Stay on These Roads
The third album: the title song, the Bond theme and four more singles.
a-ha, 1988
- Released
- 3 May 1988
- Recorded
- 1987 to 1988
- Studio
- RG Jones Recording Studios, London
- Label
- Warner Bros.
- Producer
- Alan Tarney
- Length
- 43:40
Produced by Alan Tarney, with Gerry Kitchingham engineering and John Hudson mixing, the album used a Synclavier, a Prophet 5, a Yamaha DX-7, a Roland D-50 and Roland Juno synthesizers, as well as a Yamaha RX-5 drum machine. It includes a re-recorded version of The Living Daylights, the theme to the 1987 James Bond film. Six singles were released: The Living Daylights, Stay on These Roads, The Blood That Moves the Body, Touchy!, You Are the One and, in Brazil only, There's Never a Forever Thing.
The album was the band's third straight number two in the UK, reached 148 on the Billboard 200 and sold more than four million copies. It was certified gold in the UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany. David Quantick of the NME wrote in a positive review that Waaktaar seems overrun by melancholy. Steve Harnell of Classic Pop wrote that the album marked the end of the opening trilogy of commercial synth-pop.
Track listing
- Stay on These Roads4:45
- The Blood That Moves the Body4:07
- Touchy!4:38
- This Alone Is Love5:16
- Hurry Home4:38
- The Living Daylights4:46
- There's Never a Forever Thing2:52
- Out of Blue Comes Green6:43
- You Are the One3:51
- You'll End Up Crying2:07
Personnel
- Morten Harket lead and backing vocals
- Magne Furuholmen keyboards, bass and drum programming, backing vocals
- Paul Waaktaar guitars, strings, bass and drum programming, backing vocals
- Alan Tarney producer
- Gerry Kitchingham recording engineer
- John Hudson mixing
More from a-ha
Hunting High and Low (1985), Scoundrel Days (1986)
Sources
- Stay on These Roads, Wikipedia
- a-ha albums, the complete guide, Classic Pop (2022-01-31)