Scoundrel Days

Music

Yamaha DX7 and Roland Juno-60/106 synths used in the recording of this album—Roland Juno used on intro of the song "Manhattan Skyline " and Yamaha DX7 drum sound used on the intro of song called "October". "Scoundrel Days" and "Swing of Things" signature sounds are from the PPG Wave. The drums and several other sounds are from the Fairlight CMI.

Songs

"I've Been Losing You" was the first single from the album. It reached #1 in Norway, and #8 in the UK. "I've Been Losing You" became the biggest hit from the album in Europe.

"Cry Wolf" was the second single from the album. It was the most successful single from the Scoundrel Days album in the U.S., where it peaked at #14 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts and went to #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. While it would be their last entry on that chart, the band would continue to have major pop hits from each album release throughout the rest of the world through to the present day. The single went Top 40 nearly everywhere else it was released, including Top 5 chartings in the UK, Poland and Ireland, going #2 in Norway. The lyrics "Night I left the city I dreamt of a Wolf..." are credited to Lauren Savoy whom Pål later married.

"Maybe, Maybe" is the third single released from the album and was only released in Bolivia.

"Manhattan Skyline" reached #13 in the UK charts. The song was co-written by keyboardist Magne Furuholmen and guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. The song starts with a calm verse in F major, before kicking into a hard rock-style chorus with a guitar riff in D minor. In the official A-ha biography, The Swing of Things, Furuholmen said it was "perhaps one of the most inspired cut and paste-projects that Paul and I did. I wrote the quiet part. Paul wrote the rock part."

Artwork

The cover photography was taken by Norwegian photographer Knut Bry at the Haleakala volcano on Maui (Hawaii) in 1986.

Release and reception

Scoundrel Days was the band's second studio album. The album's peak on the Billboard 200 was 74. The album was another big hit by A-ha and sold over 6 million copies worldwide which gave the band international recognition. Scoundrel Days achieved Platinum status in the UK and Switzerland as well as Germany and Brazil. The album reached #2 in the European top-100 albums sales chart.

Ned Raggett of AllMusic Guide said, "The opening two songs alone make for one of the best one-two opening punches around: the tense edge of the title track, featuring one of Morten Harket's soaring vocals during the chorus and a crisp, pristine punch in the music, and "The Swing of Things," a moody, elegant number with a beautiful synth/guitar arrangement (plus some fine drumming courtesy of studio pro Michael Sturgis) and utterly lovelorn lyrical sentiments that balance on the edge of being overheated without quite going over...The '80s may be long gone, but Scoundrel Days makes clear that not everything was bad back then."

Scoundrel Days included the singles "I've Been Losing You", "Cry Wolf", "Maybe, Maybe", and "Manhattan Skyline". All the singles with the exception of "Maybe, Maybe" charted on the UK Singles Chart. "I've Been Losing You" and "Cry Wolf" were the most successful singles from the album, "Cry Wolf" became a minor hit in the US and charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #50, while "I've Been Losing You" was the most successful single in Europe.

As part of a re-release of their first two albums, Scoundrel Days was expanded and remastered in 2010.

On 6 July 2010 the A-ha albums Hunting High and Low and Scoundrel Days were released as deluxe editions in the US through Rhino Records and both albums debuted in the top 40 Billboard Top Internet Sales Chart; Hunting High and Low at #34 and Scoundrel Days at #36.

The remaster of Scoundrel Days reached #52 in Germany, #27 in Norway, #190 in the UK.

Track listing

All songs written by Furuholmen/Waaktaar unless noted otherwise:

1. "Scoundrel Days" – 3:56
2. "The Swing of Things" – 4:14 (Waaktaar)
3. "I've Been Losing You" – 4:24 (Waaktaar)
4. "October" – 3:48 (Waaktaar)
5. "Manhattan Skyline" – 4:52
6. "Cry Wolf" – 4:05
7. "We're Looking for the Whales" – 3:39
8. "The Weight of the Wind" – 3:57 (Waaktaar)
9. "Maybe, Maybe" – 2:34 (Furuholmen)
10. "Soft Rains of April" – 3:12

Produced by Alan Tarney, except tracks 3, 9 and 10 produced by Furuholmen and Waaktaar.

2010 Deluxe Edition

Disc 1

1. "Scoundrel Days"
2. "The Swing of Things"
3. "I've Been Losing You"
4. "October"
5. "Manhattan Skyline"
6. "Cry Wolf"
7. "We're Looking for the Whales"
8. "The Weight of the Wind"
9. "Maybe, Maybe"
10. "Soft Rains of April"
11. "I've Been Losing You" - Extended Version
12. "Cry Wolf" – Extended Version
13. "Manhattan Skyline" – Extended Version

Disc 2

1. "Scoundrel Days" – Demo
2. "The Swing of Things" – Demo #3
3. "I've Been Losing You" – Octogon Studios Demo
4. "October" – Demo
5. "Manhattan Skyline" – Demo
6. "Cry Wolf" – Demo
7. "We're Looking for the Whales" – 1984 Demo
8. "The Weight of the Wind" – Demo
9. "Maybe, Maybe" – Demo
10. "Soft Rains of April" – Guitar Version
11. "Scoundrel Days" – Octogon Studios Demo
12. "This Alone is Love" - Original Version
13. "Days on End"
14. "Train of Thought" (Live)
15. "I’ve Been Losing You" (Live)
16. "The Blue Sky" (Live)
17. "We're Looking for the Whales" (Live)
18. "Cry Wolf" (Live)

Please Note:There are four bonus download-only tracks on each release, available in most countries:

1. "I’ve Been Losing You (Dub)"
2. "Soft Rains of April (Piano Version)"
3. "The Swing of Things (Demo #1)"
4. "I’ve Been Losing You (Early Demo)"

Scoundrel Club EP

1. "Cry Wolf" (Extended Version) – 8:13
2. "We're Looking for the Whales" (live version) – 3:50
3. "I've Been Losing You" (Dub Version) – 4:28
4. "Manhattan Skyline" (Extended) – 6:49
5. "Hunting High and Low" (Extended Version by Alan Tarney) – 6:02

Personnel

Cover versions

These are some known existing cover versions from the album:

1. Scoundrel Days Thomas — Pihale's Rainstorm Project
2. Manhattan Skyline — Kings of Convenience
3. October — Sigurd Køhn
4. October — Savoy (Waaktaar-Savoy's other band)