animalkingdom said on April 21, 2003 08:18:

Yep, it’s a live CD recorded during the tour in 2002.

animalkingdom said on April 21, 2003 09:33:

you’re welcome.. do you really like them?
i have their previous cd (gosh, forgot the title, with forever not yours, anyway - and i like it) and actually went to see them in helsinki last summer. but this live record didn’t really impress me...it’s not anything i’d get any more than 2 thumbs up :)

tinytim said on April 25, 2003 15:12:

Oh, man...I love A-ha...I just wanted Per and Pal to write a single (maybe a christmas one) for Marie and Morten to sing...if that never happens, it will be a pity...if Freddy and Jason, and Alien and Predators can meet in the screen, why can’t the two biggest bands of Scandinavia do the same?

I didn’t like their last album. It was, like Per would say (what a cursed phrase, btw) a “parody” of A-ha. ’Lifelines’ is a cool song, ’Forever Not Yours’ is nice, Turn the lights down is a beautiful ballad (but that girl, it seems her name is Anneli Drecken (???) sounds like a achy-breaky country singer)

I just wanted to know if is there a b-sides collection (or a source site with that) as it happens with Roxette. Yeah, we know that Per it is a song waterfall, he’s always writing and recording, but I guess that A-ha has some unreleased stuff, too, don’t them?

BTW...their videos are really better than Roxette’s, we have to be honest...

powerpoplarry said on April 26, 2003 07:06:

HEY, I’m a HUGE a-ha fan as well, been one since 1985 when “Take On Me” was huge the world over. Yes I know about the 2CD live album, HCISWYVIMH?? (Guess what song they got that line from?? Hardcore fans should know the answer.) I saw it for $35, not bad for a limited 2CD import, and the tracklisting is great!! I will be buying it soon, but I need TPH first before I buy anything else, unfortunately.

Yes Animalkingdom, I am a hardcore collector of a-ha and all their related bands/projects, like Morten’s solo career and Pal’s sideband, Savoy, with his American wife, Lauren Savoy, based out of Oslo and NYC!! I never saw a-ha live BUT I saw Savoy 3 times in NYC, and got to know Pal and Lauren, bumped into them at Tower Records, 4th + Broadway, even!! I have the first 3 Savoy records (1996’s “Mary Is Coming”, featuring the original version of “Velvet”–yes it’s a Savoy song first, 1997’s “Lackluster Me” + 1999’s “Mountains Of Time”, all wonderful, Pal’s a great singer now, and so is Lauren, Savoy’s music started quite raw + guitar-based, like Neil Young meets the Doors meets The Beatles, but got powerpoppier over time, incorporating Beach Boys and Phil Spector elements), I’m missing the 4th one, 2001’s “Reasons To Stay Indoors” though, I’ll get it soon. I view Savoy vs a-ha like Per’s solo TWATG vs Roxette. OH, and Morten’s solo stuff is great too, but I just have 1995’s “Wild Seed” and his 1996 single “Heaven’s Not For Saints”. Missing his Norwegian-language stuff, and I don’t have Mags’ soundtrack work either. Yes, a-ha’s 2 reunion studio albums, “Lifelines” and “Minor Earth//Major Sky” have some of their best work, and MEMS is my fave a-ha album EVER!! Vax, you MUST own “Lifelines”, it’s about a tie with MEMS, and I almost thought it was their best album yet, but MEMS beat it by a hair, LOL!! It’s sooo worth the price, “Lifelines”!!

Hey tinytim, wow, cool idea for Per to team up with Pal and write some tunes together, and have Morten and Marie sing together?? Wow, talk about angelic!! Could be too much for people to take, ya know?? Like too-rich chocolate. You didn’t like “Lifelines”??!!?? WTF?? I know it’s just your opinion, but to me, it almost matched their best effort, MEMS, just a pure work of art. I LOVE Anneli’s duet with Morten on “Turn The Lights Down”!! She’s from the Norwegian group Bel Canto, BTW. Could be my fave track on “Lifelines”. If she is country-ish, it’s the alt-country sort, like Lucinda Williams, not like Faith Hill, who’s a bit bombastic.

As for B-sides, a-ha doesn’t have too many, mainly remixes, live tracks and stuff, only a handful of actual B-side songs. In Japan, they issued 4 rare CD-EP’s, full of these remixes and occasional B-side, like “Driftwood”. They are “45 RPM Club”, “12 Inch Club”, “Scoundrel Club” and “Road Club”; I’m just missing “Scoundrel Club”. Per is the prolific pop songwriting king, with tfunes coming outta his ass!! Pal’s not NEARLY as prolific as Per. Pal might have a bunch of demos, for a-ha and Savoy, but that’s really it. Oh yeah, a-ha’s videos rock, but honestly, I love Rox’s vids just as much, they’re bright + more powerpop, while a-ha’s are more stylish and arty, like both versions of “Velvet”. In Savoy’s vidclip, it involves a woman who distills bugs in her bathtub, while in a-ha’s clip, it involves death, frozen bodies and rigormortis. Kinda sick + dark but cool as well...

Roffe_Nygren said on April 26, 2003 08:40:

Hey!

I’m a big fan of A-HA too. Last year I went to 2 of their live concerts, which are f***ing fantastic!!! They’re such a great live band; can’t wait to see them again. MEMS and Lifelines are great albums: some of my favourites are “I wish I cared” , “I’ll never get over you” and “Lifelines” and many many more!
I’ve also got the Live album (incl. Bonus CD) and I think it’s really AWESOME and I also feel that Roxette should do the same!!
When you compare A-ha live to their studio work, you also notice that they are much more rock, with lots of guitars, on stage, which is another link with Roxette of course. Listen to the live version of ’Minor earth, major sky’: you’ll love it!!
Listen to ’Take on me’ and you’ll realise that this band has developed a new, much more powerful style.
Let’s just hope Roxette will do the same, and will also FINALLY listen to all those fans who’ve been asking for a live album for so long!!!

Roffe

P.S. I’ve got 1 solo album by Morten (in Norwegian) and I’ve got Wild Seed (great too!). If you’d like to have a copy of the Norwegian album, just let me know!

Stormkeeper said on April 26, 2003 09:02:

another great group that sounds more rocky live than on record: Alphaville.

cskendras said on May 3, 2003 15:23:

the whole LIFELINES-album is awesome, i’m a big a-ha-fan, too! :o)

TinyBubbles said on May 13, 2003 01:24:

LOVE A-HA!! Mortens voice awakens things inside me that are best unsaid:)

powerpoplarry said on May 13, 2003 05:14:

Hey TinyBubbles, where are you from?? I’m from New York, and it’s cool to find a fellow US fan of both Roxette AND a-ha, ya know?? Our breed IS quite rare here...

powerpoplarry said on May 14, 2003 03:06:

Hey Bubbles, we should talk, DC is not that far from New York!! I have family in your area, and I might be down there this summer...email me...cool you’re from South Africa!!

powerpoplarry said on May 15, 2003 06:21:

Hey Bubbles, excellent!! Gosh darn, if I had known you then as I do now, I woulda made plans to meet you when you were here, oh well....at least it’s not too late!!

LOL about that guy stopping you on the street!! What, did he hear you talking on a cellphone or something like that?? Wondering how he caught your accent, that’s all, and yes, a SA accent IS really cool, sorta like an Aussie or Kiwi one (all southern hemisphere), but with a slight exotic difference. The guy probably was thinking SOUTHERN Africa, not knowing South Africa was a country unto itself. Pretty funny actually, LOL!!

powerpoplarry said on May 16, 2003 04:36:

Bubbles, I didn’t, I swear!! I now know what your accent sounds like, and when I heard it for the first time, I thought the person was from there, but I was wrong. Sorry if I offended you, but it wasn’t intentional, nor did I do it to be mean.

Then again, what’s wrong with Aussies?? They are great people. I guess you’re sick of it or something?? Sorry if I hit a nerve, my bad.

TinyBubbles said on May 17, 2003 16:11:

@ Stormkeeper : yes

@ Larry: Calm down. It’s all just jokes. I LOVE to hate them lot down under. They always beat us in Cricket. Yeah, you lot suck!!!

TinyBubbles said on May 18, 2003 13:54:

I only have one Morten album:((((

I LOVE Aussies. NO i HATE them. I love them. I hate them..
I love Darren Hayes and Mel Gibson:)

TinyBubbles said on May 20, 2003 12:56:

I don’t have any of Paul’s stuff :((((((((

powerpoplarry said on May 21, 2003 05:11:

OK, I can see why you’re confused, but hear me out. First, look at where I placed the apostrophe, in Paul’s name, not Savoy. His name is now Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, as he took his wife’s last name. His American wife is Lauren Savoy, who co-wrote some of a-ha’s songs and filmed some of their videos.

Apart from a-ha, Paul and Lauren have their own side-band called SAVOY. They got together during a-ha’s hiatus, in 1995, apart from them being together as a married couple since 1988 I think. So far, they have released, as Savoy, 4 albums: “Mary Is Coming” (1996, their only US release, on Warner Bros, bombed here, quickly went out of print, but hit #1 in Norway and generated a #1 single, “Velvet”, yes, the same song a-ha did on “Minor Earth, Major Sky”, but Savoy did it first), “Lackluster Me” (1997, EMI Norway), “Mountains Of Time” (1999, EMI Norway), and “Reasons For Staying Indoors” (2001, EMI Norway). I am only missing RFSI, as I didn’t know about it until recently. All of Savoy’s albums are great, both different and similar to a-ha’s material. Here, Paul sings lead, along with Lauren singing lead on some songs. Their sound is modern rock oriented, always has been. They started off very raw and dark, but melodic, sorta like a hybrid of Neil Young, Beatles + Doors. As they progressed, they experimented more, with different textures, sounds and rhythms, and incorporated more melody and influences. Nowadays, I hear some Brian Wilson/Beach Boys, Phil Spector, 60s girlgroup pop, and of course more Beatles. Paul has become an awesome singer these days, powerful, if a bit limited, and his guitar playing has always generated mega sparks. Lauren is a great partner for Paul, but they are not like Roxette in their partnership, no way....

It also seems Paul’s work in Savoy has refocused his work with a-ha as well, as after Savoy put out 3 records, a-ha recorded their best 2 albums, IMO, MEMS and LL, plus their live attack has been killer. Savoy’s live shows have been killer as well...

powerpoplarry said on May 22, 2003 07:24:

No prob Bubbles, anything for you... ;-)

Good luck finding those 4 CDs though!! Best bet is ordering them online, through the website, I think it’s still: www.savoycentral.com, check it out...