Stay on These Roads

Stay on These Roads is the third studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 3 May 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. Six singles were released from the album.

Stay on These Roads
Studio album by A-ha
Released	3 May 1988
Recorded	1987–1988
Studio	RG Jones, London
Genre	Synth-pop pop rock
Length	43:36
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Alan Tarney
A-ha chronology
Scoundrel Days (1986) Stay on These Roads (1988) East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990)
Singles from Stay on These Roads
"The Living Daylights" Released: 22 June 1987 "Stay on These Roads" Released: 14 March 1988 "The Blood That Moves the Body" Released: 6 June 1988 "Touchy!" Released: 15 August 1988 "You Are the One" Released: 21 November 1988 "There's Never a Forever Thing" Released: 1989 (Brazil only)

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.^{[citation needed]}

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
Number One	[3]
Q	[4]
Record Mirror	[5]
New Musical Express	[6]

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 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-Savoy; music composers listed below.

Side one

1. "Stay on These Roads" – 4:45 (Furuholmen, Harket, Waaktaar)
2. "The Blood That Moves the Body" – 4:06 (Waaktaar)
3. "Touchy!" – 4:34 (Furuholmen, Harket, Waaktaar)
4. "This Alone Is Love" – 5:15 (Furuholmen, Waaktaar)
5. "Hurry Home" – 4:37 (Furuholmen, Waaktaar)

Side two

1. "The Living Daylights" – 4:47 (Barry, Waaktaar)
2. "There's Never a Forever Thing" – 2:53 (Waaktaar)
3. "Out of Blue Comes Green" – 6:42 (Waaktaar)
4. "You Are the One" – 3:51 (Furuholmen, Waaktaar)
5. "You'll End up Crying" – 2:06 (Waaktaar)

2015 Deluxe edition

Disc 1

1. "Stay on These Roads" (2015 Remastered)
2. "The Blood That Moves the Body" (2015 Remastered)
3. "Touchy!" (2015 Remastered)
4. "This Alone Is Love" (2015 Remastered)
5. "Hurry Home" (2015 Remastered)
6. "The Living Daylights" (2015 Remastered)
7. "There's Never a Forever Thing" (2015 Remastered)
8. "Out of Blue Comes Green" (2015 Remastered)
9. "You Are the One" (2015 Remastered)
10. "You'll End up Crying" (2015 Remastered)
11. "Stay on These Roads" (Extended Remix)
12. "You Are the One" (12" Remix)
13. "The Living Daylights (Extended Version)
14. "The Blood That Moves the Body" (Extended Remix)
15. "Touchy!" (Go-Go Mix)

Disc 2 - Demos & Alternate Versions^[7]

1. "Stay on These Roads" (Early Version)
2. "The Blood That Moves the Body" (Demo)
3. "Touchy!" (Original Mix)
4. "This Alone Is Love" (Demo)
5. "You Are the One" (Early Version)
6. "Cold River" (1987 Demo)
7. "Hurry Home" (Demo)
8. "I'll Never Find Streetful City" (Demo)
9. "The Living Daylights" (Demo)
10. "There's Never a Forever Thing" (Demo)
11. "Out of Blue Comes Green" (Alternate Mix)
12. "You'll End up Crying" (Demo)
13. "You Are the One" (Alternate Version)
14. "Touchy!" (Demo)
15. "Umbrella" (Rendezvous Demo)
16. "Thus Ended Our Love Affair" (Demo)
17. "There's Never a Forever Thing" (Acoustic Version)
18. "Evitar" (Demo)
19. "You Are the One" (Demo)
20. "Sail On My Love" (Writing Session)

Personnel

A-ha

• Morten Harket – lead and backing vocals
• Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, bass and drum programming, backing vocals
• Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitars, strings, bass and drum programming, backing vocals

• Contributions to the recording of the album: Steve Sidwell, Ben Robbins, Anne Dudley, Randy Hope-Taylor, Øystein Jevanord, Kick Horns.

Production and Technical

• Alan Tarney – producer
• Gerry Kitchingham – recording engineer
• John Hudson – mixing
• Jeri Heiden – art direction
• Just Loomis – band photography
• Stuart Watson – "still life" photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Stay on These Roads Chart (1988) Peak position Australian Albums (Australian Music Report)[8] 52 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 9 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 55 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 5 European Albums (Music & Media)[12] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 12 French Albums (IFOP)[14] 3 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 4 Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)[16] 5 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[17] 2 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 36 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] 1 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[20] 18 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 10 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 6 UK Albums (OCC)[23] 2 US Billboard 200[24] 148

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Stay on These Roads Chart (1988) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 51 European Albums (Music & Media)[26] 16 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 21 French Albums (Top 30)[28] 16

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Stay on These Roads

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[29]	Platinum	470,000[30]
France (SNEP)[31]	Platinum	300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[32]	Gold	250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[33]	Gold	50,000^
Norway	—	85,000[34]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[35]	Platinum	100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[36]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37]	Gold	100,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Allmusic Review
2. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
3. "Review: A-ha — Stay on These Roads (Warners)". Number One. No. 287. London: IPC Magazines Ltd. 14 December 1988. p. 36.
4. Q Review
5. O'Toole, Lesley (7 May 1988). "33 - Album Reviews". Record Mirror. p. 31. ISSN 0144-5804.
6. "Quantick David - Album Reviews". New Musical Express. 7 May 1988. p. 31.
7. Stay On These Roads (Deluxe Edition) por a-ha (in Brazilian Portuguese), retrieved 8 June 2021
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 13. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. "Austriancharts.at – a-ha – Stay on These Roads" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8699". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – a-ha – Stay on These Roads" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
12. "Eurochart Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 21. 21 May 1988. p. 24. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
14. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Retrieved 19 January 2019. Select "A-HA" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – a-ha – Stay on These Roads" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
16. "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). 19 August 1988. p. 44. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
17. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 24. 11 June 1988. p. 77. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
18. "Charts.nz – a-ha – Stay on These Roads". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
19. "Norwegiancharts.com – a-ha – Stay on These Roads". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
20. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – a-ha – Stay on These Roads". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
22. "Swisscharts.com – a-ha – Stay on These Roads". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
24. "a-ha Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
25. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
26. "1988 Year End Eurocharts – Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 1 January 1989. p. 30. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
27. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1988" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
28. Book : Top 50, Top D'Or 89, Filipacchi éditeur, janvier 1989, page 81.
29. "Brazilian album certifications – A-ha – Stay on These Roads" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
30. de Almeida, Carlos Heli; Lima, Eduardo Souza (27 February 1989). "Na Praça da Apoteose". Tribuna da Imprensa (in Portuguese). No. 12150 – via National Library of Brazil.
31. "French album certifications – Aha – Stay on These Roads" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 18 October 2001. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
32. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (A-ha; 'Stay on These Roads')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
33. "Dutch album certifications – A-ha – Stay on These Roads" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 7 February 2019. Enter Stay on These Roads in the "Artiest of titel" box.
34. "I en egen klasse" [In a separate class]. Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 5 December 1998. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
35. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 924. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
36. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Stay on These Roads')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
37. "British album certifications – A-ha – Stay on These Roads". British Phonographic Industry. 5 May 1988. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

External links

• Lyrics
• Tour of 1988-1989, in German