The remastered edition of "Scoundrel Days" has been meticulously prepared to enhance the sonic experience of the original album. Utilizing the latest technology and working closely with the original production team, the remastering process aims to deliver a clearer, more vibrant sound that aligns with today's listening standards.
A fascinating, earlier iteration of a song that would later be reimagined for East of the Sun, West of the Moon .
The memory wasn't his practice as usual—no tango at a rooftop bar, no speech to a graduate class of would-be hackers. It began in a kitchen flooded with late-afternoon light. A young man—thin, with hands like a carpenter—drawn in laughter as he taught a girl to slice an apple without bruising the fruit. The day unfolded like a paper map: the argument about a misplaced key, the agreement to meet by the river, the sudden collapse when the call came. The hum changed; the memory loop skipped like bad vinyl. The last moment was a child on a doorstep, handing the man a red ribbon and whispering, "Don't let them take our days."
But this memory wanted expansion. In its silence were echoes of a movement—a group of archivists calling themselves the Keepers—who had been erasing days wholesale, purging histories that made the right people uncomfortable. They'd gone underground after the Crackdown, scattering their servers across the city like breadcrumbs. The man's kitchen belonged to one of them. The child's ribbon was a signal.
The original 1986 record had a tough job following up on a-ha's mega-hit debut album, Hunting High and Low , which featured the famous track "Take on Me". Instead of making a copy of their first pop sound, the band chose a deeper, moodier direction. : Cold synths mixed with driving rock guitars. aha scoundrel days remastered and expanded upd
: Praised for its thick, jazzy atmosphere that captures a "foggy English night". The Remaster & Expanded Content
: Listeners on Facebook have observed "more depth" in the reissue compared to the original. Bonus Content & Features
: Morten Harket delivered some of his highest, most emotional singing.
Scoundrel lit a cigarette later, watched the smoke fold into the city's breath. He had days to trade—some he would sell, some he would keep. He had learned that remastering could be theft when it smoothed over truth. Expansion, though—expansion was different. It gave memory room to breathe again. The remastered edition of "Scoundrel Days" has been
When Scoundrel Days first hit the shelves in 1986, it was met with widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. The album spawned several hit singles, including "I've Been Losing You," "You Make Me Weak," and "Hunting High and Low," all of which received significant airplay on radio stations and MTV. The album itself reached the top 10 in several countries, including Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, cementing A-ha's status as one of the leading pop acts of the 1980s.
The 2010 deluxe reissue expanded the original tracklist significantly, adding 21 bonus tracks to provide a deep look into the band’s creative process. Disc Content Key Features
He pocketed a sliver of the memory they'd broadcast—saved it like a splinter. When a new face appeared on the market with a note tied to the corner, he would open it. He would decide whether to polish or to unspool. He would choose, as always, the lesser tyranny: the right of people to keep what made them, even if it was only a single, stubborn day.
Often cited as one of the band's best songs, a sprawling, atmospheric track. The memory wasn't his practice as usual—no tango
Produced largely by Alan Tarney, the album utilizes iconic 80s synths like the Yamaha DX7 and Roland Juno-60 to create its signature "chilled gothic" flavor.
One rain-smeared morning, a woman in a moth-eaten coat found him under the collapsed awning of the Old Archive. "You handle days?" she asked, voice like paper being folded.
Note: Some versions, particularly download editions, included even more exclusive tracks such as "I've Been Losing You (Dub)" and alternative early demos not listed in all physical pressings.
The edition, released in 2010 by Rhino Records , serves as a definitive tribute to a-ha's "difficult second album". Originally released on October 6, 1986, Scoundrel Days was the follow-up to their massive debut, Hunting High and Low , and saw the Norwegian trio—Morten Harket, Pål Waaktaar-Savoy, and Magne Furuholmen—pivot from "bubblegummy" synth-pop toward a darker, more atmospheric, and guitar-driven sound. The Core Album: A Darker Evolution