Minor Earth | Major Sky (17.04.00 / 05.06.00)
a-ha's album "Minor Earth | Major Sky" was released in Norway on Friday 14th April. It was released in other parts of Europe around 17th April and in the UK on 5th June. The album was also available in Japan on 10th May, Brazil on 18th May and Canada on 30th May. The album was released on both CD and cassette, but not on vinyl LP. In Germany and Norway, "Minor Earth, Major Sky" has already reached Platinum status and in Austria, Switzerland and Spain it has gone Gold.
Tracks: Minor Earth Major Sky (5:25) / Little Black Heart (4:35) / Velvet (4:21) / Summer Moved On (4:38) / The Sun Never Shone That Day (4:40) / To Let You Win (4:24) / The Company Man (3:15) // Thought That It Was You (3:50) / I Wish I Cared (4:23) / Barely Hanging On (3:56) / You'll Never Get Over Me (5:40) / I Won't Forget Her (4:44) / Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count (4:51)
Tracks 1, 2 and 7 written by Paul Waaktaar Savoy & Magne Furuholmen
Tracks 3 and 5 written by Lauren and Paul Waaktaar Savoy
Tracks 4,10,11,12 and 13 written by Paul Waaktaar Savoy
Track 6 written by Morten Harket & Håvard Rem
Track 8 written by Morten Harket & Ole Sverre Olsen
Track 9 written by Magne Furuholmen
The album was produced by Boogieman and Rolan Spremberg, co-produced by a-ha and Kjetil Bjerkestrand with the exception of: "Thought That It Was You" by Kjetil Bjerkestrand, "I Won't Forget Her" by Boogieman and "Mary Ellen Makes The Moment Count" by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. All songs were arranged by a-ha and mixed by Niven Garland, except for "Summer Moved On" and "To Let You Win" which were mixed by Boogieman.
The album features backing vocals by Lauren Savoy on "You'll Never Get Over Me"; backing vocals by Simone on "Velvet"; drums by Frode Unneland on "Minor Earth, Major Sky" and "Company Man"; Sven Lindvall on bass on "Little Black Heart" and "Mary Ellen Makes The Moment Count"; Per Lindvall on drums on "Velvet", "Barely Hanging On" and "Mary Ellen Makes The Moment Count"; Per Hillestad on drums and Jørun Bøgeberg on bass on "You'll Never Get Over Me" together with the Vertavo Quartet.
Strings were arranged by Paul / Magne with Kjetil Bjerkestrand and played by members of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
The cover of the regular CD release features a picture of an aeroplane's cockpit photographed by Bjørn Opsahl in a desert outside Las Vagas. a-ha has been printed on the side of the cockpit in large letters. The album title has been placed over the `sand' underneath the cockpit. |
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The CD booklet includes the song lyrics (some of which do not match the lyrics sung!) and around eight colour pictures of the band / individual members by Bjørn Opsahl. The reverse of the booklet features a picture of an aeroplane wing against a blue sky. The a-ha logo has been placed in the bottom left hand corner and the catalogue number in the bottom right hand corner.
The background image of the back cover shows part of the metallic body of the aeroplane's cockpit. The tracks are listed in a white font. Some of the words in each song title (or part of the word in the case of "Velvet") are printed in a larger font. Beneath the tracks are individual shots of Morten, Magne and Paul, plus additional white text. The spine uses a cross section of the sky and sand taken from the cover picture with titles in black. |
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The top half of the disc is light blue and the bottom half is a beige colour. A black line separates the two colours. The silver a-ha logo is placed in the top half of the sleeve, while the tracks are printed in black at the bottom. Again, the tracks have been printed using variable sized fonts. |
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The CD tray is transparent, through which you can see the picture of the aeroplane's cockpit. The picture is the same as that on the cover of the album, but the a-ha logo has been omitted from the side of the cockpit and information about the official web site and management replaces the album title over the sand.
As well as the regular release, there also exists a German made limited edition release. It is believed that this release might well be a bootleg release due to the fact that the track "Barely Hanging On" is misspelt as "Barley Handing On" on both the back insert and disc. Also, this "limited edition" takes on the same catalogue number (but different barcode??) as the regular edition, rather than having its own unique number. Another factor is that the colours and sharpness of the fonts on the sleeve are inferior to the regular release. In addition the back insert and disc include a "Polo Music" logo which could be a logo of the manufacturers. Official or not, this item is, never-the-less, nicely presented. In addition to the 13 tracks of the regular release, it includes the five bonus tracks: Crying in the Rain (4:23), Early Morning (2:59), Hunting High and Low (remix) (3:48), Take On Me (3:48) and Summer Moved On (Remix) (6:00). Total running time = 79:43.
The limited edition comes with a 4-page fold-out front sleeve. The front of this sleeve is almost identical to the regular release, but at the bottom it states that it is a "limited edition" and "this cd also contains 5 bonus tracks". The reverse of the sleeve is also identical to its regular counterpart. |
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The back-insert is identical to the regular release, apart from the obvious difference in the track listing with the inclusion of the five "bonus tracks". The spine has the additional text "limited edition". The disc is also similar to the regular release, but with additional text listing the bonus tracks. "limited edition" is also printed at the top of the disc, below the a-ha logo. |
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As with most albums, there was a promo copy issued. It comes in a blue and white wea sleeve. The top section of the sleeve is white with several small blue wea logos scattered around. The bottom section of the sleeve is light blue with the tracks printed in black and a wea logo faded into the background. Across the sleeve are some white and black boxes with a-ha, the title and "promotional copy not for sale" printed within. The disc is light blue and silver - of similar design to the front sleeve. The track list and other text is printed in black in the bottom section of the disc with a-ha and the title printed inside respectively silver and black boxes at the top. The tracks are recorded in the same order as on the regular release. The CD comes in a slimline jewel case.
At least two different promo CD-R's of the album were available. One comes with a white sleeve which has
The tracks are in a different order to those on the regular release and there are small differences in two of the song titles ("Company
Man" and "I Thought That It Was You" rather than "The Company Man" and "Thought That It Was You") - see below.
The disc is silver with black titles and wea logo
Tracks: Minor Earth, Major Sky / Little Black Heart / Velvet / You'll Never Get Over Me / The Sun Never Shone That Day / Summer Moved On / To Let You Win / I Wish I Cared / Barely Hanging On / Company Man / I Won't Forget Her / I Thought That It Was You / Mary Ellen Makes The Moment Count
The other, German made, promo also has a silver disc with black text. "a-ha" and the title are printed at the top of the disc. The WEA-logo and standard compact-disc logo are respectively on the left and right sides of the disc. The following text is printed at the bottom of the disc: "WEA Records Germany FOR PROMOTION USE ONLY!". The CD comes with a frontsleeve and a back insert. The front-side of the front-sleeve is a black and white copy of the disc itself, on a black background. The reverse of the front-sleeve has the grey outline of a CD as background image. Over the top of this CD, the tracks are printed with a-ha plus title above. The WEA and the compact-disc logos are placed in, respectively, the bottom left and bottom right corners. The back-insert is almost identical to the back-side of the front-sleeve, except that the grey CD-image is missing and the additional text "WEA Records Germany FOR PROMOTION USE ONLY!" has been printed at the bottom. |
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There is promo "press pack" of the album which comes in a blue carboard boxed sleeve (approx. size when closed: 29cm x 13cm) with "a-ha" printed on the front in embossed silver letters. On the reverse, track information is printed in white text.
The sleeve opens out to reveal individual shots of the band memebers (Morten, Magne and Paul) which have been placed in a row above a blue and white "sky" image. "new album" and "a-ha" are printed respectively above and below the picture of Magne, whilst "minor earth" is printed between Morten and Magne and "major sky" between Magne and Paul, all of which are in white letters. |
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| Inside the box there are two discs which sit side by side in black trays, one is a promo copy of the album, the other is a CD-Rom featuring a bio, photo's, discography, interview and video message. Both discs are silver with black text.
The new a-ha logo, in white letters, is printed on one of the inside flaps of the packaging. There are two moon shape cut-outs either end of the logo, again they seem to have no function. |
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"On March (note: the German text suggests 27th March as the date, but the English side just says March!), a-ha will release the single
After having enjoyed massive international success in the 1980's, the three members of a-ha - Morten Harket, Pål Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen - spent much of the following decade working on individual projects, ranging from Furuholmen's acclaimed paintings to Waaktaar's band with his wife Lauren Savoy. »We needed to establish ourselves on our own terms«, the band says of the time spent apart from each other.
Having done just that, the three now bring a whole range of new elements and qualities to »Minor Earth Major Sky«. While their melodies and arrangements are as lush and majestic as ever, the band's growth and evolution is evident in ways both subtle and obvious throughout the album's x songs.
»Having had the sort of success we've had, we don't really have anything to prove in the commercial sense,« feels Morten Harket. ..Rather, this is about us finally proving what we're capable of as artists and musicians. »And the astonishing thing is that, in every way you could think of, we're simply better than ever...« "
The cassette edition of the album has similar sleeve design to the regular CD release.
The reverse of the insert features a faded picture of a-ha (Morten, Paul and Magne) sitting inside an open top car. Information about the tracks and production are printed over the top in white letters, but the song lyrics have not been included. The actual cassette is transparent / grey with white titles.
Variations
Argentina: There was a vinyl LP of "Minor Earth | Major Sky" available. It is not confirmed whether or not this release is a bootleg.
Canada: This Canadian promo of the album features a small shot of the regular album cover at the top of the disc. Additional text is printed at the bottom of the disc with the "wea"-logo on the right hand side. This promo does not come with a sleeve. It is not confirmed whether or not this is an official promo.
Denmark: There is a promo CD-R of "Minor Earth Major Sky" by Warner Music Danmark A/S. It comes in a clear stickered sleeve. The disc is white with black text. The a-ha logo and title are printed at the top of the disc. The WEA-logo, WARNER MUSIC DENMARK and standard compact-disc logo are respectively on the left side of the disc. The following text is printed left side of the disc: "FOR PROMOTION ONLY - NOT FOR SALE". At the bottom of the disc is the official WEA Number WMDK06. The tracks are in a different order compared to the regular release (in the same order as the European promo CD-Rs listed above).
France?: A promotional test WEA acetate CD-R was produced. It comes with a white paper insert with the a-ha, the album title and the WEA logo printed in black on the front and the tracks listed on the reverse. The tracks are listed in the same order as on the regular release, although "The Company Man" is listed as "Company Man". The disc is also white with a-ha, the title and WEA logo printed in black.
Japan: The Japanese release features extra material compared to the European release. It includes the remix of "Summer Moved On" plus an enhanced track which is the video for "Summer Moved On" (the video runs without the need of additional software). The enhanced track is not listed on the sleeve, but is mentioned on the obi strip and disc. It comes with a light blue and beige coloured obi-strip with black and blue titles plus Japanese lyric sheet.
On the promo copy of the album, there is a white and red promo sticker on the back of the obi strip and the word "SAMPLE" (in red) etched just above the centre of the disc. Some copies of the promo have a large black and white sticker on the front which says (in Japanese) that a-ha are back with the new album (on sale 2000-05-10) after a long break and that the first single "Summer Moved On" is charting in Germany. Also that they would like assistance from record shops with this release and signed Warner Music Japan.
A limited edition double CD set of the album was released in Japan in April 2001. It includes the regular 14 track CD album, but without the bonus video track of "Summer Moved On", plus a bonus CD which includes Take On Me (album version), the "radio version" of "The Sun Never Shone That Day" (3:30) (not the four different remixes which were initially promised) plus the videos of Summer Moved On, Minor Earth Major Sky, Velvet and Take On Me (all in QuickTime format). The videos can be viewed from a special "Launch Centre".
The front and back covers of the album are identical to the regular edition, but there is a large obi strip which covers the front sleeve, spine and half of the back sleeve. It features the picture of a-ha sitting inside an open top car, as printed in the booklet of the regular CD release. The title and track information is printed in white and black Japanese text. The album comes with a different Japanese lyric-sheet, which states that it is a "special edition" and with details of the second disc.
Disc 1 is identical to the disc of the regular release except for the obvious absence of the Quicktime logo. Disc 2 is of similar layout to disc 1.
There were two different promo cassettes of "Minor earth, major sky" in Japan. Both of them come with blue paper title sleeves with the title is printed at the top and tracks listed underneath.
The second of the two was released in 2001 and has "2001.4.25 on sale" printed on it plus the official WEA number (WPCR-10934,35). Both editions have "Sample Tape For Promotion Only" printed on them and the WEA logo in the bottom left hand corner. Both cassettes are transparent with blue labels on which black text is printed. The remix of "Summer Moved On" is track 14 on both cassettes. The 2001.4.25-version is a special edition and includes two bonus tracks - "Take On Me" and "The Sun Never Shone That Day" (Radio Version) on 'disc 2'.
This cassette has a slightly darker blue sleeve than the first, it also has a spelling mistake as "Barely Hanging On" is printed as "Varely Hanging On"! The track list is printed in both English and Japanese on the 2001 cassette and the cassette insert opens out.
Malaysia: "Minor Earth | Major Sky" was available on cassette in Malaysia. It is similar to the European release, but has "Warner Music Malaysia" printed on the back.
Russia: This Special Russian edition of "Minor Earth Major Sky" comes in a card slipcase. The front and reverse of the slipcase and CD sleeve are of similar design to the regular European release. One difference is that the track lengths shown on this Russian release are 1 or 2 seconds shorter than those given on the European release. There is a sticker on the front on the slipcase which reads "Special Russian Edition featuring hit singles "Minor Earth Major Sky" "Velvet" "Summer Moved On" plus 2 bonus tracks". The bonus tracks featured are: Minor Earth Major Sky (Black Dog Mix) and Velvet (Stockholm Mix). The Warner Music logo plus some Russian text has been printed on a white oval background on the bottom right hand side of the front of the booklet. The disc itself is similar to the Europen release, but with "Warner Music" printed at the top of the disc.
A cassette edition of "Minor Earth Major Sky" was available in Russia. It is similar to the European release. The cassette is transparent with white text. There is printing in Russian language on the backside of the cover.
Taiwan: The album was also released in Taiwan. The regular release comes with a white and green obi strip which features black and green text.
Limited editions of the album come in a unique card slip case with lyric sheet and poster calendar! The front cover of the slip case is unique, the top half features the picture found on the cover of the regular release, where as the bottom section features a picture of the band sitting inside a car (similar to the one found inside the cassette edition of the European album). Across the middle of the cover, the a-ha logo is printed in light blue and the title is written in white in Taiwanese text! Additional Taiwanese text is printed in orange above.
The reverse of the slip case features a close-up shot of the grey metallic body of the aeroplane nose. Small pictures of
Inside the slip case are the regular "Taiwan made" album in jewel case (without obi strip), a lyric sheet with lyrics printed in Taiwanese, an advertising sheet showing new releases (including "Minor Earth, Major Sky") and a fold out poster calendar. There are a few minor differences between the German made and Taiwan made CDs. There are obvious text differences relating to country of manufacture, more of the actual disc of the Taiwan release has been printed on (i.e. printing is closer to the centre of the disc), the Taiwan CD booklet uses heavier / thicker paper and the catalogue number has not been printed in the bottom right hand corner of the reverse of the booklet.
The poster calendar opens out making it six times the size of a regular CD-booklet. The picture on the poster is the one of a-ha sitting inside a car, as on the front of the slip case. In the bottom right hand corner, there is a calendar for 2000, including only the months June - December. In the bottom left hand corner is a large white a-ha logo and the title in black underneath.
This limited edition album may have been re-released, for there exists a similarly packaged album which has an additional sticker of red text stuck over the seal, just above the title on the slip case. Translated, this text reads "No.1 chart at 18 country, 8 items of MTV music awards, 30000000 albums sell"
LP
| Argentina | promo | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 83934 |
CD
| Chile | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 82183-2 // WE 739 | |
| Canada | promo | Minor Earth | Major Sky | ? |
| Denmark | Promo CD-R |
Minor Earth | Major Sky | WMDK06 |
| Germany | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 82183-2 // WE 833 | |
| Germany | limited | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 82183-2 // WE 833 |
| Germany? | acetate promo CDR | Minor Earth | Major Sky | / |
| Germany | promo | Minor Earth | Major Sky | PROP05125 |
| Germany? | promo CDR | Minor Earth | Major Sky | / |
| Germany | promo CDR | Minor Earth | Major Sky | / |
| Germany | promo pack | Minor Earth | Major Sky | / |
| Japan | Minor Earth | Major Sky | WPCR-10688 | |
| Japan | promo | Minor Earth | Major Sky | WPCR-10688 |
| Japan | 2 CD | Minor Earth | Major Sky (Special Edition) | WPCR10934 (WPCR10935) |
| Korea | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 82183 - 2 | |
| Mexico | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 821832 5 | |
| Russia | Special | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 050466638229 |
| Russia | slipcase | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 050466638229//HH-166CD/03 |
| Taiwan | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 82183-2 | |
| Taiwan | limited | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 821832 // WE 739 |
| Taiwan | limited 2 | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 821832 // WE 739 |
Cassette
| Germany | Minor Earth | Major Sky | 8573 82183-4 | |
| Japan | promo | Minor Earth | Major Sky (14 tracks) | WPCR-10688 |
| Japan | promo | Minor Earth | Major Sky (16 tracks) | WPCR-10934,35 |
| Russia | Minor Earth | Major Sky (16 tracks) | 8573 82183-4 |
a-ha Single Remixies (08.11.00)
This eight track Japanese only release features mixes of "Summer Moved On", "Minor Earth, Major Sky" , "Velvet" and the single version of "Shapes That Go Together". The packaging is very similar to the European release of "Summer Moved On" although it comes in a regular album jewel case rather than a slim line. It comes with a black obi strip with white and blue titles. The title misspells the word "Remixes", giving it an extra "i"!
Tracks: Summer Moved On (Remix) / Minor Earth Major Sky (Niven's Radio Edit) / Minor Earth Major Sky (Millenia Nova Remix) / Minor Earth Major Sky (Early Version) / Velvet (De Phazz Mix) / Velvet (Millenia Nova Remix) / Velvet (New York City Mix) / Shapes That Go Together
CD
| Japan | a-ha Single Remixies | WPCR-10784 |
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