we sit and watch umbrellas fly

With a-ha in the throes of their final tour before they sail into the sunset, comes the announcement that their first two longplayers, "Hunting High And Low" and "Scoundrel Days", will get the deluxe treatment. Both albums will be exclusively available at rhino.com in June with each carrying bonus tracks, non-album b-sides, remixes, demos and live recordings. Beat the rush and place your order on the pre-sale date of May 11.

First up is their legendary debut album, "Hunting High And Low". The deluxe edition of this 25 year old album uncovers several unreleased gems such as an instrumental version of "Take On Me" and an early, demo version of the same song called "Lesson One". Demos for "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." and "Train Of Thought" will also be included.

"Driftwood" and "Stop And Make Your Mind Up", tracks that only appeared as b-sides, plus tracks released exclusively in Norway like "Never Never" and "Dot The I" will appear on CD for the first time. Most importantly, the original 1984 version of "Take On Me", which differs greatly from the one that became a worldwide smash, makes it's first appearance anywhere since it failed to chart.

This collection is rounded out by the original 12" mixes of the singles "The Sun Always Shines On T.V.", "Train Of Thought" and "Hunting High And Low".

Here's the quartet of music videos shot for each of the singles from this landmark album.









And now, the rarely seen, original version of "Take On Me".



The following is the complete tracklisting for the deluxified edition of "Hunting High And Low".

CD 1

Original album:

1. Take On Me
2. Train Of Thought
3. Hunting High And Low
4. The Blue Sky
5. Living A Boy's Adventure Tale
6. The Sun Always Shines On T.V.
7. And You Tell Me
8. Love Is Reason
9. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand And Face The Rain

Remixes and extended versions:

11. Take On Me (1984 Original 7" Version)

12. The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Extended Mix)
13. Train Of Thought (Steve Thompson U.S. Mix)
14. Hunting High And Low (Extended Remix)


CD 2

B-sides, demos and rarities:

1. Take On Me (Demo)*

2. Train Of Thought (Demo)*

3. Hunting High And Low (Uptempo Demo)*

4. Blue Sky (Demo)

5. Living A Boy's Adventure Tale (Early Version)*

6. The Sun Always Shine On T.V. (Demo)*
7. And You Tell Me (Demo)
8. Love Is Reason (Demo)*

9. I Dream Myself Alive (Demo)*
10. Here I Stand And Face The Rain (Demo)*

11. Stop And Make Your Mind Up

12. Driftwood

13. Dot The I

14. The Love Goodbye

15. Nothing To It*

16. Go To Sleep

17. Monday Mourning
18. All The Planes That Come In On The Quiet *

19. Never Never
20. What's That You’re Doing To Yourself*

21. You Have Grown Thoughtful Again*
22. Lesson One (Early 1982 "Take On Me" Demo)*
23. Presenting Lily Mars

The extended version of a-ha's ambitious, moody, sophomore elpee, "Scoundrel Days", contains demos for each album track, the non-album B-side "This Alone Is Love", as well as unreleased live performances of "Train Of Thought", "I’ve Been Losing You", "Blue Sky" and "Cry Wolf" recorded in England.

Bonus tracks include the extended versions of "Cry Wolf" and "Manhattan Skyline".

Three singles were lifted from their second longplayer. With the exception of "I've Been Losing You", which I couldn't locate on the interwebs, here are the videos that were lovingly lensed for each one.





And, as if by magic, here is the tracklisting for the expanded edition of "Scoundrel Days".

CD 1

Original album:

1. Scoundrel Days
2. The Swing Of Things
3. I've Been Losing You
4. October
5. Manhattan Skyline
6. Cry Wolf
7. We're Looking For The Whales
8. The Weight Of The Wind
9. Maybe, Maybe
10. Soft Rains Of April

Extended versions and remixes:

11. I've Been Losing You (Extended Version)

12. Cry Wolf (Extended Version)
13. Manhattan Skyline (Extended Remix)


CD 2

B-sides, demos and rarities:

1. Scoundrel Days (1984 Demo)*
2. The Swing Of Things (Demo #3)*
3. I've Been Losing You (Octocon Studios Demo)*
4. October (Demo)*
5. Manhattan Skyline (Demo)*
6. Cry Wolf (Demo)*
7. We're Looking For The Whales (1984 Demo)*
8. The Weight Of The Wind (Demo)*
9.Maybe, Maybe (Demo)*
10. Soft Rains Of April (Guitar Version)*
11. Scoundrel Days (Octocon Studios Demo)*

12.This Alone is Love (Original Version)

13. Days On End
14. Train Of Thought (Live In Croydon)*
15. I've Been Losing You (Live In Croydon)*
16. Blue Sky (Live In Croydon)*
17. Looking For The Whales (Live In Croydon)
18. Cry Wolf (Live In Croydon)*

Asterisks indicate previously unreleased recordings. And there you have it.

By the way, I'll be seeing a-ha at the Nokia Theatre in glorious NYC tomorrow evening. Expect tweets from the show and a full report over the weekend. Over and out!