Review of A Ha: Homecoming

Introduction

After a seven year absence from the music scene, A-Ha arrived back with the album, Minor Earth Major Sky and it was a turning point. The band, known for a certain brand of synth pop, had matured and started to make more `serious` music. Serious? Well, the sound and the lyrics are quite different while still retaining Morten`s vocal talents up front so you know that you`re listening to A-Ha. It`s not the same lively pop synthesiser music of say Cry Wolf or The Sun Always Shines on TV, but a different and altogether better sounding sound. There`s some well observed introspection here too.

The instant I heard A-Ha`s new track Summer Moved On a couple of years ago I knew I liked it. It was catchy and the band sounded different. It`s no Take On Me, or Living Daylights, and was a step beyond what they had done previously, and it sounded good. The whole Minor Earth Major Sky album was different in tone and feeling to previous releases such as Hunting High and Low or Scoundrel Days, though they were approaching it with their later releases East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Memorial Beach.

The band split around 1994 with the individual members getting on with many other things in their lives, needless to say that they`ve been busy boys! You can read a little more about this in the extras section. It was only a matter of time before the band would re-form for new albums and concerts. To know that A-Ha`s global fanbase has not diminished at all is without doubt the highpoint for A-Ha and that the fans still want to see the band perform, no matter where they are.

A lot of them travelled to Norway to see them at Vallhall.

Video

Presented with a 4:3 fullframe, the quality of the video transfer is very good. Considering there`s a lot of black, purple and blue hues mixed in with dry ice on stage, the quality of the compression means there`s little or no visible problems at all The whole concert looks good and has a sparkly air to it. Detail remains very sharp too. It`s a shame with as good a transfer as this is that it wasn`t originally filmed in widescreen.

The video quality of the extras here are good too with no glitches or dirt in sight. A quality looking package indeed.

Audio

No complaints from me on the audio side. There`s a choice of Dolby Digital 5.1/2.0 to choose from with the 5.1 track is simply very very good. It`s crystal clear and dynamic and you can actually here the lyrics being sung very clearly! The live musical arrangements too sound good adding a little more `jive` to the album sound. Bass is controlled and doesn`t overpower and all in all it`s a good sounding mix.

Features

The easy to navigate main menu gives way to the Vallhall concert, Track Selection, Specials and Subtitles. You`ll find the extras under the Specials menu comprising of:

• Bonus Live Tracks (8:00) - The band perform live tracks at a benefit concert in Grimstad, Norway. The tracks are: Early Morning and Summer Moved On. Not bad, but nothing that you won`t have heard already in the concert itself.


• Videos
-Summer Moved On (4:04)
-Minor Earth Major Sky (4:27)
-Velvet (4:07)
-I Wished I Cared (3:33)

The videos here are presented in various aspect ratios which is a shame because they`re all good and are clearly shot in a wide aspect. The last video, I Wished I Cared, was actually created with Macromedia Flash and was available for download from the band`s official website so it`s preserved as is for this DVD. Despite the non-anamorphic treatment of the videos, the quality of the transfers and the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is very good.


• The Seven Year Itch
-Morten (4:37)
-Magne (10:23)
-Pal (6:54)
-The Ian Wright Interview (21:50)

You may well be wondering what the band has been upto since their split in 1994. This section fills in those gaps and by the looks of things, they haven`t just been doing sweet nothing! They`ve all had solo musical projects, film work, art exhibitions and helped to free the Indonesian colony, East Timor, no less. Very interesting segments. Plus there`s the video for a track called, Star, by Pal`s spinoff band, Savoy.

The Ian Wright Interview, not the footballer, thankfully, but one of Australia`s big talkshow hosts where he talks to the band members individually and manages to cover quite a wide range of topics. From music in their childhoods, early musical influences and origins of the band, through to dealing with sudden worldwide fame, touring and then splitting up in the 90s.

These particular extras are subtitled in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.


• Extras
-Backstage with A-Ha (6:13)
-After party Vallhall (5:03)
-Facts (static pages)

Backstage with A-Ha is a small segment behind the scenes. There aren`t any spoken moments here, it`s just a digital camera capturing the band and their families on tape leading up to their stage appearance and seeing their fans afterwards. The After Party bit, with subtitles, has a roving camera that goes to a party where all the fans are invited and where A-ha make an appearance. There are fans from all over the world here, it`s amazing to actually see them come from Australia, Brazil, Japan and the US, just to see the band! Oh, and there`s the UK contingent too. I`m sure there wasn`t a free bar, but it looks as though everyone had a great time. A-Ha fans, what a thoroughly nice bunch.

The Facts page is a recap on the band, dates or birth, group formation and their songs.


• Bonus Booklet - There`s an 8 page colour booklet enclosed, there`s even a sticker on the front of the box which proclaims this, but...the booklet is just a load of credits for the concerts and various filmed sections. Am I missing something here?

The concert is fully subtitled, including where Morten speaks Norwegian, and this includes a song caption at the start of each track. This region 4 DVD is region coded for regions 2 thru 6 and comes packaged in a clear plastic Amaray case.

Conclusion

The complete package as it is here is good and only then by the inclusion of the music videos and other extras. A-Ha as a band in concert aren`t the most performance oriented band I`ve seen so while I enjoy the band`s music, they aren`t as compelling to watch as say Janet Jackson, but then the music is different. The female contingent may disagree with me on that, and if that`s the case then by all means buy this disc!

The band have hardly aged at all since their first appearance on the UK pop scene some 17 years ago, has it really been that long since Take On Me? Morten especially, at a mere 43 years old, hardly looks a day over an early thirtysomething with those still very prominent high cheekbones. His vocal range too is still in force too as evidenced by Take On Me, Stay On These Roads and Hunting High and Low. Impressive stuff.

All the tracks performed here are taken from all of the band`s albums ending with the classic, Take On Me. Despite the band being a little inanimate on stage, it`s an enjoyable disc to play in the background and with all the extras here, an A-Ha fan should see that this DVD is in the collection. A-Ha still make good popular music and can cut it live and judging from the audience reaction, they loved the concert.

With a concert lasting 100 minutes coupled with over an hour`s (75 minutes) worth of extra content, Homecoming is a good DVD which would sit nicely with your copy of the band`s greatest hits DVD, Headlines and Deadlines. Recommended.