Stay on These Roads


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.

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 List of [music recording sales certifications|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

All lyrics written by Paul Waaktaar; music composers listed below.
;Side one
  1. "Stay on These Roads" – 4:45
  2. "The Blood That Moves the Body" – 4:06
  3. "Touchy!" – 4:34
  4. "This Alone Is Love" – 5:15
  5. "Hurry Home" – 4:37
;Side two
  1. "The [Living Daylights |The Living Daylights]" – 4:47
  2. "There's Never a Forever Thing" – 2:53
  3. "Out of Blue Comes Green" – 6:42
  4. "You Are the One" – 3:51
  5. "You'll End up Crying" – 2:06

    2015 Deluxe edition

;Disc 1
  1. "Stay on These Roads"
  2. "The Blood That Moves the Body"
  3. "Touchy!"
  4. "This Alone Is Love"
  5. "Hurry Home"
  6. "The Living Daylights"
  7. "There's Never a Forever Thing"
  8. "Out of Blue Comes Green"
  9. "You Are the One"
  10. "You'll End up Crying"
  11. "Stay on These Roads"
  12. "You Are the One"
  13. "The Living Daylights
  14. "The Blood That Moves the Body"
  15. "Touchy!"
;Disc 2 - Demos & Alternate Versions
  1. "Stay on These Roads"
  2. "The Blood That Moves the Body"
  3. "Touchy!"
  4. "This Alone Is Love"
  5. "You Are the One"
  6. "Cold River"
  7. "Hurry Home"
  8. "I'll Never Find Streetful City"
  9. "The Living Daylights"
  10. "There's Never a Forever Thing"
  11. "Out of Blue Comes Green"
  12. "You'll End up Crying"
  13. "You Are the One"
  14. "Touchy!"
  15. "Umbrella"
  16. "Thus Ended Our Love Affair"
  17. "There's Never a Forever Thing"
  18. "Evitar"
  19. "You Are the One"
  20. "Sail On My Love"

    Personnel

A-ha
Production and Technical

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales