| Scoundrel Days | ||||
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| Studio album by A-ha | ||||
| Released | 6 October 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Genre | New Wave Synthpop Pop rock |
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| Length | 38:41 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Alan Tarney, Pål Waaktaar & Magne 'Mags' Furuholmen | |||
| 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 new wave pop/rock band A-ha. It was released on 6 October 1986 through Warner Bros. Records. A deluxe/expanded edition with additional tracks was released in 2010.
Contents |
Yamaha DX7 and Roland JUNO 60 / 106 synths used in the recording of this album—Roland Juno used on intro of the song "Manhattan Skyline " and Yamaha DX7 drum sound used on the intro of song called "October". "Scoundrel Days" and "Swing of Things" signature sounds are PPG. The drums and several other sounds are from the Fairlight.
"I've Been Losing You" was the first single from the album. It reached #1 in Norway, and #8 in the UK. "I've Been Losing You" became the biggest hit from the album in Europe.
"Cry Wolf" was the second single from the album. 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. The lyrics "Night I left the city I dreamt of a Wolf..." are credited to Lauren Savoy whom Pål later married.
"Maybe, Maybe" is the third single released from the album and was only released in Bolivia.
"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]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Q magazine | [2] |
| Musicfolio | [3] |
| Allmusic | [4] |
| Rolling Stone | (Good) [5] |
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."[6]
Scoundrel Days included the 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 UK Singles Chart. "I've Been Losing You" and "Cry Wolf" were the most successful singles from the album, "Cry Wolf" became a minor hit in America and charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #50, while "I've Been Losing You" was the most successful single in Europe.
As part of a re-release of their first two albums, Scoundrel Days is due to be expanded and remastered in 2010.
On July 6, 2010 the albums Hunting High and Low and Scoundrel Days was released as deluxe editions in the USA through Rhino Records and both albums debuted in the top 40 Billboard Top Internet Sales Chart. Hunting High and Low at # 34 and Scoundrel Days at # 36.[7]
All songs written by Furuholmen/Waaktaar unless noted otherwise:
Produced by Alan Tarney, except tracks 3, 9 and 10 produced by Furuholmen and Waaktaar.
Disc 1
Disc 2
Please Note:There are four bonus download-only tracks on each release, available in most countries:
[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]
| 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 | ||
| Italian Singles Chart | 11 | ||
| "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 |
Here are some known existing cover versions from the album:
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