A-ha - "Hunting High and Low" - ALBUM REVIEW (synth pop, 1985)

by Dean Wolfe, Prog dog Media |

There's nothing like when your debut album and first single are juggernauts of success. It established this young Norwegian trio anew on the world stage back in June 1985. 

I bought A-Ha, Hunting High and Low on cassette when I was a teenager. Take on Me, their first single, is an irresistible synth pop song that is standing the test of time. For me, it captured a genuine essence of optimism.

There are 4 other outstanding songs on the album as well, but the remaining 5 barely move the needle. Of course, that's easily forgiven. How many bands have a perfect first album?

Hunting High and Low, the song that is also the album's title, is a passionate and beautiful strings-supported ballad, full of interesting buildups and a fantastic singing performance by Morton Harket. He has a unique, powerful voice that is beautiful when restrained, and can almost overwhelm when let loose. 

Living a boy's adventure tale is an interesting and more gentle tune, almost goth-dark or Cure-ish, with a wonderful sweeping chorus. Morten displays more of his falsetto prowess here. On a production note: the snare is perfect. 

The Sun always Shines on TV is a song that strikes like lightening- a true highlight on the album apart from Take on Me. It also gives the album a majority of its overall weight. The intro alone is iconic. It has a strong melody and amazing vocal performance. If this track weren't on this album, we may have been forgiven to think A-ha might just be a transient flash in the pan without too much to say. 

Stand and Face the Rain- the final track- is strong one too, with cool melodic twists and amazing backing vocals that fold in around themselves. The synthesizers are haunting.  

In America for whatever reason A-ha was not appreciated much beyond this and their sophomore release. A shame really. Stay tuned for further reviews as I explore the rest of their discography in the coming weeks and months. 

Prog Dog Score: 3.5 out of 5 bones - A major synth-pop 80s classic with enough strong tracks to be a better-than-bearable listen. 

My Top 30 Songs of All Time (personal picks)

By Dean Wolfe, Prog dog media |

These songs have become integral to my life, particularly during my formative years, evoking strong emotions from specific times. They are all excellent songs, but the personal connections make them special (Spotify playlist link is below).

They range from prog rock to pop to classical to soundtracks to jazz fusion to electronic to disco/funk...

Stay tuned for my top 30 albums list in the near future....

For the story behind my list picks, see my video here!

1. Beatles - A Day in the Life 
2. Yes - Awaken 
3. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells 
4. Rush - YYZ
5. Alan Parsons Project - Time 
6. Genesis - Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
7. Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine
8. Kate Bush - Sat in Your Lap
9. John Lennon - Imagine 
10. King Crimson - frame by frame  
11. ELP - Karn Evil 9
12. Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey
13. U2 - The Unforgetable Fire 
14. Steve Hackett - Clocks, The Angel of Mons
15. Bruford - Five G
16. Nash The Slash - Wolf
17. Bee Gees - Stayin’ Alive
18. Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
19. David Sylvain - Orpheus 
20. Pat Metheny Group - Minuano (six eight) - Still Life (Talking) 
21. The Police - Walking on the Moon
22. Van Halen - Panama 
23. Vangelis - Heaven and Hell movement 3 (Theme to 1980 show Cosmos)
24. Mozart - Confutatus 
25. Eagles - Hotel California 
26. Heart- Magic Man
27. Stevie Wonder - I wish
28. Saga - Don’t Be Late 
29. Abba - Dancing Queen 
30. A-Ha - Take On Me

Honourable Mentions: 

1. TOOL - Lateralus 
2. John Williams - Star Wars theme A New Hope 
3. Tangerine Dream - Rubycon
4. Hans Zimmer - Dream is Collapsing 
5. Hans Zimmer - Cornfield Chase 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/59AhuwLfptAw5WODziJsWP?si=da4b966445964d3e

Dream Machine - "Living The Dream" ALBUM REVIEW (retro-prog pop psych 2022)

 

By Dean Wolfe, prog dog media  [album released June 3, 2022]

Dream Machine, a.k.a. the winsome and energetic husband and wife team Matthew and Doris Melton, are not simply nostalgic for the past. They fully embrace the lifestyle, honouring the warmth and immediacy of the analog empire from yesteryear in their home studio and Fuzz City Records label. 

Draped in apparently vintage clothing, surrounded by living relics of the glory days of a more tactile music technology, they have been busily performing, recording and releasing albums. They live in defiance of the prevalent digital paradigm (though they still cross the bridge to bring their analog music offerings to the digital realm, and they host an entertaining YouTube channel as well).

Their most recent release (and my introduction to Dream Machine) is called Living the Dream. It is a concept album exploring the many aspects of dreams. It is not easy to categorize but the 'in a nutshell' description might be: upbeat melodic retro-synth-laden psyche pop with scattered splashes of 70s prog.

It's got a dozen tracks which feature drumming and percussion by Billy Odyssey. The Meltons exchange lead vocals and do lots of trade offs and back ups as well. Doris is the keyboardist and Matthew plays electric guitar and bass. There's lots of tasty distorted guitar riffs and fills. Same with the keyboards. In fact much of the album is keyboard-centric. There's several rather fun keyboard solos. It's a very animated album- energetic might be an understatement. They have plenty to sing and the spirit to carry it through. 

When I'm flipping through my record collection and I need a zap, or I'm having a party, I'll reach for this one. I know that I'll get several guests asking "What is that record? I like it. Is it from the 70s? late 60s?"

The album is very playable and lacks a single dud. In fact the last 2 tracks of the album may be my favourites, or at least they are very strong compositions. A couple of the tracks at least have ear-worm hooks for example Until Tomorow usually plays for hours in my brain after the vinyl has gone silent. 

Tracks like Dreamin' It Over particularly show off their 70s prog influences- which include bands like Eloy for Doris. She introduced Matthew to a lot of prog rock which is a rabbit hole he had yet to explore. 

The only thing lacking on the album is a good slow song, maybe a ballad, to break up the songs and give listeners a breather.

The Prog dog score is 4.5 out of 5 bones.  This is a modern benchmark of upbeat lo-fi indie achievement- a fun retro-feeling album that doesn't know when to quit (not to mention it's my prog-party go-to album)!

https://dreammachine432.bandcamp.com/album/living-the-dream

check out my 1/2 hour interview/prog chat with Dream Machine HERE