Scoundrel Days
A-Ha
℗ 1986 Warner Brothers Records 7599 25501
While not quite as strong as the band's debut, Scoundrel Days is still a-ha succeeding as a marketed "pretty boy" band which can connect musically and lyrically as much as any musical sacred cow. 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. Although the rest of the disc never quite hits as high as the opening, it comes close more often than not. A definite downturn is the band's occasional attempts to try and prove themselves as a "real" band by rocking out, as on "I've Been Losing You" — there's really no need for it, and as a result they sound much more "fake," ironically enough. Other songs can perhaps only be explained by the need to translate lyrics — "We're Looking for the Whales" isn't an environmental anthem, and neither is "Cry Wolf," but both also don't really succeed in using nature as romantic metaphor. When a-ha are on, though, they're on — "October" snakes along on a cool bass/keyboard arrangement and a whispery vocal from Harket; "Maybe Maybe" is a quirky little pop number that's engagingly goofy; while "Soft Rains of April" captures the band at its most dramatic, with the string synths giving Harket a perfect bed to launch into a lovely vocal, concluding with a sudden, hushed whisper. The '80s may be long gone, but Scoundrel Days makes clear that not everything was bad back then. — Ned Raggett. |
- 1. Scoundrel Days (Pal Waaktaar) [04:02]
- 2. The Swing of Things (Pal Waaktaar) [04:14]
- 3. I've Been Losing You (Pal Waaktaar) [04:24]
- 4. October (Pal Waaktaar) [03:55]
- 5. Manhattan Skyline (Pal Waaktaar) [04:52]
- 6. Cry Wolf (Mags — Pal Waaktaar) [04:06]
- 7. We're Looking for the Whales (Pal Waaktaar) [03:43]
- 8. The Weight of the Wind [03:59]
- 9. Maybe, Maybe (Mags) [02:36]
- 10. Soft Rains of April (Pal Waaktaar) [03:12]
Участие в альбоме:
- Magne Furuholmen: keyboards, vocals
- Morten Harket: vocals
- Paul Waaktaar-Savoy: guitars, vocals
- Oystein Jevanord: drums (6)
- Leif Karsten Johansen: bass (3)
- Graham Prescott: strings (1)
- Michael Sturgis: drums (2, 3, 10)
Тексты:
Scoundrel Days
(Pal Waaktaar)
Was that somebody screaming… It wasn't me for sure I lift my head up from uneasy pillows Put my feet on the floor Cut my wrist on a bad thought And head for the door Outside on the pavement The dark makes no noise I can feel the sweat on my lips Leaking into my mouth I'm heading out for the steep hills They're leaving me no choice And see… as our lives are in the making We believe through the lies and the hating That love goes free For want of an option I run the wind 'round I dream pictures of houses burning Never knowing nothing else to do With death comes the morning Unannounced and new Was it too much to ask for To pull a little weight… They forgive anything but greatness These are scoundrel days And I'm close to calling out their names As pride hits my face See… as our lives are in the making We believe through their lies and the hating That love goes free through scoundrel days I reach the edge of town I've got blood in my hair Their hands touch my body From everywhere But I know that I've made it As I run into the air And see… as our lives are in the making We believe through the lies and the hating That love goes free Through scoundrel days
The Swing of Things
(Pal Waaktaar)
They say the world's an eventful place You give me news I don't want to know You say that I should care That I should speak my mind Oh, but how can I speak of the world Rushing by With a lump in my throat And tears in my eyes Have we come to the point of no turning back Or is it still time to get into The swing of things Let us walk through this windless city I'll go on till the winter gets me "Sleep..." you wrote "sleep, my dear" In a letter somewhere Oh, but how can I sleep with your voice in my head And an ocean between us And room in my bed Have I come to the point where I'm losing the grip Or is it still time to get into The swing of things When she glows in the dark And I'm weak by the sight Of this breathtaking beauty In which I can hide There is a worldful out there Of people I fear But given time I'll get into The swing of things Yes, when she glows in the dark and I'm struck by the sight I know that I'll need this for the rest of my life What have I done What lies I have told I've played games with the ones that rescued my soul Have I come to the point where I'm losing the grip Or is it still time to get into The swing of things
I've Been Losing You
(Pal Waaktaar)
It wasn't the rain that washed away… Rinsed out the colours of your eyes Putting the gun down on the bedside table I must have realized It wasn't the rain That made no difference And I could have sworn it wasn't me Yet I did it all so coldly …almost slowly Plain for all to see Oh c'mon please now Talk to me Tell me; things I could find helpful How can I stop now… Is there nothing I can do I have lost my way I've been losing you I can still hear our screams competing You're hissing your s's like a snake Now in the mirror stands Half a man I thought no one could break It wasn't the rain That made no difference …nervously drumming on: Run away But I want the guilt to get me Thoughts to wreck me Preying on my mind Please now Talk to me Tell me; things I could find helpful For how can I stop now… Is there nothing I can do I have lost my way I've been losing you
October
(Pal Waaktaar)
Dawn awaits a sleepless, English town Of coloured gray Here I roam the streets without you As summer fades away …down in the city at nights The cold wind blows Wherever you may be right now It must be getting late You're probably asleep already I am wide awake …down in the city at nights "Don't be lonely" so you've told me But don't you worry now Loneliness can be ignored And time has shown me how …down in the city I'm missing you so much Down in the city Down in the city…
Manhattan Skyline
(Pal Waaktaar)
We sit and watch umbrellas fly I'm trying to keep my newspaper dry I hear myself say, "My boat's leaving now" … so we shake hands and cry Now I must wave goodbye Wave goodbye You know I don't want to cry again I don't want to cry again Don't want to say goodbye I don't want to cry again I don't want to run away Don't want to race this pain I'll never see your face again Oh but how How can you say That I didn't try… You see things in the depths of my eyes That my love's run dry No… We leave to their goodbyes I've come to depend on the look in their eyes My blood's sweet for pain The wind and the rain bring back words of a song And they say wave goodbye Wave goodbye But you know I don't want to fall again Don't want to know this pain Don't want another friend Don't want to try again Don't want to see you hurt Don't let me see you hurt I don't want to cry again I'll never see your face again How can you say That I didn't try You know I did You see things in the depths of my eyes That my love's run dry … so I read to myself A chance of a lifetime to see new horizons On the front page A black and white picture of Manhattan Skyline
Cry Wolf
(Mags — Pal Waaktaar)
"Night I left the city, I dreamt of a wolf…" He came from where the winds are cold And truth is seen through keyholes … strange longings never sleep Now he's come where no hearts beat Cry wolf Time to worry Cry wolf Time to worry You can start, but you cannot stop You give in, but you can't give up You can tell all your desperate jokes To a world that puts Love on hold Cry wolf Time to worry Cry wolf Time to worry now … the sunken-in eyes And the pain in his cries A shape in the dark… Cry wolf Time to worry Cry wolf Time to worry now
We're Looking for the Whales
(Pal Waaktaar)
One left low left two who left high They seem so hard to find Three came twice took once the time To search… We're looking for a little bewildered girl We're looking for a little bewildered girl We're looking for the whales Restlessness is in our genes Time won't wear it off Born into this world with our eyes wide open Girl We're looking for a little bewildered girl We're looking for a little bewildered girl We're looking for the whales I found angels Beached outside your doors Don't you set those lonely eyes on me We're looking for the whales We're looking for the whales…
The Weight of the Wind
Your face looked new against the town You've come to lose some memories Like you I've come to touch new grounds You want to lose The weight of the wind Rests hard on your shoulders Bringing you down The one that you love Will never be found You speak into the falling rain Words you'd lost, but found again You see their snakey arms entwined So clear and cruel In your jealous mind You've got to lose The weight of the wind Hard on your shoulders Getting you down The one that you love Can never be found
Maybe, Maybe
(Mags)
Maybe you were joking When you said that you were walking out on me Maybe, maybe Maybe I was joking When I said that I was running out on you Maybe, maybe I could be wrong, so wrong I could be wrong, so wrong Yes, I could be wrong I don't know, but it's been said decisions travel far from heart to head Maybe, maybe Maybe it was over When you chucked me out the Rover at full speed Maybe, maybe I could be wrong, so wrong I could be wrong, so wrong Yes, I could be so wrong
Soft Rains of April
(Pal Waaktaar)
The soft rains of April are over The soft rains of April are over, over Anybody home now I am on the phone now, please... The soft rains of April are over The ferry across the water to Dover, over Anybody home now I am on the phone, oh I'd like to go back Is it raining back home I'm so alone Just got up today And my thoughts are miles away With you Well, they gave me four years Three more to go Keep writing letters Time's passing so slow The soft rains of April are over The soft rains of April are over Over