not, but I'm willing to allow them a little grace in that respect. "Train of Thought" - Ok. Well, this is what happens when you open your album with a god-level track and possibly ( there's still many more tracks left) don't have anything left in the chamber. This is not awful by any means, but it certainly does not transcend the cliche's of the middle of that most neon and shoulder-padded decade. Morten Hacket's vocals remain pretty top tier and he hang's well with your Simon LeBon's and your Phil Oakley's, but the material here is weak and undistinguishable from any number of Duran Duran knockoffs from the era. "Hunting High and Low" - This is a big change up that leans into some sort of loungy electronic latin beat cabaret before taking a hard left into some very adult contemporary sounds for the chorus. Far too serious and overproduced for my tastes, but the strings and the vibes make this seem like a tryout for their later Bond theme success, which almost requires this sort of unembarrassed kind of aprproach. "The Blue Sky" - Dude lays the melodrama on a bit thick in the vocals here, but instrumentally there is a lot to like here. A catchy chorus, combined with the downbeat synths provide a great counterweight that overcomes any of my issues. "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale" - Not a great start with the processed yelps. The very basic Casio pre-set beat on this also does the track no favors. Seems like the boys aimed for mediocrity here and undershot. Boring, lifeless stuff. Side Two "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." - Am I crazy or did U2 rip whole bits of this off for "Beautiful Day"? The lyrics and even phrasing of the main line are like 2nd gen photo copies. Now, that said, this is a good example where the copy shines over the original. I'll have to look this up to see if it was a conscious nod or what, but U2 is able to take the same exact bit and give it some epic life, where this mostly falls flat. U2's is bright and airy, where this feels weighed down and sluggish. I wonder what this might sound like pitch shifted up... "And You Tell Me" - What a nothing of a song. Weak and not a hook a to be found. "Love Is Reason" - This one does nothing to put itself apart from any number of tiresome deep cuts that can be found in this era of Kajagoogoo or Spaundau Ballet. If you had played this for me I'm not sure I would have been able to tell you it was a-ha. It's still not dogshit though, and at least has some instrumental hooks and ok vocals. Just imagine this with about 30% more energy. "I Dream Myself Alive" - Maybe the mix on these is not doing the songs any justice? This should be a giant club song with pounding synth hits and an ear vibrating bass and drum, but instead every bit of this including the vocals sound like they are crammed together into a thin sheet of sound that makes barely nothing of a mark. "Here I Stand and Face the Rain" - Some very interesting changes and swerves in this one still can't rise above that there is absolutely zero dynamism going on here. Where is the contrast that some of the first few tracks seemed to have. This has the bones of something far more appealing than what we end up getting. As an experiment I played this and "Love is Reason" both back at 1.25 speed and they were both VASTLY improved. Try it ( this does NOT work with every track btw). Very weird. HIGHLIGHTS - "Take On Me" MIDLIGHTS - "The Blue Sky" - "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." - "Love Is Reason" - "Here I Stand and Face the Rain" LOWLIGHTS - "Train of Thought" - "Hunting High and Low" - "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale" - "And You Tell Me" - "I Dream Myself Alive" FINAL THOUGHTS Later in life I've become a proponent of earnestness in entertainment. The kind of sincere, aim for the stars kind of approach which would have had my cheeks burning with embarrassment for the performer in my teens and 20s has sort of washed away, and I've grown to appreciate mannered, constructed go for it type of stuff that I would have likely avoided at all costs previously. But man, if there's ever a good case for toning things down and being just a LITTLE bit self-aware this might be it. These guys go BIG, and where alchemical wonder of "Take on Me" soars, most of the other attempts at these big sincere swings fail pretty miserably. I'm sorry to say I can't lump them in with Big Country or A Flock Of Seagulls, as the rest of the album did not deliver on the first track's promise. But that one track, along with the fact that this does seem to be a professional outing ( odd production choices aside) rescues them from 1 territory at least. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS FURTHER LISTENING - Rio by Duran Duran - A Flock Of Seagulls by A Flock Of Seagulls - Architecture & Morality by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Don't Suppose by Limahl - Visage by Visage - Dare by The Human League - Forever Young by Alphaville
There is a reason I only knew one a-ha song before this. Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale sucked.
Meh
'80s toms, synths, and there's a certain operatic vocal expression that would dominate the decade, we've got all of that in here and it's definitely on the positive side as far as execution goes. It's still too much production. It's not difficult to listen to, but let's be real, this project has a single you should listen to before you die. I don't think the rest of the album is that special. 2.5
..
I was hoping for a song as good as the opener but did not find on the monotone 80s album.
Take on me is a fantastic song but couldn't get into the rest of the album
Its sooooooo 80's. They might have started the push back on toxic masculinity with this 80's emo music. The drama all over this album is just a lot to me, really almost too much.
Leuke synth pop. Maar niet heel bijzonder. Take on me is natuurlijk iconisch maar de rest is redelijk mid
Nah.not.my ham
Love "Take on Me" but really it is the only thing good about the album
I suspect this made the list on the strength of that inescapable, sort of cool music video back when MTV had music. A video does not make a great album.
This is fine, not great. Take On Me is absolutely a classic, but it's really the only reason to listen to the album. The rest is very samey and this style is done better by other bands.
2.8
Would have been 1 star if not for the all time most overplayed song on MTV
Ohhh look a drum machine and a synth sitting in the side of the road, should we make the biggest hit of the decade? Look, Take on Me is the song of the 80s, but the rest of the album is pretty uninspired and sappy. Pretty clear why ppl see them as a one hit wonder.
Thanks for the meme-ories, but this was ayusss
2/10 walkable fav song: here I stand and face the rain overall: 2/5 for me. seems like basic 80s lovesick music, I would not listen again.
Good painting music
Telkkarissa paistaa aurinko on kova biisi, mut muuten jää vähän pintapuoliseks meno. Toki tommosen teik on miin tekeminen on aina kova suoritus kun pelkästään sillä saa mukavat eläkemazzit.
So we're letting on albums because of one good music video now?
It was actively hard to get through this album. Its why i have a backlog of albums now. It isnt overerly bad but it was a slog of steriotypical music i wasnt in for.
Take on me is a great song, but the rest of the record is not really worth listening to. The rest is either simple 80's pop or kinda sad singer songwriter stuff. Nothing that better artists have not done. Traces of the exentricity from Take on Me can be found in the strange beats of other songs, but not enough to make this record worth it.
a bit generic
Take on Me // 1.5/5
take on me is leuk, de rest is dezelfde sfeer maar minder catchy
One song and that song is really not all that necessary to me
I would give it a 2.5 if i could just because it was never really bad, but it also wasn't really good. Take On Me is a classic though of course
1 good track.
2 and a half good songs, or was it 3 and a quarter? Fun singles!
Standouts Take On Me
The 80s!
Didn’t hold up for me, after the first song.
Take On Me is timeless. The rest of this album is forgettable.
Starting the album with the strongest track is never a wise decision... Just the typical radio-friendly 80's electro-pop. Nothing special.
One hit wonder. The rest is meh
Good singles, bad rest of album.
Take On Me is still a fun song, but the rest of the album was unimpressive.
Not really memorable at all. Take on me is a classic though
do not like the hit at all. no need for any of this when there's New Order. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
I enjoyed this just fine, but it really suffered from having The Song be the first track, and then not having anything as strong as The Song for the rest of the album. For all my complaining about the repetitiveness of this list, I’ve enjoyed the dense exposure to new wave. If this were one of few new wave albums, I would score it higher. But now I know there’s a lot more stuff out there that’s similar but better.
There's Take on Me Also, I'm partly Danish. But then there's not so much else to really cling myself on to.
Started strong, but the energy didn't stay. Unfortunately the first track was too good for the album and the drop was very much noticeable. The only other song apart from Take on Me that had any energy to keep me interested was The Sun Always Shines on T.V. Wasn't BAD but just uninteresting after the banger of a start.
We all know why this album is here. The track is worthy of it obviously. But the rest of the album is simply not essential listening
Didn't like this album then, didn't care for it now...
Hey Ah-Ha, the 80s called and wants its music back!” “Hello, 1980s? This is Ah-Ha speaking. I’m returning your call regarding the music?” “Ah-Ha! Yes, thank you for getting back to me. This is all rather embarrassing. Well, frankly I had a bit too much to drink last night, and I was in a mood of reminisce. I thought of you and how it pains me that we have lost touch. And, well, I wanted you to know how much I value your contribution, your place in it all. I wouldn’t be here without you. Maybe this is too little too late, but please, accept the sincere gratitude of an old, sentimental fool.” “It’s all water under the bridge, 1980s. I truely appreciate your kind words.” Four days later, TMZ reported that the 1980s was found dead in its LA mansion, surrounded by empty bottles of drano.
I just don't like 80s synth pop that much. Take On Me is a banger tho fr.
This didn't do much for me and I wasn't all that fond of the hit single even back in the day. I'll be hunting high and low for a better album.
Memories of when “Take On Me” (the only half decent song on this album) would always play on my old school iPod because a-ha was my first artist in alphabetical order.
2/5
Tááááááááááááke on me. Wat een draak van een nummer. Die verlengde-lettergrepen-allergie van me, speelt hier flink op. De typische jaren '80 klanken zijn totaal niet interessant en de vrolijke toon maakt me alles behalve vrolijk. Nee, niet mijn smaak. Dit nummer is een soort uitvergroting van de rest van het album. De rest valt me daardoor eigenlijk wel mee. Maar goed, dat is daardoor allemaal weer een stuk saaier. Ergens is het ook wel knap. Vrij bombastische muziek als in Hunting high and low toch slaapverwekkend kunnen maken. Maar voor die kunde deel ik geen sterren uit.
2/5 Tem Take On Me, mas é só isso mesmo.
Can’t help but feel like this was included on the list for one track.
I’ve absolutely nothing against Aha. Quite the opposite. “Take on me” is a classic and I like their James Bond tune for “The Living Daylights” but most of this sounds like lightweight Duran Duran. Sorry lads.
Take on me is a classic but a lot of the album sounded kinda pretentious. I also wish there was more variety, like some more ballads or slow songs. I thought The Sun Always Shines on TV stated really cool, but then the drum machine came in and it sounded like every other song on the album
Take On Me a catchy song with a really cool music music. Frankly the music video was ahead of it's time when it dropped and while it's actually a classic I consider it to be influential. This album though...not great.
2 1/2 Stars: Take on Me is a banger. The rest of the album...not so much. There's a few elevated tracks, but it's mostly forgettable middling music. Curious why it's even in this collection.
Definitely an era. 80s pop synth extravaganza. Surprised I did not know any other songs since “Take me on” was such a big hit. Nothing else really grabbed me.
Very 1980’s in mood and tone, smiths-lite in parts. Ok
Yikes man. I was really hoping Take on Me wasn’t their only listenable track. It is. Choice cut: Take on Me
Some pretty basic new wave. They had one hit, should have kept it to that. Gets a 2 for said hit.
The 80s section of this app is always going to be a,struggle for me I think. I just dont get the vibe
In my public speaking class in high school we had to present a song by speaking the lyrics and having the class guess the song. I ended up choosing Take On Me- which no one guessed. It was quite sad actually. Regardless, as an album experience, this doesn’t fully deliver. It checks the boxes of having a cohesive sound, decent pacing, and conciseness. Still, I found the project to be underwhelming.
Monster single and not much else happening.
Bands like this are what caused my friends and I to use "pop" as a pejorative term.
Some good songs, but poor
Take on me is great but the rest wasn’t
I didn’t love this album, it felt very one-note to me. It has a very melancholy vibe to it that don’t seem to let up as the album went on. I probably won’t listen to it in its entirety again.
No se puede sonar más ochentero que este disco. El problema es que ha envejecido regular.
A very middling 80's synth-pop album. They are from Norway, they have the one really popular song, that's about it. Not really a fan of Take on me but I did enjoy it this time around. Rest of the album isn't bad but isn't what you couldn't find elsewhere.
One great single and the rest is boring.
Singles und Fahrstuhl
Generic 80s Sounds
3 Hits machen noch kein Album. Nichts für mich zu bieten außer 80s Nostalgia
This album feels about 10 songs longer than it should be
*1985. *Pretty standard 80s faire - nothing particularly remember other than Take on Me. *It was fine, but wouldn't revisit. RATING - 6.5/10
everyone knows "take on me" the rest of the album didnt do it for me.
I feel they deserve any talk of One Hit Wonder. 'Take Me On"... and then.... that's to. The remaining album is not as strong. 1 star for the hit and MTV video. of the hit, 1 more for their being an "iconic" band
honestly boring, I can see why it was popular at the time though but now just feels a little bland, nothing too special, one hit wonder album
Didn't feel timeless.
Yah it’s all downhill after the opener. That’s sorta the problem with creating an all time classic and putting at the front of the album. It’s either gunna sucker people into putting up with the rest or it’s gunna set a standard so high you can’t reach it throughout the rest of the album. Sadly this is the later, it’s just so horribly held up by Take on me. There’s nothing else of note really. The other tracks are either grating or the production just doesn’t hold up and has not aged well. It’s seriously a huge disappointment.
Take on me is a very familiar song. I love the beat and progression.
Some banger nostalgia tracks but the album is not consistent and hits massive highs but a lot of lows.
I often wondered why I never heard anything from A-Ha other than Take On Me. Then I listened to the rest of this album and it became abundantly clear.
I liked this a lot less than I thought I would.
The Sun Always Shines On TV stood out. Take on Me is the obvious song, but everything else I just didn't care for. 2/5
5 stars for take on me, 3 stars deducted for the rest
It's almost unfair how good "Take On Me" is, because the rest of this is pretty forgettable 80s stuff to me. That one song though, makes the whole thing worth it. But they really poured it all into just that one song. 2/5.
Listens: 2.5 Standout Tracks: Take on Me Me: Clicks link to album from the generator. Album: Take on Me has been played 2.8 billion times on YTM. Me: What!? How the hell have I never heard of a band that has a song that has been played 2.8 billion times? Me: Listens to song. Ohhhhhh.... ok, I have heard this before. Me: I guess you could say I've had an "a-ha" moment.... Anyways, more new wave trash. Not here for it, not interested in it. This album demonstrates very, very clearly that these guys are the definition of a one-hit wonder. Their next most popular song has 125 million listens. An entire order of magnitude smaller. Crazy. 2 stars because Take on Me is catchy as hell, and so it's not actually too surprising that its so popular.
"Take on Me" has one of the most memorable music videos of all time. And it's a good song. But the rest of the album is pretty mediocre. I'm not sure why it's on this list (except that this project is very biased towards artists that were mainly popular in Britain, and yes, after checking, I see that a-ha was more popular in Britain than elsewhere.) Doesn't belong on the list.
Other than take me on, this album is pretty forgettable.
One song does not a great record make. It's a great song with a significant legacy, but who cares. Otherwise, this record is a poor man's new wave.
You can easily see why "Take on Me" was such a hit. Interestingly, it's a lot more pop than the rest of this record, which has a much gloomier, synth-y vibe. It's like B-team Depeche Mode. Fine, but not for me.
This wasn’t made for me. 2/ 5
A very fine example of this kind of thing.
Proof that you too can have a catchy synthesizer and a good singer and make it in music. There are so many albums that should replace this on a must listen to list. Not required listening at all.
This actually hangs together as an album pretty well. Some excellent self harmonies. But seriously if you remove ONE song is this anywhere near this list.
One hit and the rest was mediocre
Definitely sounds of its time. It's okay.
Meh
This album just sounds like a soundtrack to an 80s movie. It’s dated and doesn’t work in a time beyond its own.
Exciting, I thought when I saw which album I got today. Little did I know...
There's a reason I've only ever heard of two songs on this album, and even they aren't enough to redeem the other 8 tracks. Dull.
"Take On Me", and "The Sun Always Shines On TV" are the only two tracks worth listening to. They are also the only two tracks that aren't killing themselves trying to sound like Erasure. Go figure.
own
TAAAAAAAKE OOOOOOOON MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE (Nul)
One hit wonder?
Once again, an album that I'm not so sure of if I had to listen to it before I die. Surely, "Take on me" is an instant classic, and the other hit " The Sun Always Shine on TV" not bad either, but really, the whole album? I'm either way not impressed, decent pop yes, but nothing more than that. Apart from that, it sounds very eighties and didn't stood the test of time, with that glossy, overly polished quality that screams mid-'80s in the worst way. Definitely not worth a relisten after this first time. 2/5.
this was dramatic and cheesy, take on me is a banger but the rest of the album didn’t hold up to that song
Well ....Take On Me was a tough act to follow. Singer has a great voice though.
meh
Take on me/20
Franchement assez boring. Merci à Take on Me d'être là au moins, j'ai l'impression qu'ils ont mit cet album uniquement pour cette musique mdr. Un bon 2/5 imo.
On se fait chier hein. Ils auraient dû s'inspirer de jésus : en changeant l'eau en vin, le meilleur vin était à la fin du mariage de cana. Mais là ils nous mettent take on me et après c'est de la bouse donc pas de note positive pour remonter l'album, dommage ! Le nom du groupe me faisait penser que j'allais rire, mais finalement j'ai plus envie de pleurer de déception.
No private session used for Spotify. A-ha another standard answer when the one hit wonder question comes up. Once the hit came up, which is the first song, it was some pretty mellow, generic, synth heavy 80's music with a high pitched voice. Yes, I know "The Sun Always Shines on TV" got radio play, but it wasn't a hit.
Radio-friendly synth-pop. It has Take on me and some other songs.
dreamy synth pop - time has not been kind to this, the synths may have sounded like the future when the album was released, but it sounds very dated now.
Couple bangers.
It’s got one good song, IMO
A reminder that eighties pop music was horrible
yeah dadadadadadaddadad
It’s fine. It sounds like it’s era. Not much to write home about beyond Take On Me
Listened once, pretty distracted... it was fine, but I don't think I need a second listen. I think I've heard Take on Me too many times for a single lifetime. The rest is some okay-ish, very 80s synth-pop with spotty production and leveling throughout. Pairs nicely with the smell of hairspray. 2 / 5
Oh boy! ANOTHER cookie-cutter 80s euro-pop album! I'm so glad I heard this before I died! *sad trombone* *fart noise*
Naha
Started strong but fell off pretty quickly for me
One mega hit followed by a litany of indistinguishable, generic, 80s new wave synth pop songs.
Two or three well known songs. The synths sometimes sound outdated. Wouldn't listen a second time.
Retro
The album feels like a true child of it‘s time and has not aged overwhelmingly well. The only reason from my today’s view, why it is included in this list, is probably the commercial success. It‘s clearly Pop music, but has no pop appeal. I like Morten Harket‘s voice, but it is often overwritten with uninspired 80‘s synthies. Even „Take on me“ does not work for me (anymore). Highlights: Other than „Take on me“, other singles such as „The sun always shines on T.V.“ and „Love is reason“ have stand the test of time a little better.
The first song is okay but the rest does nothing for me. 2 stars or D+.
I'LLLL BEE GGGOONNNEEEE ONNEEEE DAYYY ORRRRR 2222222222 STARRRSSSS!
ok take on me is iconic and that video just as iconic but this reaks of 80's blah.... some of the synths in this are awful. The drums as well? mega corny
This album is okay, I guess. Of course "Take on Me" is a banger and everyone has heard it before, but apart from that the album was not outstanding neither positive nor negative. In contrast to many people I am lacking the nostalgia bonus. I was pleasantly surprised though that there were some tracks I enjoyed, like "The Sun Always Shines on TV" for example. This album is pretty much average and considering I am not really into synth-pop I'd rate it a solid 5/10.
This is too 80’s pop for me.
- A-Ha have written in my opinion the best Bond theme, with The Living Daylights, and the opening the track of this record is quite clearly a classic. Despite the outrageously good vocals, this album largely drifts by and doesn’t grab my attention until the in your face instrumentals around the 1 minute mark of The Sun Always Shines On TV. It then shifts back to drifting mode and doesn’t really pick up again.
A fine if not groundbreaking pop album that kept me tapping along. Take on Me an obvious highlight
i was really wanting to listen to some 80s pop but nothing on this album hits like take on me, and the lyrics are really repetitive. 5/10
Take on Me and then here: take the rest of this drivel too. The music sounds like the middle 80s - or what video games and TV shows think the 80s sounded like - and comes off remarkably vanilla. Every song after the opener could easily fit behind Karate Kid training or fighting montage. There’s clearly a reason this band was never known for more than their ubiquitous opener. 2/5
'So needless to say / I'm odds and ends, but I'm me.' 'Take on Me' is a synth-pop classic, a tune known by millions but remembered by none: played in countless backgrounds, in the foreground it's actually catchier, impressive even. But the rest is an uninspired meeting of David Bowie and Morrissey. Morten Harket is a failure of pop sensibilities since he bemoans unironically and insincerely, a debacle no hit single can ameliorate. Add to that 80s production that's indeed too of its time, and you've a pop record I'd like to appreciate far more than I do. 'Love is reason enuf' to move on from this one-hit blunder. I was waiting for an a-ha moment. Instead I got plenty of uh-ohs, oy-veys, uff das, and here we go agains.
Not really my shit. Not now, and not in 1985. Polished, but not a turd.
Good vocals, decent songwriting. Godawful full-bath 80s synths. Not a sound for me
A hit single and not much else to enjoy in my opinion.
It's just take on me, the rest is really uninteresting, it doesn't get the job done in terms of quality or consistency.
Disappointed. I was hopeful this would be an awesome 80s album. But it wasn't
The only decent song was “Take On Me”. Everything else was just background synth noise.
I can see why they were a one hit wonder. I can also see why they got a Bond song. Thankfully, Living Daylights is better than anything on this album. That was a long 37 minutes.
I had hopes that a-ha would prove to me more than a one-hit wonder after the second song. Then the rest of the album played.
Not super into 80s pop
This album's mostly harmless Norwegian Pop.
I just couldn't get into this one. Yeah, the first song is iconic, and persists. But the rest is about as boring as it gets. It did nothing for me. I'll give it a little credit for the hit, but the album as a whole does not stand up in comparison. Overall: 1.75/5
Startin off with a banger with take on me and then I’d never heard of the sun always shines on tv which was a jam but overall, that 80s synth sound just really doesn’t age well compared to other genres on this list.
Correcto
This album starts with an undeniable 10/10 banger of a classic. The rest? Forgettable meh 80's pop. 4/10