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A-ha - True North (2022)

Posted By: popsakov

Date: 20 Mar 2023 03:07:18

Since coming together in 1982, Norwegian pop trio a-ha have established a personal and artistic chemistry that can accommodate three strong personalities. There was a long hiatus after 1993's Memorial Beach and a formal reunion for 2000's Minor Earth Major Sky, followed by two more studio outings. They split again in 2010 to pursue solo careers, but reunited for 2015's Cast in Steel. In 2021, the documentary a-ha: The Movie toured global film festivals. The band's 11th studio album, True North, and its accompanying documentary film appear during their 40th anniversary year. The trio recorded and filmed over three weeks in a studio some 55 miles above the Arctic Circle in Bodø, with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Anders Eljas. Filming was done by Stian Andersen. Half of these 12 tracks were composed by guitarist Pal Waaktaar-Savoy, with the other half by keyboardist Magne Furuholmen. Each man produced his own work.

The set opens with its first single, "I'm In." Framed by acoustic guitar, piano, and chamber strings, singer Morten Harket in truly iconic falsetto delivers a direct, tender lyric balm of commitment to a subject experiencing great difficulties. The drums rumble, a glockenspiel rolls around the piano, and strings swell before Furuholmen's whispering synth joins in to carry it out. Waaktaar-Savoy's "Hunter in the Hills" offers striking contrast. The orchestra, guided by a skittering snare, frames a swinging jazz-pop melody with an infectious chorus and sweeping horns. "As If" marks a return to more conventional pop. Harket sings in an effective lower register, illustrated by lilting keyboards, supportive orchestral strings, a grand piano, and a shuffling drum kit. The title track is a dramatic ballad balanced equally between gently pulsing synths, piano, and orchestra, as Harket effortlessly delivers Furuholmen's romantic lyric. The opening acoustic guitar vamp on his "Bluest of Blue" arrestingly recalls New Order's "Ceremony" before it evolves into a sophisticated folk round with Harket and the composer dueting above cellos. The band joins on the second verse, and the track transforms itself a midtempo rock ballad. Immediately following is Waaktaar-Savoy's "Make Me Understand," a dancefloor-oriented, neo-electro track combining orchestral funk, synth pop, and wah-wah guitars. The road-tested "Forest for the Trees" is the guitarist's strongest composition here. Its complex yet catchy melody is framed by brass, winds, reeds, and strings above a strident rock beat, and it's redolent with compelling lyrics, tasteful synth embellishments, and a modicum of human drama. "You Have What It Takes" is pastoral, lush, and contemplative. Alongside Harket's singular voice, the strings and airy synths cascade around an acoustic guitar. Layered harmonies adorn the bridge with restless strings and hand percussion. True North is not a synth pop album. It's a grown-up pop record chock-full of beautifully written songs replete with musical reinvention, sonic evolution, and abundant creativity.

~ Thom Jurek, All Music

Discogs

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Track List:

01. I'm In [5:06]
02. Hunter In The Hills [4:12]
03. As If [4:57]
04. Between The Halo And The Horn [4:12]
05. True North [4:56]
06. Bumblebee [4:06]
07. Forest For The Trees [3:54]
08. Bluest Of Blue [4:34]
09. Make Me Understand [3:59]
10. You Have What It Takes [4:22]
11. Summer Rain [4:16]
12. Oh My Word [3:58]

EAC Log

Exact Audio Copy V1.6 from 23. October 2020

EAC extraction logfile from 11. March 2023, 10:01

a-ha / True North (19439982292)

Used drive : ASUS BW-16D1HT Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -6 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" -T "BAND=%albuminterpret%" -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%–tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" %hascover%–picture="%coverfile%"%hascover% %source% -o %dest%

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 5:05.68 | 0 | 22942
2 | 5:05.68 | 4:11.34 | 22943 | 41801
3 | 9:17.27 | 4:56.08 | 41802 | 64009
4 | 14:13.35 | 4:11.15 | 64010 | 82849
5 | 18:24.50 | 4:55.09 | 82850 | 104983
6 | 23:19.59 | 4:05.66 | 104984 | 123424
7 | 27:25.50 | 3:53.22 | 123425 | 140921
8 | 31:18.72 | 4:33.72 | 140922 | 161468
9 | 35:52.69 | 3:58.53 | 161469 | 179371
10 | 39:51.47 | 4:21.60 | 179372 | 199006
11 | 44:13.32 | 4:15.22 | 199007 | 218153
12 | 48:28.54 | 3:57.41 | 218154 | 235969

Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename E:\MUSIC\a-ha - True North (19439982292).wav

Peak level 99.6 %
Extraction speed 8.0 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC E45A3E0E
Copy CRC E45A3E0E
Copy OK

No errors occurred

AccurateRip summary

Track 1 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [432BC860] (AR v2)
Track 2 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [98CE24AE] (AR v2)
Track 3 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [3705212F] (AR v2)
Track 4 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [F07040AA] (AR v2)
Track 5 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [AEEB01C1] (AR v2)
Track 6 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [9836C876] (AR v2)
Track 7 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [1F4671FD] (AR v2)
Track 8 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [E46C8AAC] (AR v2)
Track 9 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [EF402131] (AR v2)
Track 10 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [DE7FA562] (AR v2)
Track 11 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [17C5CF27] (AR v2)
Track 12 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [A1C5E4FE] (AR v2)

All tracks accurately ripped

End of status report

–– CUETools DB Plugin V2.1.6

[CTDB TOCID: H0amd94.UzPHzmDrD.SOlRyxu_8-] found
Submit result: H0amd94.UzPHzmDrD.SOlRyxu_8- has been confirmed
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
2 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
3 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
4 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
5 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
6 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
7 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
8 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
9 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
10 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
11 | (2/2) Accurately ripped
12 | (2/2) Accurately ripped

==== Log checksum 70A9B1402B762D6EBC1EE910C09F59E9254A6660E9C804BC93EF95AA2F6FE6CB ====

All thanks go to HaRD

>>> A-ha in my Blog <<<

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