Artist...............: a-ha
Album................: East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon
Genre................: Pop
Source...............: CD
Year.................: 1990
Ripper...............: EAC (Secure mode) / LAME 3.92 & Asus CD-S520
Codec................: Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
Version..............: reference libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917
Quality..............: Lossless, (avg. compression: 58 %)
Channels.............: Stereo / 44100 HZ / 16 Bit
Tags.................: VorbisComment
Information..........: TntVillage
Ripped by............: Leonenero on 29/09/2016
Posted by............: Leonenero on 29/09/2016
News Server..........: news.astraweb.com
News Group(s)........: TntVillage
Included.............: NFO, MD5, M3U8, LOG, CUE
Covers...............: Front Back CD
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Tracklisting
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1. a-ha - Rolling Thunder [05:43]
2. a-ha - (Seemingly) Nonstop July [02:55]
3. a-ha - Crying In The Rain [04:24]
4. a-ha - Early Morning [02:58]
5. a-ha - I Call Your Name [04:53]
6. a-ha - Slender Frame [03:42]
7. a-ha - East Of The Sun [04:47]
8. a-ha - Sycamore Leaves [05:21]
9. a-ha - Waiting For Her [04:49]
10. a-ha - Cold River [04:41]
11. a-ha - The Way We Talk [01:31]
Playing Time.........: 45:48
Total Size...........: 274,39 MB
2 years after their 1988 album Stay on these roads, which was a bit of a mixed bag, the band move into the 90's with this 1990 album East of the sun, West of the moon, with a new sound and a new look. The new look is clearly represented on the front cover and in the booklet Magne looks especially different sporting long hair and a full beard. After their 3rd album the band must've sensed a change in the music scene with synth driven pop going out and with their choice to create a far different sound, which fits in with indie and alternative. Even though the sound of the music has changed, what the band haven't done, which so many bands do when they decide to change their sound/style is to write completely differently. I think it is a huge mistake to change how you write lyrically, even with respect to a new sound when that is 50% of what attracts the fans in the first place. A-ha have not done that and even though they have stepped far away from songs like Touchy and You are the one, it still has that melancholic A-ha flavour all over the songs. The songs have a more mellow and mature sound and aren't quite as catchy. The last 3 albums were produced by Alan Tarney (amongst others) and this time they've used 2 different producers; Chris Neil and Ian Stanley, which was surely a positive move for a different sound.
The album starts with probably the best and stand-out song which is their cover of The Everly brothers' song Crying in the rain. As soon as the sound of rain (which sounds like its marching!) and claps of thunder begin it transports the listener to a moody, atmospheric feeling. I think this is an amazing cover and it suits the A-ha feel and style, with Morten's vocals shining, it's very moving. null Early morning is the real taste of the band's new sound and it's a good tune with high pitched vocals, a good sound and a decent chorus. I call your name features saxophone which is a new step for the band! It's got this cool, jazzy, swinging feeling to it and is really good. Slender frame is quieter with subtle piano and guitar at the intro which builds up to a catchy and solid chorus. The title song has a 1 minute intro and a very mellow, soft sound with its acoustic guitar backdrop. From the bridge it gets more exciting and a little louder.
Sycamore leaves is 1 of my favourites with a great rhythmical guitar sound and without a chorus it's quite interesting as the verse and the chorus are interconnected. With its dark lyrics and moody sound it is a definite highlight. Lyrically it appears to be about the singer fearing he's discovered a dead body below a pile of Sycamore leaves. Quite different. Waiting for her is a romantic track with soaring vocals by Morten, which starts quietly and then builds up to a great rhythm with real drums. I like the "I'm telling you" lyric. Cold river's intro sounds very 80's but clearly has real drums, a great bass line and guitar at the forefront. It's a very cool, rhythmical song with a simple but great chorus and is 1 of my favourites for sure. There are themes of regret and loneliness in the lyrics as well as some humour and this is a perfect example of how the style has changed but lyrically it's all A-ha. The way we talk is a short 1:30 Magne Furuholmen penned track with Magne on lead doing talking vocals at the verse and a simple sung chorus. It's got a very simple sound to it too with just the piano and light percussion. Yes Rolling thunder is incredibly reminiscent of Crying in the rain with the same backdrop of rain and thunder at the intro and outro. I find it funny that the band would have 2 songs about raining on the same album! Maybe this song was inspired by Crying in the rain. The piano is mostly more upbeat than track 1 but is similar. The last track (Seemingly) Non-stop July is a very mellow, smooth sounding song with a nice feel. It's very candid with Morten saying "yeah" before the songs starts, signifying he's ready to record his vocals, which I like. From the middle 8 there's a speech in it with a man shouting about "Endless pain, endless pleasure" which gives it a different mood. I don't know who it's by so it remains a mystery to me.
This album has 11 songs on it which is their first to go beyond 10. Very 90's! The band moved away from using synthesizers and relying on electronic beats and used real instruments throughout the album, which you can really hear, which helps you appreciate the instrumental side more and expresses Paul and Magne's talents a bit more. I think whereas Stay on these roads had great singles - Stay on these roads, The living daylights, Touchy, You are the one, most of the other tracks were very average. This album is more consistent and overall better. It's a really decent step in a different direction and was a good choice for the band, updating their sound to appeal to the new decade's listeners. It may be a changed sound and a matured band but it's a strong A-ha album that didn't disappoint. It was quite a risk for the band to change their sound like this with many fans liking them for their catchy upbeat tunes, which this album doesn't have much of. I'm sure it probably alienated some at the time. The album does have great moments like Crying in the rain, I call your name, Sycamore leaves and Cold river. It has its weaker points but most of the album is a strong, decent effort that left me impressed.
