I love the demo to this song, very vintage sounding to my ears.

SD is one of my favourites, very high in my list and this song is wonderful and unique in all versions. I prefer the Album version but this one has so many gems. The way Morten experiments with his voice and tests his limits is evident in all demos. It's like a search, not just musically but also vocally. At the end of this process, Morten found exactly the vocal range that later became one of the band's trademarks. He only chose a part of his immense range, which is a shame but probably necessary for success. I would definitely have liked to hear his full range much more often, especially the deep voice, which is actually his more natural pitch (he has often said that he is actually a baritone). But hey, that's complaining at the highest level. Low or high, this man always sounds good and unique❤

@shelld1261

27 күн бұрын

You and me both. I have lots of fantasies where he sings with that lower raspy voice more. 🥰🥰

"Only Ever Happened to Me Once - It Doesn't Come Again - I Think Somebody Left Me Here - Afraid and Lonely - A Long Time Ago" : they cut this part from the final version of the song, but later reused it on 2015's "Shadow Endeavors".

@UnhandyCandy280

26 күн бұрын

Cool, I didn't spot that !!

cool version

You are one great DJ! You put Jerred Jermaine to shame!!

Oh, we finally get to the SD Deluxe bonus tracks! 🥳I have been waiting anxiously for this. 🤗 And what an opener! This song is one of my top favourites, too, and this demo is also one of my favourite demos. ☺ I like that fast-paced percussive rhythm a lot, though I wouldn't think of TOM. 😁 Though you may be right. I would rather think of TOT, but I am probably mistaken (I don't have time to check that now 😅). You're right, it is very similar to the final version, and yet very different. I prefer the finished, more polished album version, of course, but this demo had a charm of its own, and I could also see it on the album. It has so many elements that I love and that are not to be found on the final version. Oh, I had forgotten about that section at 3:42, that others have mentioned already! "Only ever happened to me once, it doesn't come again... I think somebody lost me here, afraid and lonely, a long time ago". It was left out of the final version but picked up almost 30 years later to be included in the final part of Shadow Endeavors (Cast in Steel album, 2015). ❤ I went back to your reaction to that song and you loved it, the whole song and those lines in particular. I hoped then you yould recognise the lines when you heard them again in this demo, but - guess what!, it's been almost an year and a half since you heard that song (14 February 2023), so you obviously forgot about them... Maybe you could go back and relisten to it now. 😉 I also saw my own comment there, and here's a bit of what I said then: "this is the second song on this album with a very special meaning for fans, because of the final lines taken from a very early version of Scoundrel Days, as someone has mentioned. We had access to that demo (and others) in the Scoundrel Days Deluxe edition in 2010, and what an amazing treat that was! It was shortly before a-ha's "final" breakup, so we cherished those gems from the past even more. And then, to hear lines from those old demos in their comeback album in 2015 was like they were connecting to their early days, linking past and present, stressing a continuity. Very heartwarming. " Haha, that false ending managed to catch you by surprise today. 😉

@shelld1261

27 күн бұрын

Oh that’s right. I had to go back and look at that reaction for Shadow Endeavors and yep, that is the best part of the song. I wasn’t impressed with the rest of the song, but the end with those verses and (I think) Morten using his higher and lower voice, that part is killer. 👍🏼❤️‍🔥 Wonder if there is a way to just get that ending and not the rest of the song? Am a bad? 😂 I do really like this demo too, but just for Morten’s voice and the keyboard stuff at the end. You can see my swooning above your comment over Morten’s voice. 😂

Maybe you have discussed this in the past but the "new" part at around 3:42 was later used in "Shadow Endeavors" from "Cast in Steel".

Noooooo !!!! My post disappeared !! Ok, Previously on Shnootz (In my husky American TV announcer voice) ; This is (as Matt said) both similar and different to the final song. The main riff from the album version being dropped in and out like a tease for the really keen listeners (an Easter egg, I think the youngsters call it). Some really nice keyboard breaks and another false ending ? I love it. The HH&L demo's were early works being carved from stone, so I imagine that the SD demo will seem a little more 'together' like this one is just a few steps removed from the final track. Very cool.

@shelld1261

26 күн бұрын

So now your posts are disappearing? It is soooo frustrating, isn’t it? 🤬 I love “The HHAL demos were early works being carved from stone” Wow….that was well written.

@UnhandyCandy280

25 күн бұрын

@@shelld1261 Why, thank you kindly ma'am (tips my hat, gentlemanly style).

@shelld1261

25 күн бұрын

@@UnhandyCandy280 🤗

You know that I love synths, but the version that actually made it to the album is 1000 times better (I do like this one though).

@philipmcfarlane

28 күн бұрын

In most cases demos are like a half drawn picture. You can get a feel for what they're aiming for but they bear only a passing resemblance to the finished work.

Essa extendida do final eles fariam nas apresentações em Tokio, em 1986. O resultado foi lindo! Tem no KZread.

@UnhandyCandy280

26 күн бұрын

Cool, thanks. I'll look for that !!!

It’s all there …plus a bit extra as far the lyrics and the basic melody is concerned. The bouncy, tinny, echoey synths do give it a very different feeling from the sinister suspenseful sounding one that eventually emerged to give title to their second album. I too feel an overall similarity of tempo and vibe to Take On Me, on that I can definitely agree Matt. Morten does do what he did on many of the early demos and lets his voice go off on an experimental flight of fancy which for us a-ha nerds is a delight to hear!

@shelld1261

27 күн бұрын

Hey lady! Good to see you here! Where have you been? Great exceptional review, as usual😁

@marjoriemcbride6557

27 күн бұрын

@@shelld1261 Hi Shell…I was on holiday. I went on a cruise to the western isles of Scotland and the Norwegian fjords..no wi-fi for nearly 2 weeks, but I’ve been catching up on Matt’s a-ha posts since I returned on Friday! Btw no sign of Mags, Morten or Pal when I was in Norway…wrong part of the country I know, but I kept hoping anyway! 😁😘

@shelld1261

27 күн бұрын

@@marjoriemcbride6557Oh wow! That sounds absolutely beautiful! It is good to get a break from the internet, no doubt. Haha…I have to admit that if I was somehow ever in Norway, no matter where I was, I would be looking too. I mean, even if the chances are slim, they are still like 99.9% higher than seeing in America, right? 😂😂 If I saw Morten, I would leave him alone for I feel he would prefer to not be bothered. If I saw Magne or Pål, I would find a way to “accidentally” bump into them, apologize, and then say in a matter of fact way “Oh hey, by the way. I love your music. If it’s not too much of a bother, could I have your autograph?”. Well, that’s what I hope I can do. In reality, I would probably just freeze and stare or stumble out something like “Oh my god! You are soooo amazing! You rock! You’re a world treasure!”. Well, if it was Magne, I could giggle and twirl my hair, but I hope not. 🙈🤣🤣

@marjoriemcbride6557

27 күн бұрын

@@shelld1261 Yes…and they must go on holiday too, so they could just happen to be sailing up the majestic waterways of the fjords and hiking the mountain trails…they love nature and the environment after all!

@UnhandyCandy280

26 күн бұрын

I think i mentioned before, in another video, that I think of a-ha's demos as a lot like a doodle or notes scribbled in Pal's song book. Throwing the ideas at it and see what works and what sticks. This demo has some really good ideas.

Without the 'Halloween' intro it's just not the same. 😄

@SofiaMarques18

27 күн бұрын

Thank you for sharing this with Matt and saving me some time. I was preparing to rip my CD and share it when we realised you had already shared it. 😁👍

@ElanurMH

27 күн бұрын

😅

Well..that was really cool to hear. Thank you, Phillip🙏🏼🩷 Definitely feels to have a way more 80’s vibe here than the one that made the album. I have to admit I prefer the more forceful and powerful rock version with the music that was the official song. That is just my favorite style from them. No offense to all the Synth stuff. Although though…well hello Morten…tee hee…giggle…(me twirling my hair)..swoon…☺️ Your voice is so hot here! WHEW!!!❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 (place meme of Barbara Streisand fanning herself here) Wow wow…okay, so yes, the official one is definitely better for it includes those hot embellishments he adds on like that crazy but hot almost yodel “Y-E-A-H”❤️‍🔥 and the also hot, I am not sure the exact words, they are a little more quiet but emotional after he sings “making”. Maybe it’s just “Oh oh ohhh” or maybe it’s “Oh no no no” ? Then after that there are a few more quieter but hot embellishments. Then I think Pål is on the background echoing Morten with some verses almost at the end? That’s so cool.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 His voice is still soaring in this version and I love it. I even love when he plays going out of his range a bit. Also he still has that kinda crazy shake in his voice that just adds so much more believability to the song. I always so thought that was cool how he sounds on edge here. Again seriously..THIS is why this man is hot to me. Who cares what he looks like. Wouldn’t care if he was 300 lbs wearing a track suit and completely bald. The man IS hot for that voice! I was just talking to a fellow fan about this on the official “Move to Memphis” video. She was complaining on how people will get so lost in Morten’s looks that they miss the really important and hot thing about the man, HIS VOICE. I wanted to reach through the internet and hug her. She’s around my niece’s age. I think I will adopt her. ❤😂😂MY niece , after I played all their albums for her said, “Aunt Shelly, no offense, but they sound like any other band from the 80’s to me”. Then when I showed her my EOTSWOTM album cover shirt and before I could say it was my favorite cover and one of my favorite photos cause all three of them look cool, not like pin ups, how Morten is in the back and Magne and Pål get to be in the front, she points to Morten and said “Wow! That guy is HOT!!”🙄😭🫢😱 She truly can’t honestly be MY niece, can she?🤣🤣 I do like the end with the keyboards on this version though. Picturing the adorable Magne with a serious expression playing them. ❤🌈✨☀️🌺💐

@ElanurMH

27 күн бұрын

Your niece, she has a excellent taste 😂😂😂 I've been saying this all along, it's the golden ratio. It's all just mathematics 😁 But you are absolutely right, Mortens voice is hotter than his looks. Voices are so important for me, can fall in love with voices, and Mortens voice is...well you know what I mean 😊

@shelld1261

27 күн бұрын

@@ElanurMH Nope, she doesn’t have excellent taste if she thinks every single song from a-ha sounds the same and sounds like it’s from the 80’s, Morten’s voice does nothing to her, and only was into Morten for his looks. I disagree! That is why she can’t really be my niece! LOL! She killed me with that! 😭🤣🤣 Yep, I know what you mean. His voice can do things to you. We’ll leave it at that . ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥😅😅😅

@ElanurMH

27 күн бұрын

​@@shelld1261I meant her taste in men😜

@ElanurMH

27 күн бұрын

​​@@shelld1261Did you show her the music videos or let her only hear the music? Maybe she will change her mind if she see him singing, it will let her to concentrate more to the music. It's the age I think, for teenager and younger persons visuals are important

@shelld1261

27 күн бұрын

@@ElanurMHI only let her listen to the music. If she watched the videos, she would have just been drooling over his looks 😂😂(she’s in her mid 30’s too) I see what you mean for she does think he’s good looking, but she isn’t in love with his voice, so I don’t think she has excellent taste. If she thought he was good looking AND was in love with his voice, THEN I would say she has excellent taste. Although, she did think of him as good looking from my favorite period with Morten’s looks, so I will give her that. 👍🏼🤣 If she was REALLY MY niece, she would be in love with his voice too! We need to do some kind of DNA testing there. 😂😂

Scoundrel Days on steroids 😅 Where was the fire? The keyboards/synths are bearable but the constant, annoying, tapping 'drum' beat (or was it a tin box?). I could easily hear TOM over the top of this. I'm very glad they evolved from this type of sound. Morten's vocals, of course, are the stand out to this track.

@shelld1261

27 күн бұрын

Yes yes…it is very much HHAL 80’s vibe here, not the powerful rock sound. I am in total agreement. But yes, Morten’s voice is still…sigh….I need to go stand in front of an air conditioner vent now…excuse me. 😅😅

@UnhandyCandy280

26 күн бұрын

Oh !!!! Hearing this, I sang the opening chimes to TOM as it started. I'm glad it wasn't just me being a super-nerd. Phewww !

@shelld1261

26 күн бұрын

@@UnhandyCandy280 Nope, it's definitely not you. This so feels like it came from their first album.

Could they only afford Bontempi keyboards and a Casio calculator back then?

@marjoriemcbride6557

28 күн бұрын

More than likely! They were three pretty skint Norwegians when they arrived in London in 1982!

@UnhandyCandy280

26 күн бұрын

Hey, That's Depeche Mode territory !

@handsolo1209

26 күн бұрын

@@UnhandyCandy280 I said "back then". Obviously DM now use a ZX Spectrum for AI to generate their modern "music". Back in the day, (when Vince or Alan were there), they could get a tune out of crappy keyboards. It seems a-ha went the other way, started off quite crap, then got a lot better. At least Porl doesn't look like Martin (i.e. melting) and Morten doesn't dress like he is playing at the Crucible. Speaking of Snooker, do you think that Matt refuses to react to the Snooker Loopy video because he is actually Steve Davis?

@UnhandyCandy280

25 күн бұрын

@@handsolo1209 Steve "Interesting" Davis.... there is a resemblance. Personally, I preferred Bullseye. He doesn't look like Jim Bowen though.

@handsolo1209

25 күн бұрын

@@UnhandyCandy280 You're not saying...Matt...is...Bully!?!?!?

When are you getting back to u2?

@mattsnider2667

20 күн бұрын

Shortly, I'm still waiting to acquire Rattle and Hum but it's coming. Cheers.