Last year was chock full of reissue news for fans of a-ha, with a 30th anniversary edition of the band's landmark debut Hunting High and Low and reissues of the band's third, fourth and fifth albums for Warner Bros. Records. This all came alongside a surprise brief reunion of the Norwegian trio, five years after their 2010 dissolution, for a new album and subsequent tour of Europe.
With that tour set to kick off in Russia on March 6, the band have announced another compilation, Time and Again: The Ultimate a-ha, to be released March 18.
The fourth a-ha compilation on the market (after 1991's stopgap Headlines and Deadlines: The Hits of a-ha, 2004's thorough The Singles 1984-2004 and 2010's definitive double-disc set 25: The Very Best of a-ha) switches up the formula a bit, offering a single disc of 19 hits across the band's entire catalogue (including "Under the Makeup," the lead single from last year's new album Cast in Steel) and a bonus disc of 16 remixes.
Almost half the remixes--many of which are based on tracks that don't appear on the hits disc ("Minor Earth Major Sky," "Velvet," "Did Anyone Approach You?" "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" and more)--appeared on various CD singles throughout the years; four make their debuts on physical discs (including a mix of "Take on Me" by Kygo commissioned for the 30th anniversary of the track). And five remixes--a newer mix of "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." by Future Funk Squad and four Scoundrel Days and Stay on These Roads-era mixes--are released for the first time anywhere.
The band's reunion concludes in their native Norway this May--but a-ha's music remains just as timeless as it's been for 30 years, and Time and Again: The Ultimate a-ha is yet more proof of this.
Full details for Time and Again: The Ultimate a-ha are below:
Time and Again: The Ultimate a-ha (Warner Bros./Rhino, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Disc 1: Hits
- Take on Me
- The Sun Always Shines on T.V.
- Hunting High and Low
- I've Been Losing You
- Cry Wolf
- Manhattan Skyline
- The Living Daylights
- Stay on These Roads
- You Are the One
- Crying in the Rain
- Move to Memphis
- Dark is the Night for All
- Summer Moved On
- Forever Not Yours
- Lifelines
- Celice
- Analogue (All I Want)
- Foot of the Mountain
- Under the Makeup
Tracks 1-3 from Hunting High and Low (Warner Bros., 1985)
Tracks 4-6 from Scoundrel Days (Warner Bros., 1986)
Track 7 from The Living Daylights: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Warner Bros., 1987)
Tracks 8-9 from Stay on These Roads (Warner Bros., 1988)
Track 10 from East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Warner Bros., 1990)
Track 11 from Headlines and Deadlines: The Hits of a-ha (Warner Bros., 1991)
Track 12 from Memorial Beach (Warner Bros., 1993)
Track 13 from Minor Earth Major Sky (WEA, 2000)
Tracks 14-15 from Lifelines (WEA, 2002)
Tracks 16-17 from Analogue (Polydor, 2005)
Track 18 from Foot of the Mountain (We Love Music/Polydor, 2009)
Track 19 from Cast in Steel (We Love Music/Polydor, 2015)
Disc 2: Remixes
- Take on Me (Kygo Remix)
- The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (Future Funk Squad's 'Radiant 4K' Remix) *
- Cry Wolf (Jellybean Mix) *
- Touchy! (House Mix) *
- You Are the One (Dub Mix Edit) *
- The Blood That Moves the Body (Three-Time Gun Mix) *
- Summer Moved On (Remix)
- Minor Earth, Major Sky (Black Dog Mix)
- Velvet (New York City Mix)
- Lifelines (Boogieman Remix)
- Did Anyone Approach You? (ReAmped)
- Celice (Maruacher Remix)
- Analogue (CG's Electrosphere Edit)
- Cozy Prisons (Aural Float Remix)
- Nothing is Keeping You Here (Steve Osborne Remix)
- Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah) (Steve Osborne Version)
Track 1 from Rhino digital single, 2015
Track 7 from WEA single 3984 29692-2, 2000
Track 8 from WEA single 8573 83816-2, 2000
Track 9 from WEA single 8573 85751-5, 2000
Track 10 from WEA single 0927 47037-2, 2002
Track 11 from WEA single 5050466-0924-2-7, 2002
Track 12 from Polydor digital single, 2005
Track 13 from Polydor digital single, 2005
Track 14 from Polydor digital single, 2006
Track 15 from We Love Music/Polydor single 00602527268194, 2009
Track 16 from Rhino single 8122797909, 2010
(*) denotes previously unreleased track
Martin E Horn says
Mike...Marty Horn here. Boy, it is so gratifying to know that you appreciate so much of the music I do. Meaning: you have taken the time to delve into where current-day music has come from. a-ha were a great band. Cheers!
Ben says
Interesting compilation. I'd be wary of any future plans that a-ha have for 'retirement' now! The remix of 'Take on Me' is dire.