a-ha Albums 1985-87

Hunting High And Low (28.10.85)

a-ha's debut album "Hunting High And Low" was released world wide. It was produced by Tony Mansfield, except tracks 1 and 6 by Alan Tarney and track 8 by John Ratcliff with a-ha. It was remixed by John Ratcliff with a-ha except "Hunting High And Low" and "Living A Boy's Adventure Tale" remixed by John Ratcliff. All tracks were written by Pål Waaktaar except track 1 by Pål, Mags and Morten, track 5 by Pål and Morten and tracks 8 and 9 by Mags and Pål.

The cover of this 10-track LP has a black and white cover photo of the band taken in a cafe (by Just Loomis) with a grey a-ha-logo and red title in the top left corner. The reverse of the LP is white with 3 small black and white individual pictures of the band members, `pencil smudge marks' and the text down the left side written in grey.

The cover of the German made European release CD is the same as the LP, the reverse of the insert is similar to the reverse of the LP with additional black text about `caring for your CD'. The white insert opens up with track listing and other text printed in black. The back insert of the CD is white with black titles and a black and white picture of a-ha as on the inner LP sleeve. The CD itself is silver with black titles.

There also exist gold disc editions of the CD album which has similar packaging, but the disc itself is gold with black text. The gold CD editions may have a gold sticker on the front which reads "40 GOLDEN GREATS! WEA", or a gold, red and white sticker with the text "Limited Edition. Bild am Sonntag. Gold! WEA".

 

Re-issues of the album have "reprise" on the spine in place of the usual "warner bros" - TBC.

The picture on the front of the cassette is the same as the LP / CD but is printed in a square on a white background with "a-ha" written in grey above and "hunting high and low" written in red underneath. The spine of the insert is white with red text. The actual cassette is white with black text.

Tracks: Take On Me (3:46) / Train Of Thought (4:11) / Hunting High And Low (3:43) / The Blue Sky (2:22) / Living A Boy's Adventure Tale (5:00) // The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (5:06) / And You Tell Me (1:51) / Love Is Reason (3:04) / I Dream Myself Alive (3:06) / Here I Stand And Face The Rain (4:30).

A German made special edition of the album was produced for "Club-Sonderauflage" (the organisation by German Media-Corporation "Bertelsmann"). The LP is similar to the regular release, but the unique catalogue number and "Club-Sonderauflage" is printed in the top right hand corner of the reverse of the sleeve. "Club-Sonderauflage" is also printed on the label. It is thought that this LP might have been pressed for the UK market as the UK catalogue is also printed on the reverse of the sleeve, so too is a circled "U".

Variations

Argentina: The LP release has "caza mayor y menor" as the title "Hunting High And Low" on the front cover. Note that the correct Spanish translation of "Hunting High And Low" should be "Cazando por arriba y por abajo" or "Cazando por todas partes" (thanks to Roberto Delgado) or "Buscandote por todos lados" (thanks to Jose Arambula). The title printed on the sleeve is a literal translation which doesn't make proper sense. The WEA logo is printed in the upper right hand corner and the cover print is darker black and white. The reverse of the sleeve and labels also have the text in Spanish e.g. "Take On Me" is written as "tomalo por mi".

Italy: The cassette is black with orange label. The spine of the cassette is orange?

Japan: There are two different pressings of the CD album. The first is thought to be the one which comes with a red sticker obi strip with white text (catalogue number 32XD-375). The CD also comes with a lyric insert which has lyrics in English and Japanese.

 

The first pressing of the LP comes with a limited poster and 6 page inlay with lyrics. The poster is similar to that which came with the UK 12" releases of "The Sun Always Shines On TV" and "I've Been Losing You" but the band are printed in black and white with a large a-ha logo and 5 cartoons from the Take On Me video are printed in light red on the right hand side. "NOT FOR SALE WARNER-PIONEER CORPORATION" is printed in the bottom right corner.

Hunting High And Low was re-released in Japan as a "Hot Price" album. The album has a different catalogue number compared to the first 2 pressings. The obi strip is white with dark green text and the red and yellow "bomb" hot price logo.

There was a promo cassette in Japan. The cover is similar to the regular release, but the cover shot is printed with a grey border over a grey and white background. The a-ha logo is printed in purple underneath the picture and also on the spine of the cassette. The "First Single" is litsed as "Take On Me" on the back part of the insert. The cover states that it is not for sale. The cassette itself is white with black stickers and white text. Printed at the bottom of the cassette label it states that the cassette is for "promotional use only in stores (not for sale)"

Korea The cover of the LP is printed in brown tones and the additional text "Including Take On Me" is printed in the top right hand corner of the sleeve. It also comes with an inner lyric sheet.

There is also an LP with a green toned sleeve which is thought to be an unofficial release.

The Korean cassette release of "Hunting High And Low" comes in a slipcase. It has a silver grey sleeve with a picture of the regular album sleeve in the centre. Above the picture, "Golden Hits" is printed on a red background and "Take On Me Love Is Reason" is printed along a blue strip. A-HA and the title are printed in dark red and black respectively. The cassette is manufactured by Oasis Record Co under licence from WEA.

Mexico: The LP has a similar cover to the European release, but Spanish translated titles are listed in brackets after the English titles. The a-ha logo on the cover is printed in silver.

The Philippines The LP has a white boxed "Includes Take On Me" advert on the front cover and PARI-MEMBER approved sign on the labels and box cover. It doesn't come with inserts.

45 R.P.M. CLUB (1985)

This Japanese only mini album is available on 12" vinyl EP, cassette and CD. The cover (front and reverse) is similar to the cover of the USA 12" of "The Sun Always Shines On T.V.".

There were at least two pressings of the CD edition. The only difference between the sleeves seems to be a barcode printed in the top left corner of the reverse of the first pressing and the different catalogue numbers. The first issue comes with a red `sticker' obi strip with white a-ha-logo and text whilst the second pressing has a more regular blue and white "Forever Young Series" paper obi strip. There are two slightly different "Forever Young Series" obi strips. They seem to be the same from the front, but the position of the obi-strip and catalogue number differs on the reverse. The CD has a 6 page booklet with lyrics and individual factfiles (in Japanese) plus colour pictures. The reverse of the booklet is khaki coloured with a colour group shot. The back insert has an a-ha logo with small individual pictures inside the letters. The CD is gold coloured with black titles, a red rim and Warner Brothers logo.

There are also at least 2 different pressings of the EP. The covers are similar to the CD release and come with obi-strips. The obi-strips differ slightly, the first (catalogue no. P-6228) is a similar colour to the bottom section of the album sleeve with text in red, black and white. The bands faces are printed within the letters of the a-ha logo. The reverse of the obi features 2 colour shots of each of the band members.

The second obi (catalogue no. P-6238) is light grey with red, black and white text. The a-ha logo is black and doesn't have band pictures printed within the letters. The reverse of the obi has pictures of the "Hunting High And Low" and "45 R.P.M." covers, information plus the Japanese tour dates. All text is in Japanese.

The cassette has a yellow cover with one red spine and one yellow spine. The same picture as used on the LP and CD is positioned at the top of the sleeve with a large red logo below and other black text.

The 'main' red spine has yellow titles where as the second spine includes a smaller version of the cover picture and titles in red and black.

The 'reverse cover' is also yellow with black and blue text.

The four tracks on this mini album include the extended version of "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." (8:27) remixed by Steve Thompson, "Driftwood" (3:06), the extended version of "Take On Me" (4:49) and the instrumental of "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." (6:38). The Japanese 12" comes with an obi strip and gatefold 12" colour photo insert.

Tracks: The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Extended Version) (8:27) / Driftwood (3:06) // Take On Me (Extended Version) (4:49) / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Instrumental) (6:40)

EP

CD

Cassette

Twelve Inch Club (1985)

The cover of this Japanese only mini album is similar to that of "Train Of Thought" single (front and back). It is available on CD and 12". Again there were two pressings of the CD issue. The first pressing has a barcode printed in the top left corner of the reverse sleeve and a different catalogue number from the 2nd pressing. The first pressing also comes with a white stickered obi strip with red a-ha-logo and text whilst the reissue comes with a blue and white "Forever Young Series" paper obi. Some (if not all?) of the first pressing have the title spelt incorrectly on the disc as "Twelve Ihch Club". The CD booklet has 4 grey coloured pages with lyrics, a black and white group picture plus 3 individual pictures. The back of the booklet is similar to the back of the CD, but without the track listing. The label is "Reprise Records". The CD is gold like the 45 R.P.M, but with a red "Reprise Records" logo. The LP comes with a black and white fold-out insert.

The tracks on this mini album include the extended version of "Train Of Thought" (7:02) and the original version of "And You Tell Me" (1:56), the extended version of "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." (8:25) (the same version as that on "45 R.P.M. Club") and the dub version of "Train Of Thought" (8:35).

Tracks: Train Of Thought (Steve Thompson Mix) (7:02) / And You Tell Me (Demo Version) (1:56) / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Steve Thompson Mix) (8:25) / Train Of Thought (Dub Version) (8:35)

EP

CD

Cassette

Scoundrel Days (06.10.86)

The album was produced by Alan Tarney except tracks 3, 9 and 10 by Mags and Pål.

The cover of this album is white with a blue and green landscape picture plus inset a-ha picture. It was released on LP, cassette and CD. The LP has an embossed `ink blotch' printed on the front above the picture. The back of the LP is white with a continuation of the landscape picture along the bottom, a small colour outdoor picture of a-ha (as on the cover of the single "I've Been Losing You") and the tracks written in blue and green. The inner sleeve has a colour picture of part of Mags and Pål and some of the song words. On the other side are the rest of the song words and two small colour pictures of a-ha.

The front cover of the CD is more close up than that of the LP and without the ink blotch. The insert folds out into a long strip with a continuation of the landscape on one side plus the song words and the three pictures as on the LP inner sleeve. The reverse of the CD is similar to the reverse of the LP but the tracks are listed in grey. The actual disc is silver with black titles.

The cover of the cassette features the a-ha shot plus ink blotches on a white background but does not include the landscape picture. It is printed in a landscape fashion. The cover folds out with the song words plus the small colour picture as on the reverse of the LP / CD. The spine of the insert is white with grey text plus part of a blue ink blotch. The cassette is white with blue titles.

Tracks: Scoundrel Days (3:56) / The Swing Of Things (4:14) / I've Been Losing You (4:24) / October (3:48) / Manhattan Skyline (4:52) // Cry Wolf (4:05) / We're Looking For The Whales (3:39) / The Weight Of The Wind (3:57) / Maybe Maybe (2:34) / The Soft Rains Of April (3:12).

Variations

Argentina: The LP has the title printed in Spanish on the front of the sleeve and track listing in Spanish.

Germany: Some promotional copies of the album come with a wea double sided product fact sheet with details of the album plus information on the band and press sheet (4 sided green sheet featuring a band shot and the text "wea auf touren!" along the bottom).

 

Greece: The LP has a round blue "sticker" printed on the front sleeve with "MADE IN GREECE" and the Greek version printed in white. The back sleeve includes the words "Made in Greece" plus some additional Greek letters in the bottom right hand corner. The album tracks are written in Greek on the record labels.

Hungary: The Hungarian LP of "Scoundrel Days" is similar to the UK release, but includes the text "manufactured in Hungary under license of WEA" in the bottom right hand corner of the back sleeve. Also on the back sleeve (top right) are the words "WEA" and "Gong", plus the catalogue number. The actual label on the record is orange with again "Gong", "WEA" and text in Hungarian and English: a hangfelvetelt a torveny vedi/unauthorised copying of this record prohibited. Made in Hunary (p) 1986. The album doesn't come with lyric sheet.

Israel: Paper insert similar to US release.

Italy: The cassette is black with a black label.

Japan: First pressings of the LP came with a limited edition sheet of 19 colour stickers. They also have a lyric insert and picture obi-strip.

First pressings of the CD come with a limited edition double sided photo card in addition to a Japanese lyric sheet plus green and blue obi strip. The text on the reverse and spine of the CD sleeve differ slightly from the European release - on the reverse the track list is printed in blue and green letters and on the spine in a mix of black and white letters to make it more readable over the picture. The disc is gold with red WB logo and trim round the edge plus black text (similar to the Japanese Club releases). The promo copy of the CD album has Japanese symbols etched into the centre of the disc indicating that it is a promo copy and also a white and red promo sticker on the back insert.

Korea: The LP comes with a fold out Korean insert. Some copies of the LP have a blue toned sleeve, it is thought that these are unofficial releases.

Mexico: The LP has a similar cover to the UK release except for a small Warner logo in the top right of the sleeve plus catalogue number. On the reverse the tracks are written in both English and Spanish.

New Zealand: The cassette has a white sleeve with yellow spine and black text. The track list is printed in black on the inside of the sleeve.

Peru: The Peru LP has a colour front sleeve and black and white back sleeve. The LP has light brown labels with song titles in Spanish and English. It doesn't come with an inner sleeve.

The Philippines: The LP has a PARI-MEMBER approved sign on the labels and back cover. It doesn't come with inserts.

Scoundrel Club (1987)

This Japanese only mini album has cover similar to "Manhattan Skyline", the back cover has, in large blue letters, part of the word "Scoundrel".

The first pressing of the CD edition has an almost identical sleeve to the second pressing. The obi strip of the first pressing is a paper one this time, but is white with a purple a-ha-logo and black text rather than the blue and white "Forever Young Series" obi of the second pressing. The CD insert is a 4 page booklet with lyrics, but no pictures. It is available on 12", 12" picture disc, CD and cassette. The reverse of the CD insert has a colour band photo on a white background with purple "a-ha" and blue "Scoundrel Club" logo. The CD is the same as the "Twelve Inch Club" CD, again with red "Reprise Records" logo.

The CD edition includes the extended version of "Cry Wolf" (8:13), the live version of "We're Looking for The Whales" (3:50), the dub version of "I've Been Losing You" (4:28) plus the extended remixes of "Manhattan Skyline" (6:49) and "Hunting High And Low" (6:02).

The regular vinyl EP of "Scoundrel Club" has one less track ("I've Been Losing You" (Dub)) compared with the CD edition. It comes with obi strip. There is also a white label promo version of this EP which has the same catalogue number as the regular version, but has a sticker on the backsleeve with the number: F344119

The "Scoundrel Club" 12" picture disc is similar to the picture disc for "Manhattan Skyline". The sleeve features a picture of the disc on the cover. It comes with a light purple obi-strip with blue titles.

The cassette comes with a foldout lyric insert inside.

Tracks CD: Cry Wolf (Extended Version) (8:14) / We're Looking For The Whales (Live Version) (3:50) / I've Been Losing You (Dub) (4:29) / Manhattan Skyline (Extended Remix) (6:50) / Hunting High And Low (Extended Remix) (6:02)

Tracks Cassette / LP: Cry Wolf (Extended Version) (8:14) / We're Looking For The Whales (Live Version) (3:50) // Manhattan Skyline (Extended Remix) (6:50) / Hunting High And Low (Extended Remix) (6:02)

EP

CD

Cassette