a-ha Albums 2004 - 2005

The Singles 1984|2004 (29.11.04)

On 29th November, a-ha released a collection of their singles "The Singles 1984|2004" in Norway and Germany and on 22nd December in Sweden. The album is not due for release in the UK until 2005. It includes 19 of their singles (not the complete collection) which have been digitally remastered by Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot.

The cover features a shot of the band (Paul, Morten and Magne) printed in green tones. The a-ha logo is printed in light blue in the top left corner with the title in light green underneath. There is a blue sticker on the front which reads "20 years of hits digitally remastered". The 6 page booklet features text about the band by Jan Omdahl (author of The Swing Of Things) plus a collage for each band member made up of nine close-up shots of parts of their faces. The booklet includes another five pictures of the band / band members plus the track listing over two sides at the back. The reverse of the booklet has a further shot of the band running outdoors. The back cover features a silhouetted shot of the band with the track list printed at the bottom of the picture.

The disc is white with the title in grey at the top and an artist impression picture of the band at the bottom. The back sleeve is also printed in green tones and features a silhouetted picture of the band against the sky with the tracklist across the bottom of the picture. Surounding the.picture are some green/grey shapes (triangles and a square) plus some coloured lines. The spine of the CD is greenish grey with white text.

 

The album includes the "edit" version of "Manhattan Skyline" which was previously only available on vinyl.

Tracks: Take On Me (3:48) / The Sun Always Shine On TV (4:42) / Train Of Thought (Remix) (4:15) / Hunting High And Low (Remix) (3:47) / I've Been Losing You (4:25) / Cry Wolf (4:03) / Manhattan Skyline (Single Edit) (4:17) / The Living Daylights (7" Version) (4:14) / Stay On These Roads (4:46) / Touchy! (Single Mix/Edit) (4:33) / Crying In The Rain (4:22) / Move To Memphis (4:13) / Dark Is The Night For All (3:46) / Shapes That Go Together (4:14) / Summer Moved On (Radio Edit) (4:03) / Minor Earth Major Sky (Niven’s Radio Edit) (4:03) / Velvet (Radio Version) (4:05) / Forever Not Yours (4:03) / Lifelines (Album Version Edit) (3:58)

Track Details:

1. Take On Me [3:48] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy/Magne Furuholmen/Morten Harket) Produced by Alan Tarney April 1985

2. The Sun Always Shines On TV [4:42] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Alan Tarney December 1985

3. Train Of Thought (Remix) [4:15] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Tony Mansfield Remixed by Alan Tarney & John Hudson March 1986

4. Hunting High And Low (Remix) [3:47] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Tony Mansfield Remixed by John Ratcliff with a-ha June 1986

5. I’ve Been Losing You [4:25] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Magne Furuholmen & Paul Waaktaar-Savoy With/Leif Karsten Johansen: bass, Michael Sturgis: drums September 1986

6. Cry Wolf [4:03] (Magne Furuholmen/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Alan Tarney With/Øystein Jevanord: drums November 1986

7. Manhattan Skyline [4:17] (Magne Furuholmen/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Alan Tarney February 1987

8. The Living Daylights [4:14] (John Barry/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Jason Corsaro, Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy & John Barry June 1987

9. Stay On These Roads [4:46] (Morten Harket/Magne Furuholmen/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Alan Tarney March 1988

10. Touchy! [4:33] (Morten Harket/Magne Furuholmen/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Alan Tarney August 1988

11. Crying In The Rain [4:22] (Howard Greenfield/Carole King) Produced by Christopher Neil With/Jorun Bøgeberg: bass, Per Hillestad: drums October 1990

12. Move To Memphis [4:13] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy/Magne Furuholmen) Produced by a-ha October 1991

13. Dark Is The Night [3:46] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by David Z & a-ha With/Jorun Bøgeberg: bass, Per Hillestad: drums May 1993

14. Shapes That go Together [4:14] (Magne Furuholmen/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Christopher Neil March 1994

15. Summer Moved On (Radio Edit) [4:03] (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Boogieman & Roland Spremberg With/Elmar Walljasper: drums May 2000

16. Minor Earth, Major Sky (Niven’s Radio Edit) [4:03] (Magne Furuholmen/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Boogieman & Roland Spremberg Remixed by Niven Garland With/Henner Malecha: additional bass, Frode Unneland: drums July 2000

17. Velvet (Radio Version) [4:05] (Lauren Savoy/Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) Produced by Boogieman & Roland Spremberg With/Simone: vocal (From D’Sound courtesy of Virgin Records Norway AS), Jörn Heilbut: additional guitar, Stephan Gade: bass, sitar, Peter Lindvall: drums September 2000

18. Forever Not Yours (Morten Harket/Ole Sverre Olsen/Magne Furuholmen) [4:03] Produced by Stephen Hague & Martin Landquist With/Sven Lindvall: bass, Per Lindvall: drums April 2002

19. Lifelines (Album Version Edit) [3:58] (Magne Furuholmen) Produced by Martin Landquist & Stephen Hague With/Anneli Drecker: female vocals, Sven Lindvall: bass, Per Lindvall: drums July 2002

Variations

Argentina: The promo Argentinian made CD has a red promo stamp on the disc which reads "Disco Promocicnal Prohibida Su Venta". There are subtle differences between the Argentina release and the European one including slight differences in the colours used in the booklet and on the disc. In addition, the last page of the CD booklet has a barcode stamped on it.

Hungarian: The Hungarian release has a different track list: Take On Me / The Sun Always Shines On TV / Hunting High And Low (Remix) / I''ve Been Losing You / Manhattan Skyline / Stay On These Roads (Single Mix) / Living Daylights (7" Version) / Touchy (Single Mix/Edit) / Crying In The Rain (Single Mix) / Train Of Thought (Remix) / Dark Is The Night / Angel (Single Mix/Edit) / Shapes That Go Together / Summer Moved On (Single Edit) / Velvet / Forever Not Yours / Move To Memphis / Lifelines (album Edit) / Minor Earth,Major Sky (Nivens Radio Edit) / Cry Wolf

Russia: The Russian edition comes in a card slip-case which is similar (front and back) to the regular European album. The insert which comes with the Russian edition folds out (rather than being a booklet). On the inside of the insert, there are two sides of text plus a collage made up of Morten's, Magne's and Paul's faces (rather than one page for each band member). The back of the insert is similar to the reverse of the booklet. The remaining side has the album track list on it. The Russian disc differs from the European one in that the square and triangle have been printed in silver, making them stand out much more.

Spain: There is a Spanish 6-track album sampler featuring the following tracks:
Take On Me / Hunting High And Low / The Sun Always Shines On TV / Summer Moved On / Minor Earth Major Sky / Forever Not Yours.
The disc is light blue with "A-HA Sampler" printed in black at the top. The track list is printed on the right hand side and the copyright information on the left. At the bottom of the disc, the following text is printed "Termas extraidos de su nevo album The Singles 1.984-2.004 A la venta el 8 de Febrero".

Taiwan: The Taiwan edition comes with a green and blue obi strip plus a booklet which features all of the lyrics.

CD

The Definitive Singles Collection 1984|2004 (11.04.05)

The collection of a-ha singles "The Definitive Singles Collection 1984|2004" will be released in the UK on 11 April. Although similar, in cover design and track listing, to the European "The Singles 1984|2004" release, the track list varies slightly. In place of "Move To Memphis", "Minor Earth Major Sky" and "Forever Not Yours", the UK release includes "You Are The One" and the video for "Take On Me".

Tracks: Take On Me / Sun Always Shines On TV / Train Of Thought / Hunting High And Low / I've Been Losing You / Cry Wolf / Manhattan Skyline / Living Daylights / Stay On These Roads / Touchy / You Are The One / Crying In The Rain / Dark Is The Night / Shapes That Go Together / Summer Moved On / Lifelines / Velvet / Take On Me (video)

CD

Analogue (14.11.05)

The new album "Analogue" was released on 14 November 2005 in the UK; 4 November 2005 in Germany and The Netherlands; 7 November 2005 in Norway; 13 November in Australia; 23 November in Japan and 23 May 2006 in Canada. The album cover is white with a black and white picture of the band (Paul, Morten, Magne) against a white background. Over the picture there are some black, white and red artistic leafy designs plus a red a-ha logo and white title (going over the second "a" of "a-ha") on the right hand side. The cover art was desiged by Martin Kvamme. The 8-page booklet features lyrics for the songs, more of the red, white and grey art designs plus two additional black and white band shots. The reverse of the album is black with a silhouette shot of the band standing in an open doorway. More of the red and white leaf designs are printed in the bottom left hand corner with the track list in the top right. The disc features black, red, grey and white arty leaf designs plus what looks like some finger prints and blood splats. The a-ha logo is printed in red with an upside down "Analogue" in silver above.

There is a standard release and limited edition. The standard UK edition is sold as a "special edition" and has two bonus tracks "Analogue (live at Frognerparken)" and "Cosy Prisons (live at Frognerparken)" which are not included on the standard European release. Otherwise, the standard UK edition is much the same as the standard European release, comes in a jewel case and includes a webplayer. The UK edition has a beige sticker on the front with the text "New studio album from A-HA contains 'Analogue', 'Cosy Prisons' & exclusive bonus content" there is also a standard silver "special edition" sticker plus "Parental Guidence Explicit content" sticker.

The deluxe limited edition 13-track enhanced CD comes in a limited edition digi-pak. As well as the web player, it includes a bonus 25 minute long DVD with three songs from Frognerparken (Celice, Analogue, Cosy Prisons), video edit of "Celice" (cut on the "Thomas Schumacher Radio Edit"), interview clips taken from the EPK. The "regular release" aimed at the UK market is actually a "Special Edition" and, in addition to the album, features two bonus enhanced tracks: "Analogue" and "Cosy Prisons" live from Frognerparken.

The limited edition version has a similar cover to the regular release, but it comes in a double fold-out card digi-sleeve, so there are a few minor differences in the layout. The booklet which comes with the digi-pak is the same as the one which comes with the regular edition. The reverse of the digi-pak has the track list on the left hand side with the listing for the bonus DVD on the right. The disc is the same as the disc of the regular edition and even has the same catalogue number printed on it. The DVD is of similar design to the CD, but the arty patterns are less black and more white and grey.

Tracks: Celice (3:41) / Don't Do Me Any Favours (3:51) / Cosy Prisons (4:08) / Analogue (3:48) / Birthright (3:45) / Holy Ground (4:00) / Over The Treetops (4:24) / Halfway Through The Tour (7:26) / A Fine Blue Line (4:09) / Keeper Of The Flame (3:58) / Make It Soon (3:21) / White Dwarf (4:24) / The Summers Of Our Youth (3:56)

The album features songs written by Magne Furuholmen (tracks 2,3,9 and 13); Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (tracks 7,8,10 and 12); Morten Harket and Ole Sverre Olsen (track 11); music collaborations between Magne and Martin Terefe using Magne lyrics (tracks 1 and 5); music collaborations between Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Martin Sandberg and Magne Furuholmen using lyrics by Paul and Martin (track 4) plus writing collaborations between Morten Harket, Nick Whitecross, Ole Sverre Olsen with music by Morten (track 6). The album was mixed by Flood with a-ha.

For promotional purposes, a 13 track "Press 50" CD was produced by Polydor. The disc is white with "A-Ha 'Analogue' 13 Tracks" printed in black at the top plus "Press 50",copyright protection information and polydor logo at the bottom. The disc comes with a paper insert which has the title and tracks listed down the side plus "Press 50 For Promotional Use Only - Not For Resale" and the orange Polydor logo at the bottom. Note that two of the titles are listed differently compared to the album: "Cozy Prison" (rather than "Cosy Prisons"), "Holyground" (rather than "Holy Ground"), "Treetops" (rather than "Over The Treetops") and "The Fine Blue Line" (rather than "A Fine Blue Line").

Another promotional 13 track CD has front insert like the regular release and a white back insert with the a-ha logo at the top and the tracks listed underneath. Details at the bottom of the insert indicate that the CD is the property of Universal Music GmbH and is for promotional use. The disc is plain white.

There is an 8-track German album sampler which features the following tracks:
Celice (3:41) / Analogue (3:49) / Cozy Prison (4:08) / Holyground (4:00) / Birthright (3:45) / Keeper Of The Flame (3:58) / Treetops (4:24) / Don't Do Me Any Favours (3:51)

The CD is silver with black text. There is a large a-ha-logo at the top of the disc with "Album Sampler" printed below. Copyright information is printed at the bottom of the disc. The disc comes with a paper insert with track list plus a-ha logo and title.

Another UK album sampler (4-track) comes in a picture the sleeve. The front cover features a similar picture to the regular release, but it has been printed smaller with more red, grey and black leaves to the right and below. The a-ha-logo is printed in red at the top with "Analogue Album Sampler" above. The inside of the insert and back sleeve features a grey and white silhouette of the band standing in an open doorway. Below the silhouette is the track list (Analogue (All I Want) (3:48), Cosy Prisons (4:08), Celice (3:41), Keeper Of The Flame (3:58)). More of the red, black and white arty leaves are printed around the bottom section. The disc is silver with black rim and more of the red and black arty leaves. The a-ha logo and title are printed at the bottom in respectively red and black fonts. On the back of the case, there is a promotional sticker with statistics and quotes about the band.

The regular edition of "Analogue" was also used for promotional purposes and copies exist which include promotional stickers - a round black and white sticker with the text "promo only / not for sale" and another large sticker which mentions the tour, airplay hit "Analogue (All I Want)", forthcoming single "Cosy Prisons" and the rumour that "Celice" may be included in the forthcoming Da Vinci Code movie.

Variations

Canada: Similar to the European release, but has the catalogue number printed on the last page of the booklet. Also, the page with the Analogue lyrics doesn't have the title cut off at the top as it is in the German/UK releases. The disc and back insert include the text "Universal Music Domestic Division, a division of Universal Music GmbH... Manufactured and distributed on behalf of Fontana North by Universal Music Canada Inc."

France: There is an 8-track French album sampler of "Analogue", it features the same tracks as that listed above. This CD also comes with a paper insert featuring the track list, a-ha logo and title. The layout of the insert differs slightly in that "Analogue" is printed under the a-ha logo, the tracks are written in a mix of lower and upper case (rather than all in upper case) and there is additional text and record company logo at the bottom. The disc is plain with a-ha "Analogue" album sampler printed in black at the top and record company logos at the bottom.

Germany: A limited edition version of "Analogue" comes in a card slide-case. It is called "PUR Edition" and has no booklet or lyric sheet.

Indonesia: Similar artwork to the European release. This album comes in a transparent case with the text "Universal Music" embossed in the tray. "Manufactured and printed in Indonesia" is also printed on the back insert.

Malaysia: Very similar to the Indonesian release, but with the text "Manufactured and printed in Malaysia" on the back insert.

Russia: The Russian release is similar (front, back and disc) to the regular European release, but there is additional Russian text on the back sleeve and also on the disc. The main difference is the front insert, the Russian edition has a double sided insert, rather than booklet, which doesn't contain the song lyrics. The inside of the insert is white with red, silver, white and black flowers plus a large red "finger print". The track list is on the left hand side in silver and black letters and there is text in Russian on the right hand side. The CD comes with a white obi-strip which has the title in red letters plus the red and silver "Analogue heart". At the bottom of the obi, there are logos for "Europa Plus" and "MY3TB". The text on the obi translates as "After three-year silence, the legendary Norwegian group releases new album precisely after 20 years from that time, when their Take On Me hit became leader in Billboard's Top10". The back of the insert has adverts for Texas, The Cardigans and The Future Sound Of.
Another, apparently Russian, edition of the album is almost identical to the regular European release, but has 3 bonus tracks which are 3 mixes of "Celice": Radio Cut, Live at Frognerparken and Paul Van Dyk's Radio Edit. It doesn't come with an obi-strip and appears not to include thea-ha desktop player. To be confirmed if this item is official or not.

Taiwan: The Taiwan limited album comes with a white and yellow obi-strip. The front is white with the Universal "bird" logo at the top and text underneath. The back is yellow and covers half of the case with text across it.

Thailand: The Thailand made album comes in a transparent case through which you can read "a-ha" in the spine. "Printed in Thailand" is on the disc.

Ukraine: This promo cassette of "Analogue" was printed in Europe, but produced for the Ukranian market. The artwork is similar to the regular European album. It was produced by ASTRA Records/Universal Music, "for internal use only".

There is a Ukraine album sampler CD which comes in a card sleeve with a small colour picture of the regular album cover in the centre, a-ha logo in red and "Analogue" in black at the top. The 8 tracks (Celice / Analogue / Cosy Prisons / Holy Ground / Birthright / Keeper Of The Flame / Over The Treetops / Don't Do Me Any Favours) are listed underneath. The black Universal logo is printed in the bottom right hand corner and the yellow and blue Ukrainian records logo in the bottom left. Also present is the text "Universal Music International Ukrainian Records Not For Sale. For Promotional Use Only.".

 

USA: This US enhanced 1-track "Analogue" promo CD Album Sampler doesn't come with a sleeve. The disc is white with a black stripe across the middle. Printed at the bottom of the disc is "A-ha Analogue (enhanced)" in black with a horizontal line underneath the word "A-ha". Also printed on the disc is the compact disc logo and the text "CD.".

CD

Cassette