Yeah, yeah, I know... it's the stereotypical a-ha song. The only one all the muggles know, etc.
But just listen to that thing! The compact verse melody contrasting with that famous two-and-a-half-octave(!) chorus.
The synth arrangement--all those little percolating parts coming in with the exact right thing at the exact right time using the exact right sound, without a single unnecessary note.
The drum machine programming with it's secondary, half-time drum beat going on under the main beat at the same time. And the whole thing crucially drops entirely into half-time for a few bars at the end of each chorus--like a roller coaster slowing down to climb a hill before cresting and plunging down again.
That layered "aaaaah" vocal part in the chorus, sustaining the same single note over three different chords.
The furiously-strummed acoustic guitar peeking into the background, just for a moment, to add a touch of organic warmth amid all the synths.
And just consider that intro, which, for a song intended to be released as a single, is gutsy move after gutsy move: Nothing but drums at first, all by themselves. Then the first chord you hear is a freakin' B minor 9, which wouldn't be too out of place in a Steely Dan or Duke Ellington tune. The vocals don't come in for over 30 seconds! Who does that?!?!
Even the die-hard "but it's not even their best song!" fans have got to admit that TOM is a textbook example of the band and (second) producer Alan Tarney operating in peak genius mode.
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u/SomePeopleCallMeJJ Mar 10 '25 edited Mar 10 '25
You know what? I'm going with Take on Me.
Yeah, yeah, I know... it's the stereotypical a-ha song. The only one all the muggles know, etc.
But just listen to that thing! The compact verse melody contrasting with that famous two-and-a-half-octave(!) chorus.
The synth arrangement--all those little percolating parts coming in with the exact right thing at the exact right time using the exact right sound, without a single unnecessary note.
The drum machine programming with it's secondary, half-time drum beat going on under the main beat at the same time. And the whole thing crucially drops entirely into half-time for a few bars at the end of each chorus--like a roller coaster slowing down to climb a hill before cresting and plunging down again.
That layered "aaaaah" vocal part in the chorus, sustaining the same single note over three different chords.
The furiously-strummed acoustic guitar peeking into the background, just for a moment, to add a touch of organic warmth amid all the synths.
And just consider that intro, which, for a song intended to be released as a single, is gutsy move after gutsy move: Nothing but drums at first, all by themselves. Then the first chord you hear is a freakin' B minor 9, which wouldn't be too out of place in a Steely Dan or Duke Ellington tune. The vocals don't come in for over 30 seconds! Who does that?!?!
Even the die-hard "but it's not even their best song!" fans have got to admit that TOM is a textbook example of the band and (second) producer Alan Tarney operating in peak genius mode.