Scott Vassiliou 2008-07-17

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

THE FIRST TIME I HEARD [TAKE ON ME] #1 , I KNEW I HAD TO BUT IT.ONE OF THE BIGGEST SONGS OF THE DECADE AND THE TRUE DEFINITION OF A POP SONG.THEN CAME [THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON TV]#20 WHICH WAS ANOTHER GREAT SONG OF THAT ERA. THESE TWO SONGS ALONE ARE WORTH HAVING THIS ALBUM FOR. IT'S TOO BAD THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IT FOR THIS GROUP IN THE U.S.A. BUT THEY ARE HUGE OVER SEAS AND HAVE SOME OTHER PRETTY GOOD ALBUMS.

Humberto Mejias 2008-04-25

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Luis Mejia (son) - A-ha made a consistent but little impact in the 80s' music, and their debut itself is very representative; the music is an epilogue of synthpop, that mix of electronic music with pop stands. As of the bests, there is the massive hit "Take On Me", a soaring pop jewel, but the popular impact were Harket vocal pitch, and "The Sun Always Shine On TV", which got to be a minor hit, being consistent toward the fake media attitude, which with the song, it got interpretated pretty well. The self titled is the most serious piece of music in the album, "Living A Boy's Adventure Tale" is refreshing and perfectly flowing, while "Love Is Reason" is another top quality. "Here I Stand And Face The Rain" is obviously the most elaborate piece of the album, the songcraft is prooven marvelous. A-ha's music is really underground, that's why they were a commercial bomb in Europe and South America, and though they were first packaged as a plastified, boy-charm sluggish band, this is their most famous and maybe the most accessible.

Jeffrey T. Yentz 2008-04-19

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Hunting High And Low is a clever blast from the past that (for the most part) has while the feature song "Take On Me" has stood the test of time the rest of the album languishes in forgetable rifts.

Coming out during the infantile stages of MTV and music videos, "Take On Me" became as much of a signature for the era as "Come On Eileen" (Dexy's Midnight Runners) or The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star". While A-ha were promoted (in America) as the best new thing to come out of Europe they had a pretty well established following that lent to a comfortable songwriting prowess and catchy musical hooks.

Obviously, "Take On Me" was the premiere cut but the rest of the album had comprable good songs that did not match the unique greatness of "Take". Yes, "The Sun Always Shines On T.V. was a follow-up video but the black and white imagery was oftentimes tedious and did not enhance ones desire to run out and procure a copy of the LP. Other cuts such as "And You Tell Me" and "Love Is The Reason" were okay and a nice complement to the overall compostie of songs but by starting the album with their premiere song that was akin to eating desert and working your way back to the salad. Tasty but backward.

Although A-ha went on to make numerous other albums, their fate was similar to Big Country ("In A Big Country") and the aformentioned Dexy's Midnight Runners wher a one-hit wonder does not pay the bills. For people who just want to embrace the hit, refrain from buying Hunting High And Low and instead look for a greatest hits compilation of the Eighties.

J. Benny 2008-03-02

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

If you call yourself a music fan, whether of general music, or specifically 80s music, this is a must own. Although 2 songs on here were big on USA radio for a while, the rest of the songs are excellent. Nice mix of pop rock, and more soft pop songs. Very addicting songs, excellent melodies and just a great album in general, you will not be disappointed.

Darrell Wong 2007-07-04

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

You know how the story goes. Obscure European band labors in obscurity for years. Somehow, through sheer chance, has one track (which may or may not be typical of their work) hit it stateside and rocket up the charts. Make them megastars, a household name...until their one hit dies out and they never come close to striking gold again.

Yes, before Aqua, there was the strangely similar-sounding A-ha, and this was an otherwise perfectly ordinary album where their one shining star (which I always suspected became popular mainly due to the unbelievable range on the chorus part) came from.

Not much else to say. Typical, ordinary synthpop, what I'd call "waiting room music". The singer, despite his best efforts, has some trouble with the English language. I've heard a lot worse, but it's no surprise why A-ha never could find its niche here.