East of the Sun, West of the Moon

1990 studio album by A-ha

East of the Sun, West of the Moon is the fourth studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 27 October 1990 by Warner Bros. Records. Named after a Norwegian fairy tale, the album was something of a departure from the band's earlier radio-friendly sound to a darker, moodier tone. It peaked at number one in the band's native Norway and reached top 20 in various European countries and Japan. It was co-produced by Ian Stanley, formerly of the band Tears for Fears.

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly wrote that "symphonic piano grandeur and alternating blues/metal/flamenco/funk additives collapse beneath the bloated synthesizer slush."^[4]

AllMusic wrote: "This is a nicely crafted collection of songs, performed and sung beautifully, with lots of echoes and suggestions tucked into the music. While not an album one can discuss at length, it's an album that's a pleasure to listen to and one that deserves a better reception than the one, unfortunately, that it seems to have gotten."^[2]

Track listing

• "The Way We Talk" features Magne Furuholmen on lead vocals.

2015 deluxe edition

Personnel

A-ha

• Morten Harket – lead vocals, backing vocals
• Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, backing vocals, string arrangements (5), second vocals (8, 10), lead vocals (9), harmonica (10)
• Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitars, backing vocals, second vocals (4), bass guitar (6, 7, 8), acoustic piano (11)

Additional musicians

• Jørun Bøgeberg – bass guitar (1-5, 9, 10, 11)
• Per Hillestad – drums (1-6, 8-11)
• Chris Hughes – drums (7)
• Martin Ditcham – tambourine (3, 4), percussion (10)
• Phil Todd – saxophone (3)
• David Bedford – string arrangements (7)

Production

• Christopher Neil – producer (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10)
• Ian Stanley – producer (2, 5, 7, 9, 11)
• Nick Davis – recording, mixing
• Haydn Bendall – additional engineer (5, 7)
• Steve "Barney" Chase – additional engineer (5, 7)
• Kim Champagne – art direction
• Jeri Heiden – art direction
• REY International – design
• Just Loomis – cover photography
• Lauren Savoy – inner sleeve photography

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

1. "British album certifications – A Ha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon". British Phonographic Industry. 9 November 1990. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
2. AllMusic review
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
4. "East of the Sun, West of the Moon". EW.com.
5. Lester, Paul (1 December 1990). "Albums". Melody Maker. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
6. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1.
7. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 9.
8. "Response from ARIA re: a-ha ARIA chart history, received 22 December 2017". Retrieved 9 December 2020 – via Imgur.
9. "Austriancharts.at – a-ha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1467". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – a-ha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
12. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 46. 17 November 1990. p. VIII. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
13. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Retrieved 7 February 2019. Select "A-HA" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – a-ha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
15. "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). 9 November 1990. p. 33. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
16. ａ〜ｈａのアルバム売り上げランキング [a-ha album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – a-ha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – a-ha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
19. "Swisscharts.com – a-ha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
21. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 42. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
22. "European Top 100 Albums – 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51/52. 21 December 1991. p. 24. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
23. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
24. "Brazilian album certifications – A-ha – East of the Sun" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
25. "French album certifications – Aha – East of the Sun, West of the Moon" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 4 December 1990. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
26. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (A-ha; 'East of the Sun')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
27. "Scandinavia" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 5. 30 January 1993. p. 30. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
28. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('East of the Sun, West of the Moon')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2019.