EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON A-HA

THE LANDSCAPE OF POP MUSIC WAS SHIFTING WHEN A-HA DROPPED THEIR FOURTH STUDIO EFFORT. AND WITH THE COMPASS SET ON DEEPER TERRITORY THE THREESOME WERE ABLE TO SHOW OFF THEIR AUTHENTIC SELVES.

IAN WADE

E ast Of The Sun, West Of The Moon was when things started to get a little wobbly chartwise for a-ha. Having enjoyed a few years at the near-top as one of pop’s frontier pin-ups, and a good run of Most Fanciable Male polls for Morten especially, by the time East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon came out in late 1990, pop itself was undergoing something of a change. The acts that dominated the charts literally months before were looking a bit old hat up against a raft of dancier and sparklier more temporary options. The free-ing up of pop and the unfortunate domination of the likes of New Kids On The Block had the effect of making the previously striking Morten Harket, Paul WaaktaarSavoy and Magne Furuholmen look boring. But wasn’t this the nature and swing of pop music? One minute you’re in, the next minute you’re billed as ‘a special guest’ as your appeal becomes move selective. That said, the climate may have altered beyond the landscape of 1985, but a-ha still had plenty to offer. And having been thrown into the bedroom wall orbit, the gentle release of no longer having to play the pop game came as sweet relief to the trio who had more in common with The Doors and Echo And The Bunnymen than Bros or Five Star. As Morten said to Smash Hits at the time of its release: “We’ve never been in fashion, unless fashion has caught onto what we’ve been doing.” Mags: “We’re the most unfashionable group in the world! At one time we became quite fashionable and that was quite strange for us.”

THE SONGS

1 CRYING IN THE RAIN

A darker take on The Everly Brothers’ original, this cover was a last minute addition as a lead single. In the grand scheme of things, and with hindsight as our friend, a-ha’s Crying In The Rain had more in common with some big hits of 1990, evoking yore such as Bobby Vinton’s Blue Velvet and Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game with the otherworldly woooh of Julee Cruise’s Falling. A No.13 in October, which was sufficient enough to call it a hit.

2 EARLY MORNING

The most obvious nod to their childhood heroes The Doors, with the spindly keyboards and its general sunset haze. Early Morning has air to breathe and spare. Julian Cope made it a single of the week as a guest reviewer in the NME, saying that it “could be from the second Doors album” (that’s 1967’sStrange Days, by the way), which must have pleased a-ha no end. Although as a third single, it rather petered out at a measly No.78.

3 I CALL YOUR NAME

The piano intro and empowering saxophone initially suggests a mellower take on something like Waiting For A Star To Fall. It was the first a-ha single to miss the Top 40 since the firstTake On Meand admittedly gives off ‘musical guest on lunchtime television’ vibes more than being remotely memorable as an a-ha classic.

4 SLENDER FRAME

Slender Frame evokes another massively successful trio in channelling The Police’s Wrapped Around Your Finger with the atmospheric tinkling and a thrust from a brace of guitar, and in a way, in the form of a torch-passing, you can almost hear Keane forming as the song progresses.

5 EAST OF THE SUN

The sliding and blurring orchestral augmentation and the Manzarek-yorgan on this almost-title song is a devastated masterpiece sounding more like a lost track from Ocean Rain than something from the Touchy! hitmakers. With a string arrangement by Magne, East Of The Sun closes Side One magnificently.

6 SYCAMORE LEAVES

Described by biographer Barry Page as, “a veritable microcosm of Kafka-esque drama” with “grungy basslines and dirty licks”, this track revolves around a sinister, low-slung groove, Morten singing of a dead body buried by the roadside. The track was later revisited by Paul’s side-project Savoy for their second album, Lackluster Me, in 1997

7 WAITING FOR HER

The gorgeous, string-drenched Waiting For Her was one of the standout Ian Stanley productions, especially with him recruiting Big Chair producer – and ex Antperson – Chris Hughes to add some widescreen welly on the drums. Not that we’re A&R or anything, but it would’ve been quite a smash had it been released as a single in other places than only Japan. The clots.

8 COLD RIVER

While most of the songs were composed in late 1989-early 1990, Cold River had history with a-ha. Originally written in 1982, with the main riff initially deployed on a demo of Train Of Thought, the trio briefly revisited it for possible inclusion onStay On These Roadsbut left it uncompleted, so gave it what it deserved and it ended up here.

9 THE WAY WE TALK

The 90-second The Way We Talk was composed and performed by Magne, who one could argue really came alive with this album in general. As a vocalist, Furuhomen’s voice (over a bass, piano and bongo backing) is simple and pure compared to the edgy nooks and angelic purr of Morten’s.

10 ROLLING THUNDER

If this one’s arrangement sounds familiar, it’s because producer Chris Neil loved Rolling Thunder’s rhythm so much, he suggested repurposing it forCrying In The Rain.

11 (SEEMINGLY) NONSTOP JULY

Like a refresher after the moods and tumult and mardy weather. Although it does have a recording of a bloke bellowing ‘ENDLESS PAIN’ in the background (sampled by Lauren Savoy), (Seemingly) Nonstop July is an understated, pared back closer, but suitable for an album such as this.