Customer Reviews

Scoundrel Days (Remastered Deluxe Edition)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I lost my extended 12" singles from this album years ago in a flood and it is so great to have them back with the addition of Manhattan Skyline. I hadn't heard that one yet and it alone was just about worth the price of this CD. What an amazing version. This is a great collection along with Hunting High and Low in remastered and extended form. It is really cool to see the thought process of the demo tracks and how they started out. This is really a must have for any A-ha fan for sure.

Now this Album is my favorite album of all time by a-ha because it is the first album I ever heard, I played the tape to death, it's probably saying "Thank god he's not playing me anymore" but I'm getting off topic. If you enjoyed this album before you will definately want to pick up this version there are nice bonuses on this one as well. Speaking as a Die-Hard a-ha fan, a-must-have. You won't be disappointed.

I have a feeling that the suits at Warner Brothers probably had to take some stomach settlers after A-Ha delivered "Scoundrel Days," their second album. "Where's the "Take on Me" hit," they probably whimpered? Because unlike the sugary Duran Duran pop that A-Ha's first big hit delivered, "Scoundrel Days" was dark, menacing pop, and while the video that made the band stars dressed them up as pretty boys, this album made them look thoughtful and more than a little dark.

That change-up was something I really enjoyed about this album. A-Ha may have come from a power-pop start, but they evolved quickly into a pop band with a dark center. Even with the crystalline falsetto of Morton Harkett, the band could not disguise the anguish of the title track or the atmospheric dread of "Cry Wolf."

They also sound more mature. "The Swing of Things" has smooth glide to it, and should have been the first single. "Soft Rains of April" is a gorgeous waltz that closes the album with a soft goodbye. I enjoyed the first a-ha album, but songs like the ones on "Scoundrel Days" made me a fan.

PS: The bonus tracks are OK; other than the live tracks on disc 2 and the extended versions on disc on, they're negligible. (Caveat; I'm not a big fan of demo-versions.)

Firstly, I must say that a-ha are one of my all-time fave bands, and "Scoundrel Days", their second album from 1986, is one of my desert-island discs...could be their best album. I used to have this album on vinyl...not tape...and I remember just staring at that cover for hours, that beautiful landscape. The original CD messed with that for some reason, and the US deluxe reissue is like the original CD just in digiopack form...THIS import version recaptures the original vinyl, which I prefer.

The liner notes inside are well-written and historical, capturing the details in what made this album what it is...what was shocking was that "Scoundrel Days" was done on the fly, while on a worldwide tour...much of it was recorded in Australia. There is an adventurousness, I guess, that mirrors these on-the-go sessions...and things worked out the way they did...the WB guys had no choice but to keep the album as-is because a-ha couldn't simply go back and "fix" it to their liking and they were one "hot" band, so they had to bite their lip. I am really happy they did because the album is pretty perfect, full of pop melody; adventurous, uncommercial textures, a darker centre, a human warmth, a beautiful sequence, the kitten kaboodle. And listening to this record 24 years later, it sounds just as grand, exciting and timeless...it doesn't sound dated at all, which is an accomplishment in itself...it should have won some Grammys..."Scoundrel Days" proved that, yes, a-ha were not some trendy, here today-gone tomorrow, laughable, forgettable prettyboys...no, a-ha were capable of making timeless, artful, original, melancholic, emotional, adventurous, creative, progressive, melodic pop music with wonderful textures and feels.

STILL, the opening 2 tracks...the sublime title track and "Swing Of Things" are among the greatest 1-2 punches in all of pop music history...and I wonder why those 2 songs were never singles??? Yet both are included in a-ha's new 2CD anthology "25" as fan faves and shoulda-been singles. "I've Been Losing You" was a great single that still gets played on VH1's Lifestyles shows..."October" is an atmospheric wonder..."Manhattan Skyline" is an epic rocker with a great riff and a sense of both optimism and dread. "Cry Wolf", the second single...where is the album's "Take On Me"?? There it is!!...then the last 4 tracks..."We're Looking For The Whales", "The Weight Of The Wind", "Maybe Maybe" and "Soft Rains Of April"...in 1986 I didn't get them completely but still listened...NOW, with this new remaster...I GET them now...they fit perfectly and are awesomely realized creations, with highs and emotional lows...perfection.

NOW the bonuses...at the end of disc 1 are the three 12" versions...of "I've Been Losing You", "Cry Wolf" and "Manhattan Skyline"...AWESOME...and I believe they were previously also released on the EP "Scoundrel Club"...there were 4 EPs like that..."45 RPM Club", "12 Inch Club", "Scoundrel Club" and "Road Club"...I had 45, 12" and Roadm, never "Scoundrel Club" so it's great to have these 12 inches.

Then Disc 2 consists of an alternate demo version of the album, all 10 tracks, and it's as great as the released album we all love, but just as interesting and cool...a fave is the rockier take on "Swing Of Things" with that great riff, and also nice is the "Guitar Version" of "Soft Rains Of April"...really pretty. Then the B-side of the original version of "This Alone Is Love"...which was rerecorded for "Stay On These Roads"...I think I like this original one better...then the 1986-era demo of "Days On End" which is cool with that "horn" section and an interesting song...it was on the accompanying disc with the 2004 book "The Swing Of Things"...then 5 songs from a concert in Croydon, England (hometown of the late great Kirsty MacColl)...which is awesome and full of energy amd even humour...Mags, the band's between-song MC/mouthpiece, is hilarious!!!

Anyhoo...this reissue is the best one ever, since the deluxe of Def Leppard's "Hysteria"...I still need the deluxe of "Hunting High & Low", the new collection "25" and I hope there will be more deluxes of "Stay On These Roads", "East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon", and "Memorial Beach"...maybe a DVD/Blu-Ray of all vidclips, the "Live In South America" concert (plus extras/unreleased), and all else...a live album from the farewell tour???

I'm happy with the a-ha interest, and remember, bands like Coldplay would not exist if not for a-ha...they are innovators!!

I first got into A-Ha after i stole my dads Headlines and Deadlines CD in 1991. Fast forward 20 years and they have been the one band that I have never stopped playing year in year out. Its frustrating that take on me was their biggest hit as that gave the band the cheesy 80s pop stereotype they didnt deserve.

However the opposite was true, the albums released were works of art. They were a rare beast in that they were typical 80s production that never actually dated. And in my opinion this was the best. Its very dark, very catchy and there isnt a single note out of place. This is definately a must own, if purely for i've been losing you, but then all their albums are.