Minor Earth Major Sky

Minor Earth Major Sky (stylised as minor earth | major sky) is the sixth studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 14 April 2000 by WEA.

Minor Earth Major Sky
Studio album by A-ha
Released	14 April 2000
Recorded	1998–2000
Genre	Pop rock synth-pop new wave
Length	58:42
Label	WEA
Producer	A-ha Kjetil Bjerkestrand Millenia Nova Ras Roland Spremberg Andre Tanneberger Pål Waaktaar
A-ha chronology
Memorial Beach (1993) Minor Earth Major Sky (2000) Lifelines (2002)
Singles from Minor Earth Major Sky
"Summer Moved On" Released: 25 March 2000[1] "Minor Earth Major Sky" Released: 10 July 2000 "Velvet" Released: 14 September 2000 "The Sun Never Shone That Day" Released: 21 September 2000

Background and release

Following the release of a-ha's fifth studio album, Memorial Beach (1993), the band decided to go on a hiatus. In 1998, the band was invited to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Paul Waaktaar-Savoy had written "Summer Moved On" especially for this performance.^[2] They also performed "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.". This performance was a-ha's comeback into the world of music and the band decided to return to the studio.

Almost the entire album was remixed by producer Niven Garland at the record company's insistence to make it more radio-friendly for the band's German market.

"Summer Moved On", "Minor Earth Major Sky" and "Velvet" were commercially released as singles. "I Wish I Cared" was an Internet download single, accompanied by an Internet-only music video—one of the first of its kind.

The aircraft cockpit on the cover art is from a Boeing 707.

Backing vocals for the track "Velvet" were provided by Simone Larsen of Norwegian band D-Sound.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Musicfolio	link

Commercial performance

Minor Earth Major Sky debuted at number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart, and became the band's first number one album in Germany. The album peaked at number 27 on the UK Albums Chart, but was not released in the U.S. This album was certified platinum in Norway and Germany and gold in Austria, Spain and Switzerland.

Track listing

Standard version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Minor Earth Major Sky"	Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Magne Furuholmen	Boogieman, Roland Spremberg, a-ha[a], Kjetil Bjerkestrand[a]	5:25
2.	"Little Black Heart"	Furuholmen, Waaktaar-Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	4:35
3.	"Velvet"	Waaktaar-Savoy, Lauren Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	4:21
4.	"Summer Moved On"	Waaktaar-Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	4:38
5.	"The Sun Never Shone That Day"	Waaktaar-Savoy, Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	4:40
6.	"To Let You Win"	Morten Harket, Håvard Rem	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	4:24
7.	"The Company Man"	Furuholmen, Waaktaar-Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	3:15
8.	"Thought That It Was You"	Harket, Ole Sverre-Olsen	Bjerkestrand	3:50
9.	"I Wish I Cared"	Furuholmen	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	4:23
10.	"Barely Hanging On"	Waaktaar-Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	3:56
11.	"You'll Never Get Over Me"	Waaktaar-Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a]	5:40
12.	"I Won't Forget Her"	Waaktaar-Savoy	Boogieman	4:44
13.	"Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count"	Waaktaar-Savoy	Waaktaar-Savoy	4:51

Japanese version (bonus track)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Summer Moved On" (remix)	Waaktaar-Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a], C.L.A.S.S. Production[b]	6:00

Russian version (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Minor Earth Major Sky" (Black Dog mix)	Waaktaar-Savoy, Furuholmen	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a], R.A.S[b], Island Brothers[b]	4:07
15.	"Velvet" (Stockholm mix)	Waaktaar-Savoy, Savoy	Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a], Bjerkestrand[a], Palaar Suna[b]	4:16

2019 deluxe edition (disc two)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Minor Earth Major Sky" (Early Version)	5:50
2.	"Little Black Heart" (Alternate Mix)	4:35
3.	"Velvet" (Early Version)	5:18
4.	"Summer Moved On" (Early Version)	4:38
5.	"The Sun Never Shone That Day" (Early Version)	4:24
6.	"To Let You Win" (Early Mix)	4:39
7.	"We Will Never Speak Again" (Demo)	4:19
8.	"The Company Man" (Early Version)	4:30
9.	"Life's Not Fair" (Early Version of "I Wish I Cared")	3:31
10.	"Barely Hanging On" (Early Version)	3:52
11.	"I Won't Forget Her" (Early Version)	4:51
12.	"Manhattan Skyline" (Live - Oslo 2001)	5:51
13.	"Thought That It Was You" (Live - Oslo 2001)	3:45
14.	"You'll Never Get Over Me" (Live - Oslo 2001)	6:02
15.	"Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count" (Live Oslo - 2001)	6:06
16.	"Summer Moved On" (Demo)	3:34

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a remixer

Personnel

A-ha

• Morten Harket – vocals
• Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, string arrangements
• Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitars, string arrangements

Additional musicians

• Sven Lindvall – bass (2, 13)
• Jørun Bøgeberg – bass (11)
• Frode Unneland – drums (1, 7)
• Per Lindvall – drums (3, 10, 13)
• Per Hillestad – drums (11)
• Kjetil Bjerkestrand – string arrangements
• Norwegian Radio Orchestra – strings
• Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra – strings
• Vertavo String Quartet – strings (11)
• Simone Eriksrud – vocals (3)
• Lauren Savoy – vocals (11)

Technical and design

• a-ha – arrangements ^[4]
• Jon Marius Aareskjold – engineer, Pro Tools operator
• Jan-Erik Kongshaug – engineer
• Ulf Holand – engineer
• Niven Garland – mixing (1, 2, 3, 5, 7–13)
• Andreas Herbig "Boogieman" – mixing (4, 6)
• Kjetil Bjerkestrand – Pro Tools operator
• Magne Furuholmen – art direction
• Kjetil Try – art direction
• Henrik Haugen – logo artwork
• Bjørn Opshal – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Minor Earth Major Sky Chart (2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] 169 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] 4 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7] 22 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 55 European Albums (Music & Media)[9] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 39 French Albums (SNEP)[11] 41 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 1 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[13] 7 Irish Albums (IRMA)[14] 54 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] 53 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 1 Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 40 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[18] 8 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 36 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[21] 27

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Minor Earth Major Sky Chart (2000) Position European Albums (Music & Media)[22] 55 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 15 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 63

Certifications

Certifications for Minor Earth Major Sky

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[25]	Platinum	300,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26]	Gold	50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[27]	Gold	25,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Stavenes-Dove, Siri (1 April 2000). "a-ha, It's Those Norwegians Again". Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 14. p. 1.
2. interview on "a-ha live at valhall homecoming" DVD, 2001
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. a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky
5. "Response from ARIA re: a-ha ARIA chart history, received 22 December 2017". Retrieved 19 January 2019 – via Imgur.
6. "Austriancharts.at – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
7. "Ultratop.be – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
9. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 19. 6 May 2000. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
10. "a-ha: Minor Earth - Major Sky" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
11. "Lescharts.com – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
13. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2000. 22. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
14. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 23, 2000". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
15. 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 19 January 2019.
16. "Norwegiancharts.com – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
17. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
18. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 20. 13 May 2000. p. 13. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
20. "Swisscharts.com – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
22. "Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 52. 23 December 2000. p. 9. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
23. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
24. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2022.
25. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (A-ha; 'Minor Earth / Major Sky')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
26. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 954. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
27. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Minor Earth, Major Sky')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

External links

• Album entry on a-ha discography site at the Wayback Machine (archived August 14, 2007)