Stay on These Roads is the third studio album by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha, released on 3 May 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. Six singles were released from the album.
Contents
Recording
A Synclavier, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Yamaha DX-7, Roland D-50, and Roland Juno-60 or Roland Juno-106 synthesizers were used in the recording of this album, as was a Yamaha RX-5 drum machine.
Release and reception
The album peaked at number 148 on the US Billboard 200. It was another big hit by A-ha internationally, selling over 4 million copies worldwide. Stay on These Roads achieved Platinum status in Brazil and Gold in the UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany and Double Platinum status in France. It reached number two in the European top-100 albums sales chart.
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said "in the U.K., the album became the group's third straight to peak at number two, though it charted for a shorter period than the first two albums, and there were four Top 25 hits—the title track, 'The Blood That Moves the Body,' 'Touchy!,' and 'You Are the One'." Also included was a re-recording of A-ha's 1987 theme from the James Bond movie The Living Daylights, which, in its single version, was a U.K. number five that missed the U.S. charts. In the positive review of the NME, David Quantick writes : "Life is sad and so is Pal Waaktaar. Pal, writer or co-writer of all these songs, seems over-run by melancholy. His lyrics are about crying, going away and yearning, and even the happier songs seem riddled with resignation rather than out-and-out pop joy".
Lead single "Stay on These Roads", number one in Norway, was a hit across Europe, including top-five showings in the UK, France, Austria and Ireland and top-ten chartings in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Stay on These Roads includes three more hit singles, "The Blood That Moves The Body", "Touchy!" and "You Are the One", though a final single, "There's Never a Forever Thing", was released only in Brazil.
Track listing
Personnel
A-ha
Morten Harket – lead and backing vocals
Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, bass and drum programming, backing vocals
Paul Waaktaar – guitars, strings, bass and drum programming, backing vocals
Contributions to the recording of the album: Steve Sidwell, Ben Robbins, Anne Dudley, Randy Hope-Taylor, Øystein Jevanord, Kick Horns.
Production and Technical
Alan Tarney – producer
Gerry Kitchingham – recording engineer
John Hudson – mixing
Jeri Heiden – art direction
Just Loomis – band photography
Stuart Watson – "still life" photography