Track Listing

1. Take On Me
2. Train Of Thought
3. Hunting High And Low
4. Blue Sky
5. Living A Boy's Adventures Tale
6. Sun Always Shines On TV
7. And You Tell Me
8. Love Is Reason
9. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand And Face The Rain

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2293 in Music
• Released on: 1985-11-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Hunting High & Low, A-ha's first and biggest selling album, contains four UK top ten hits, including "Take On Me" and "The Sun Always Shines On TV", their only number one hit, which sold 500,000 copies in the UK alone. Arguably the last in a generation of instrument playing and songwriting teen bands, A-ha--like Wham! and Duran Duran--were always far better than they were given credit for, although their lack of enduring crossover success has meant that, unlike, say, George Michael, there has been no widespread re-appraisal of their work. This is unfortunate, because Hunting High & Low is a great album: most definitely not four singles and a bunch of fillers. "Here I Stand And Face The Rain" and "And You Tell Me" in particular are at least as good as the hits. If you liked the singles but had never investigated any further, Hunting High & Low--like the rest of the band's back catalogue--is an undiscovered and underrated gem. --Ronita Dutta

CD Description
The first album by the Norwegian trio of singer Morten Harket, songwriter Pal Waaktaar and keyboardist Mags will forever be known as the album that contains the intoxicating "TakeOn Me", one of the most famous and enduring "one-hit wonders" of the '80s. However, HUNTING HIGH AND LOW actually contains a second US Top 40 hit, "The Sun Always Shines On TV". In addition, even after those songs ceased to receive airplay, A-Ha continued a long and successful career in Europe and elsewhere.
Besides the two singles, the album contains the haunting title track, "Living A Boy's Adventure Tale", which comes across as a keyboard-heavy Scandinavian version of early U2, and the quirky "The Blue Sky", an arresting showcase for Harket's piercing falsetto. HUNTING HIGH AND LOW shows that there's much more to A-Ha than their memory in commonpop history suggests.

Customer Reviews

Where it all started!
None of a-ha's album's are perfect - but it's impossible not to give them 5 stars, because each of them is so enjoyable in its own way.
I love this band - it started when I heard 'Take on Me' when I was 13, and this was the first album I bought with my own money.
Admittedly, it's sooo 80s, and not all of the songs age as well as their subsequent material. But it's immense fun, and reflects the energy and enthusiasm that the band obviously felt on the verge of success and stardom. They were so fresh-faced back then (with full hair and tight denim trousers!)
The band's better-known singles are here - Take on Me, The Sun Always Shines on TV, Hunting High and Low, and Train of Thought, but there are also some other unknown gems - particularly Living a Boys Adventure Tale.
As I said, some of the tunes are just too 80s to appeal to anyone other than die-hard fans - like And You Tell Me and Love is Reason.
But overall it's a great album of perfect syth pop, and a good starting point for a band that went on to have a great career!

Classic 80's debut album
From the amazing sleeve (how many people can you spot in the picture?!) to the amazing songs - this album is a classic.
'Take on me' There is'nt much to say about this song as everyone knows it, and most people love it (and the video)
'Train of thought' This is a simpler version than the one released as a single (the remix version available on a Greatest hits album)This song doesnt sound like anything else - dance pop with pan pipes and lyrics about a bored business man.
'Hunting high and low' A great ballad, and again a simpler version than the remixed single. This version is less orchestral, but also sweeter and fragile.
'The blue sky' Back to full-blown pop, with some great lyrics.
'Living a boys adventure tale' A somewhat epic ballad that really transports the listener to another place, Morten's vocals are soaring and heart wrenching.
'The sun always shines on T.V' The number 1 single is A-ha at their best, mixing pop sensibility with darker meaning.
'And you tell me' A song in the vein of the Beatles, simple short and catchy ballad.
'Love is reason' A pop stomper with a high energy feel, could have easily been a single.
'Dream myself alive' A deceptively good song, this must be one of the first songs to use samples - news clips and t.v show soundbites- mixed in with a catchy pop song.
'Here i stand and face the rain' This again, could have been a single, along the lines of 'Sun always shines' but even better!
It starts with an opera singer and acoustic guitar and ends with Morten singing his heart out over driving drums and synths.

This album is incredibly ambitious for a debut and although it sold in bucket loads, it's still underrated - if you don't have this album then give it a try, it should be in everyone's music collection.

Top Pop with a little bit more
This was the first albulm I ever owned from about 1986 I think. It is as good as I remember. The pure pop excellence of Take on Me and The Sun Always Shines on TV really stand the test of time, sounding fresh to this day. The textured keyboards and the beauty, yes sheer beauty (!), of Morten Harket's voice shines in the title track and Living A Boy's Adventure Tale. Maybe its my age but this remains, in my opinion, a classic pop albulm and I would recommend it to all those who remember A-ha. ...