a-ha Album: “Lifelines”

Okay, so no one is going to click yes to "was this review helpful to you", but I don't care. The point is, BUY THIS ALBUM SOLELY FOR THE SONG "CANNOT HIDE". It is one of the best songs I have ever heard and is worth the money alone. Seriously. But in any case, you're not just paying for the one song, cause all the other songs are good too, with the title track "Lifelines" a close second. An album worth adding to your collection, some songs faster and harder, others slower and softer, and everything else inbetween. A-Ha have maintained and continued to build a unique, distinctive, and beautiful sound worth having in your collection.

I have all of a-ha's albums and love each one in its own way. It annoys me that all the USA knows of them is "take on me". Look past this and you will find timeless songs: "hunting high and low", "stay on these roads", "dark is the night", "summer moved on" and now with LIFELINES, a-ha offer more enchanting ballads as well as incredibly cool tracks such as "less than pure" and "reason for it".

Lifelines sees more song writing input from Morten and Mags. The title track is simply beautiful. Morten Harket's icy clean vocals will never be surpassed, he has arguably the finest voice in the music industry. There are a lot of songs on this album, but don't worry; sit back and enjoy - each has something to offer to you if you give it time. A favourite of mine, "A little bit" is a very catchy number from Pal, the major song writing force for so many years.

For those of you who have forgotten a-ha, now is the time to start listening. With the comeback album "Minor earth, Major sky" a-ha proved they were a sound act still capable of producing quality music. If you want an introduction to the modern day a-ha buy this first. This was an excellent album and one of my all time favourites, filled with classic songs. LIFELINES takes over from there and you will not be disappointed.

Let's hope they tour the USA sometime soon.

As a-ha get more acoustic leanings, their sound mellows and the quality of the music improves. From a production standpoint, some songs feel forced to create each song sound differently, yet the sounds are not necessarily predictable. I know a lot of a-ha fans use previous a-ha work to evaluate these albums, which makes it hard for other folks to know what to make of it.

For those who don't know, a-ha has been putting out a lot of mixed genre albums lately. The voice is classic and has only improved with time. The songs are string heavy - well produced I might add. The title track is a real masterpiece - best potential for a U.S. comeback song. The first single, 'Forever Not Yours,' has a lot of Europe appeal but is too quirky and pop produced. The rest of the album varies between the two... I'd recommend it to U.S. listeners. DEFINITELY not as technopop dance as Minor Earth Major Sky, although for its genre, that album is also good.

'Lifelines' is a must have for any brit pop fans, that's for sure... I hope they continue to do more male/female songs... definitely a classic.

I love a-ha. I know that's not the most profound thing anyone's ever said, but I love them. They started off in pop music with their famous single "Take On Me", then, quite curiously, they vanished from the US charts. That single lives on, taking on a life of it's own in every "Big 80s" collection past, present and future. But there is so much more that American audiences didn't get with their monster hit.

This is their second album after getting back together in 2000 after a 7 year split. They had fun with this album, you can tell. It's light and airy in some places, in others it's dark and brouding. In short, this is art. "Dragonfly" is a wonderful love song, promising that one will never hurt the other. And Mags sings a version of it! "Lifelines" is all about hope and wondering. It makes you feel like you're talking with the three of them and finding out their inner most wants and dreams, it's a shared experience. It makes you feel. Just feel. A must have for any collector or intellectual rock music lover.

a-ha to Play First U.S. Concert Since October 1986! Sept. 12, 2005 at Irving Plaza, New York City. It's been along time coming and they are sure to play tracks off 'Lifelines' to help re-acquaint the U.S. market to this fantastic band! See you at the show...