Scoundrel Days
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Scoundrel Days | |||||
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| Studio album by a-ha | |||||
| Released | October 6, 1986 | ||||
| Genre | New Wave Alternative rock Synthpop |
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| Length | 38:41 | ||||
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | ||||
| Producer | Alan Tarney, Pål Waaktaar & Magne 'Mags' Furuholmen | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
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| a-ha chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Scoundrel Days | |||||
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Scoundrel Days is the second full-length album by the rock band a-ha. It was released on 6 October 1986 through Warner Bros. Records.
Contents |
[edit] Music
[edit] Recording and production
[edit] Songs
"I've Been Losing You" is a song by Norwegian band a-ha. It was the first single from their 1986 Scoundrel Days album. It reached #1 in Norway and Spain, and #8 in the UK. I've Been Losing You became the biggest hit from the album in Europe.
"Cry Wolf" is a song by Norwegian band a-ha. It was the second single from their 1986 Scoundrel Days album.
The lyrics "Night I left the city I dreamt of a Wolf..." are credited to Lauren Savoy whom Pål later married.
It was the most successful single from the Scoundrel Days album in the U.S., where it peaked at #14 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts and went to #50 on the Hot 100. While it would be their last entry on that chart, the band would continue to have major pop hits from each album release throughout the rest of the world through to the present day. The single went Top 40 nearly everywhere else it was released, including Top 5 chartings in the UK, Poland and Ireland, going #2 in Norway and to the top spot in Japan.
Maybe, Maybe is the third single released from the album and was only released in Norway.
Manhattan Skyline reached #13 in the UK charts.
The song was co-written by keyboardist Magne Furuholmen and guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. The song starts with a calm verse in F major, before kicking into a hard rock-style chorus with a guitar riff in D minor. In the official a-ha biography, The Swing of Things, Furuholmen said it was "perhaps one of the most inspired cut and paste-projects that Paul and I did. I wrote the quiet part. Paul wrote the rock part." [1]
[edit] Release and reception
Scoundrel Days was the band's second studio album. The albums peak on the Billboard 200 was 74. The album was another big hit by a-ha and sold over 6 million copies worldwide which gave the band international recognition. Scoundrel Days achieved Platinum status in the UK and Switzerland and Gold in Germany and Brazil.
Ned Raggett of AllMusic Guide said, "The opening two songs alone make for one of the best one-two opening punches around: the tense edge of the title track, featuring one of Morten Harket's soaring vocals during the chorus and a crisp, pristine punch in the music, and "The Swing of Things," a moody, elegant number with a beautiful synth/guitar arrangement (plus some fine drumming courtesy of studio pro Michael Sturgis) and utterly lovelorn lyrical sentiments that balance on the edge of being overheated without quite going over...The '80s may be long gone, but Scoundrel Days makes clear that not everything was bad back then."[2]
Scoundrel Days included the hit singles "I've Been Losing You", "Cry Wolf", "Maybe, Maybe", and "Manhattan Skyline". All the singles with the exception of "Maybe, Maybe" charted on the british single chart. "I've Been Losing You" and "Cry Wolf" where the most succsefull singles from the album, "Cry Wolf" became a hit in america and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked on 50. While "I've Been Losing You" was the most succsessful single in Europe.
[edit] Track listing
- "Scoundrel Days" – 3:56
- "The Swing of Things" – 4:14
- "I've Been Losing You" – 4:24
- "October" – 3:48
- "Manhattan Skyline" – 4:52
- "Cry Wolf" – 4:05
- "We're Looking for the Whales" – 3:39
- "The Weight of the Wind" – 3:57
- "Maybe, Maybe" – 2:34
- "Soft Rains of April" – 3:12
Produced by Alan Tarney, except tracks 3, 9 and 10 produced by Mags and Pål.
[edit] Scoundrel Club EP
- "Cry Wolf" (Extended Version) – 8:13
- "We're Looking for the Whales" (live version) – 3:50
- "I've Been Losing You" (Dub Version) – 4:28
- "Manhattan Skyline" (Extended) – 6:49
- "Hunting High and Low" (Extended Version by Alan Tarney) – 6:02
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Album
[edit] Singles
[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
| Year | Name | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | I've Been Losing You | Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 11 | ||
| Austrian Singles Chart | 20 | ||
| Swiss Singles Chart | 16 | ||
| British Singles Chart | 8 | ||
| Irish Singles Chart | 3 | ||
| French Singles Chart | 14 | ||
| German Singles Chart | 15 | ||
| Cry Wolf | US Billboard Hot 100 | 50 | |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 | ||
| Swiss Singles Chart | 27 | ||
| British Singles Chart | 5 | ||
| Irish Singles Chart | 4 | ||
| French Singles Chart | 35 | ||
| German Singles Chart | 20 | ||
| 1987 | Manhattan Skyline | British Singles Chart | 13 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 3 | ||
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 4 | ||
| German Singles Chart | 28 |
[edit] References
- ^ a-ha.com: discography/videos/manhattan skyline. www.a-ha.com. Retrieved on 2006-04-02.
- ^ Scoundrel Days info
- ^ Swiss album Chart page on Start Something in various European charts, Cited 26 March 2008
- ^ Austrian Album Chart Cited 26 March 2008
- ^ Swedish Album Chart , Cited 26 March 2008
- ^ Norwegian Albums Chart, Cited 26 March 2008
- ^ billboard.com 26 March 2008
- ^ UK Album Chart
- ^ German Album Chart
- ^ Italian Album Chart
- ^ Norwegian Singles Chart. VG-lista. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ American Single Charts. VG-lista. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ American Single Charts. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
- ^ British Single Chart. UK Top 40. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Swedish Singles Chart. Hitlista. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ French Singles Chart. Palmares. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Austrian Singles Chart. Austria Top 40. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Swiss Singles Chart. Schweizer Hitparade. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Irish Singles Chart. The Irish Chart. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ German Singles Chart. Charts-Surfer. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
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