.....And I can always count on the 80's for a feel-good pick-me-up, even if I don't really need one. And no other song on this debut album by the Norwegian new wave outfit, A-HA (there's another one of those quirky 80's band names for you!), picks me up more than their memorable breakout hit, "Take On Me". I feel like I've been talking about this song forever; I know I've mentioned it at least once in my post of A1's "The A List" album, but I'm pretty sure I've given a multitude of other references to it in other places. I could rave about this song all day long, from the very first time I heard it on the radio to me missing out on seeing the original MTV video (but hooray for Youtube!) to breaking down the vocal arrangements. That first radio experience was a magical one for me, to say the least. Wasn't any other song out there in the universe quite like it at the time; that could only have been attributed to the distinctive voice of A-HA's lead singer, Morten Harket. The beginning instrumental that opens with the chimes playing above the main beat, then the instrumental in the middle portion of the song, were magical in themselves. I remember the first few times I heard this song, I didn't understand any of the lyrics—neither the ones voiced by Morten in the three verses nor the ones in the main chorus. Then when I finally thought I did understand at least some of the main chorus, I had unknowingly mistaken the line 'take on me' for being either 'lay on me' or 'Nay-oh-me', as in the Biblical lady's name, 'Naomi'. Hmmm.....could they have been saying 'lay on me, Naomi'? As in, 'lay on top of me, Namoi'? Perhaps that wasn't too much out of the realm of possibility, considering that most songs have love themes anyway? Looking back on that and thinking about all of the correct words now in 2012, neither 'lay on me' or 'Naomi' would've made any sense whatsoever. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever really understood what Morten is saying in the final line of the main chorus (the part where his voice trails off as he reaches the high note). The important thing is that I've loved this song so much over the years, and I hope it continues to remain a radio classic and never be forgotten. "Take On Me" may've been A-HA's lone super-hit in the public's eye, but there are so many other ones from this "Hunting High And Low" album that I can't neglect to mention them here. I love both "Living A Boy's Adventure Tale" and "Here I Stand And Face The Rain" because of their haunting atmospheric melodies—which sound even more ghostly when you add Morten's dreamy voice—then "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." (seems like there's been more covers of that one than there have been of "Take On Me") and "I Dream Myself Alive" because of that warm and sunny feel that I get from them. Totally had forgotten about the mellow two-minute snippet, "And You Tell Me". Beautiful, beautiful song.....except that's is way too short! Make it last for double that time, and A-HA easily could've had their second super-hit on this 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
9. Here I Stand And Face The Rain
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