Episode 56: a-ha - Stay on These Roads (1988) Part 1

Brian and Sarah haven't discussed the Norwegian group a-ha since way back in their second episode, and seeing how a-ha is one of their favorite groups, they decide it's time to discuss another a-ha album. The one they select is the third release, "Stay on These Roads," which is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Part 1 - Album History

Sarah, always ready with album chart and sales history, provides some pretty impressive figures for "Stay on These Roads" in a number of countries-- but Brian reorders the chart listings in a much more pleasing fashion. However, one country in particular is conspicuously absent from the list, much to our hosts' chagrin. Brian then goes into detail about the circumstances surrounding the creation of this album, and sheds some light on where the band members seemed to be headed musically, compared with where the record label was encouraging them to be. Both hosts also share some rather mixed reviews of the album -- including one from the members of Erasure!

Part 2 - Personal History

Although Brian and Sarah have loved a-ha for many years, this third album was not a part of either of their collections back when it was first released. So this ends up being one of the least interesting Personal History sections in recent episodes. Thankfully, it's pretty short!

Part 3 - Track by Track

The first side of "Stay on These Roads" contains five songs, and the first three tracks were all released as singles. As the songs are discussed, Brian find himself very conflicted about various aspects of the songs themselves and their inclusion on the album. Sarah also has some mixed feelings about the tracks, though not always for the same reasons as Brian. Both of them, however, share similar opinions about the three videos that accompany the singles; two of them are pretty good, and one is pretty bad!

Stay on These Roads The Blood That Moves the Body Touchy! This Alone is Love Hurry Home

See the videos we discuss here:

Stay on These Roads

The Blood That Moves the Body

Touchy!

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