A-Ha - Touchy!

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I love this song so much I think it should have its own thread - the springiness of it and the bright-sounding keys are everything I love about 80s production, A-Ha's soul-pop voices are on great form, the guitar/sax bit is wonderfully extraneous, the lyrics switch between come-on gibberish ("Me, I'm touchy, touch you!") and poseur menace gibberish (the "Hey this time you've gone too far" bit), it is stuffed with hooks and should have been a MUCH bigger hit than it was. Best thing they ever did, and yes I know the competition is stiff.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 16 February 2004 12:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Best thing they ever did

this ranks with ilm's most unbelievable statements.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 16 February 2004 12:54 (twenty-two years ago)

It is though! OK probably when I'm actually listening to "Take On Me" I like it more but "Touchy!" is even more sugary, OK maybe it doesn't do the thoughtful, brooding A-Ha so well (I also love "Manhattan Skyline" even though it's scientifically provable as ridiculous).

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 16 February 2004 12:55 (twenty-two years ago)

"Donna found us in a slow & dreamy way" = best opening line for a song ever. Could only have written by someone whose first language is not English.

― harveyw (harveyw), Monday, 16 February 2004 13:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I find "Hunting high and low" to be a far better track, personally...

― Rudolf (Rudolf), Monday, 16 February 2004 13:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Right I'm going to listen to the Stay on these Roads album now AND RANK EVERY TRACK... I will try to keep an open mind about Touchy, but it's still not likely to get above 4th place. I cannot believe I am doing this.

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Monday, 16 February 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course Manhattan Skyline is completely ridiculous. That's why it's so great.

Alan you are mad.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Monday, 16 February 2004 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)

One listen, and then I went back and listened to the fan favourites that I dislike and Touchy. iTunes rating only rates in jumps of 20% so I took them and added 10% for the mental "and a half" i had to keep making

Stay On These Roads 100
The Blood That Moves The Body 80
Touchy! 70
This Alone Is Love 90
Hurry Home 50
The Living Daylights 70
There's Never A Forever Thing 40
Out Of Blue Comes Green 40
You Are The One 80
You'll End Up Crying 50

Joint 5th on the fan's least favourite LP - the one in the shadow of Scoundrel Days. I already knew the album was a bit of a drag - reason I don't listen to it much - but it also comes over as a very confused album. This is despite most of the songs being composed with the same core synth-pop instrumentation, ie to the aHa insensitive, these songs will sound samey. Yes there is quite a range here, some reaching for a rock epic quality, and notably Touchy still trying for bouncy pop. Touchy and You are the One are both obvious singles, but Touchy comes over as just that bit annoying - Morten doing double duty on backing vocals, some Five Star-ish synth stabs. The title track is still an aHa all-time highlight for me.

anyway there you go.

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Monday, 16 February 2004 15:20 (twenty-two years ago)

What are the fan favourites? I only have the Greatest Hits and an old vinyl copy of the first album.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 16 February 2004 15:22 (twenty-two years ago)

"Manhattan Skyline" is very close to being the greatest song on _Scoundrel Days_; only "The Soft Winds Of April", "Maybe Maybe" and "Cry Wolf" can challenge it.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 16 February 2004 15:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Hurry Home is well liked (I gave it a "and a half" on the second hearing) as is the tedious 7 minute Out of Blue comes green

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Why do fans always like long songs?

(I almost started a new thread for that question but I'm not 100% sure it's true.)

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:02 (twenty-two years ago)

i like 'Touchy' and would certainly put it in my top 5 A-Ha singles but it would be fifth, behind 'The Sun Always Shines On TV', 'Take On Me', 'Stay On These Roads', 'The Living Daylights' - iirc it was a good return to form after a run of below par singles (but i may have my chronology mixed up)

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:04 (twenty-two years ago)

is this a good time to mention the girly pop duo DIVA and their cover of 'The Sun Always Shines On TV'?

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:05 (twenty-two years ago)

also, what if 'Touchy' had been a Bros song?

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:07 (twenty-two years ago)

That would have been great! A few "woo-arg!" noises would have improved it even further and they did petulance so well.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

This thread makes me feel warm inside. As theme to my fave Bond film, 'Living Daylights' is for me, but I don't have indepth knowledge of ver Ha.

― ENRQ (Enrique), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

mmm, woo-arg noises.

I'm personally a big fan of hunting high and low (also I can't believe I'm admitting this). It's the phrasing in it, so jaunty and staccato.

― chris (chris), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Hunting High and Low is one opf my faves too. it's the theatricality, things like the "watch me tearing myself to pieces" line. num num. next Karaoke oh yes.

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:26 (twenty-two years ago)

also iirc in the HHAL video Morton's silhouette morphs into that of a big cat

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I think I can remember most of their videos, but I can't remember what the heck the 'Touchy' one was like. And seeing as half their success was due to the impact of the videos (especially w/ 'Take On Me'), maybe that would explain the failure of 'Touchy'? (Other than being a bit crap and having horrible lyrics that is...)

― NickB (NickB), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:47 (twenty-two years ago)

the video for 'Touchy' was the younger brother of Elton John's 'I'm Still Standing' iirc - lots of beach tents and legs akimbo

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:50 (twenty-two years ago)

also bit unfair to brand 'Touchy' a failure - it reached #13 and i don't think it was the first single from that album and this was 1989 and after 3/4 glorious years the Scanda pop crown was ready to be passed on to Roxette

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:52 (twenty-two years ago)

"Touchy!" reminds me VERY specifically of sitting in a pub on London Road in Liverpool in the autumn of '88 just prior to seeing Big Business (poor Midler/Tomlin vehicle) at the Odeon with SJ - I thought it was a date, she didn't. I was probably about to fall under the murky spell of 4AD at the time and didn't like my arctic studio confections quite so sickly.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Monday, 16 February 2004 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

this ranks with ilm's most unbelievable statements.

QUITE. He said violently. I do enjoy the song but no goddamn way it's better than "The Sun Always Shines on TV" (for a start, there are more).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 16 February 2004 17:01 (twenty-two years ago)

quite a rockist stance there Ned.

― chris (chris), Monday, 16 February 2004 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Amen, my a-ha loving brothers! I've always been of a mind that their first three albums in full are glorious examples of perfect pop, "Touchy!" highly-ranked among them. Also a big fan of their Bond theme, "The Living Daylights."

― Thomas Inskeep (submeat), Monday, 16 February 2004 17:48 (twenty-two years ago)

quite a rockist stance there Ned.

Grr, grr!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 16 February 2004 18:11 (twenty-two years ago)

A friend of mine used to keep his A-Ha tapes hidden away in a drawer, not on display with the other tapes. This thread would make him happy(but we've lost touch)
The Kings of Convenience's version of 'Manhattan Skyline' is lovely.

― Joe Kay (feethurt), Monday, 16 February 2004 18:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Doesn't anyone love "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale"?! What a freaking gorgeous song!

― Clarke B., Monday, 16 February 2004 18:31 (twenty-two years ago)

You are not alone.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 04:31 (twenty-two years ago)

The Kings of Convenience's version of 'Manhattan Skyline' is lovely

my turn: grrr, GRRR!

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 11:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey I love A-Ha and I love the KOC version of MS.

The Swing of Things
Scoundrel Days good.

― Chris V (Chris V), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 12:38 (twenty-two years ago)

"and you tell me", anyone?

― harveyw (harveyw), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 13:07 (twenty-two years ago)

_Scoundrel Days_ is probably one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I am not going to rank "Touchy!" particularly high. In fact, apart from the title track and "You'll End Up Crying" I don't rate the "Stay On These Roads" album very highly at all.

The album before it, though, "Scoundrel Days" is an underrated masterpiece. The Norwegian audiences have understood, and while the "Hunting High And Low" album is usually nowhere on those lists, "Scoundrel Days" tend to end up very high on lists of best Norwegian albums ever.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:01 (twenty-two years ago)

a-ha were my first favourite band!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Doesn't anyone love "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale"?! What a freaking gorgeous song!

Definitely one of the highlights of their debut.

However, "The Swing Of Things" from "Scoundrel Days" remains a-ha's definite masterpiece as far as single tracks go.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Careful now, people, any more of this and I'm going to have to get the first 3 A-ha albums again. Probably just for that song written by the keyboard player which has a line about being thrown out of a car.

Other faves - Love is Reason, The Blood that moves the body and Manhattan Skyline.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

"Maybe Maybe"! What a brilliant song!

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 18:06 (twenty-two years ago)

And like "And You Tell Me," it's short and sweet.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 18:10 (twenty-two years ago)

five years pass...

However, "The Swing Of Things" from "Scoundrel Days" remains a-ha's definite masterpiece as far as single tracks go.

Geir and I mindmeld, who knew. (But how come I didn't notice this five years back...)

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 2 October 2009 21:57 (sixteen years ago)

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