a-ha’s ‘Hunting High and Low,’ ‘Scoundrel Days’ reissued with 28 unreleased tracks

As Norwegian pop trio a-ha marks its 25th anniversary with a worldwide farewell tour, Rhino Records on Thursday announced plans to reissue the band’s first two albums — 1985’s Hunting High and Low and 1986’s Scoundrel Days — in deluxe 2CD sets brimming with B-sides, mixes, live cuts and unreleased material.

Although both albums are currently listed for pre-sale on Amazon.com, a Rhino news release says the two titles are being released exclusively through Rhino.com, with pre-orders beginning May 11 and the discs expected to ship in late June. And to sweeten the deal, Rhino’s knocking $5 off the price if you buy both (list price is $24.95 apiece).

UPDATE: The release of the a-ha titles has been pushed back to July 13; pre-order them here: ‘Hunting High and Low’ and ‘Scoundrel Days.’

While the band posted tracklists for the reissues on its official site Thursday just as it opened an exceedingly rare run of U.S. shows in New York, Rhino sent out a news release later in the day with corrected lineups for both albums (see final tracklists below).

The expanded edition of Hunting High and Low includes 27 bonus tracks, 13 of which are previously unreleased, including a fall 1982 demo of the band’s biggest hit, “Take On Me,” called “Lesson One.” Similarly, the Scoundrel Days set features 21 bonus tracks — including five live cuts — with a total of 15 previously unissued tracks.

Rhino also just released a-ha’s The Singles: 1984-2004 in the U.S. for the first time; the comp features hits “Take On Me,” “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” and the Bond theme “The Living Daylights,” as well as tracks from each album up through 2002’s Lifelines.

See full tracklists for a-ha reissues after the jump…

Tracklist: a-ha, Hunting High and Low

DISC 1: ALBUM + BONUS TRACKS
1. “Take On Me”
2. “Train Of Thought”
3. “Hunting High And Low”
4. “The Blue Sky”
5. “Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale”
6. “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.”
7. “And You Tell Me”
8. “Love Is Reason”
9. “I Dream Myself Alive”
10. “Here I Stand And Face The Rain”
Bonus Tracks
11. “Take On Me” (Original 7” Version 1984)
12. “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.” (Extended Mix)
13. “Train Of Thought” (U.S. Mix)
14. “Hunting High And Low” (Extended Remix)

DISC 2: DEMOS, B-SIDES & RARITIES
1. “Take On Me” (Demo)
2. “Train Of Thought” (Demo)*
3. “Hunting High And Low (Demo)*
4. “The Blue Sky” (Demo)
5. “Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale” (Early Version)*
6. “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” (Demo)*
7. “And You Tell Me” (Demo)
8. “Love Is Reason” (Demo)*
9. “I Dream Myself Alive” (Demo)*
10. “Here I Stand And Face The Rain” (Demo)*
11. “Stop And Make Your Mind Up”
12. “Driftwood”
13. “Dot The I”*
14. “The Love Goodbye”
15. “Nothing To It”*
16. “Go To Sleep”
17. “Monday Mourning”
18. “All The Planes That Come In On The Quiet” *
19. “Never Never”
20. “What’s That You’re Doing To Yourself”*
21. “You Have Grown Thoughtful Again”*
22. “Lesson One” (Autumn 1982 “Take On Me” Demo)*
23. “Presenting Lily Mars”

*Previously unreleased

Tracklist: a-ha, Scoundrel Days

DISC 1: ALBUM + BONUS TRACKS
1.  “Scoundrel Days”
2. “The Swing Of Things”
3. “I’ve Been Losing You”
4. “October”
5. “Manhattan Skyline”
6. “Cry Wolf”
7. “We’re Looking For The Whales”
8. “The Weight Of The Wind”
9. “Maybe, Maybe”
10. “Soft Rains Of April”
Bonus Tracks
11. “I’ve Been Losing You” (Extended Version)
12. “Cry Wolf” (Extended Version)
13. “Manhattan Skyline” (Extended Version)

DISC 2: DEMOS, B-SIDES & RARITIES
1. “Scoundrel Days” (Demo)*
2. “The Swing Of Things” (Demo #3)*
3. “I’ve Been Losing You” (Octocon Studio Demo)*
4. “October” (Demo)*
5. “Manhattan Skyline” (Demo)*
6. “Cry Wolf” (Demo)*
7. “We’re Looking For The Whales” (Demo)*
8. “The Weight Of The Wind” (Demo)*
9. “Maybe, Maybe” (Demo)*
10. “Soft Rains Of April” (Guitar Version)*
11. “Scoundrel Days” (Octocon Studio Demo)*
12. “This Alone Is Love” (Original Version)
13. “Days On End” (Demo)
14. “Train of Thought” (Live In Croydon)*
15. “I’ve Been Losing You” (Live In Croydon)*
16. “The Blue Sky” (Live In Croydon)*
17. “Looking for The Whales” (Live In Croydon)
18. “Cry Wolf” (Live In Croydon)*

*Previously unreleased

Tracklist: a-ha, The Singles: 1984-2004

1. “Take On Me”
2. “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.”
3. “Train Of Thought”
4. “Hunting High And Low”
5. “I’ve Been Losing You”
6. “Cry Wolf”
7. “Manhattan Skyline”
8. “The Living Daylights”
9. “Stay On These Roads”
10. “Touchy!”
11. “Crying In The Rain”
12. “Move To Memphis”
13. “Dark Is The Night For All”
14. “Shapes That Go Together”
15. “Summer Moved On”
16. “Minor Earth Major Sky”
17. “Velvet”
18. “Forever Not Yours”
19. “Lifelines”

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• a-ha adds Chicago, Toronto concerts to its ‘Ending on a High Note’ farewell tour
• The Specials, a-ha add additional New York City concerts to spring U.S. tours
• a-ha adds 2nd Los Angeles concert to brief U.S. leg of ‘Ending on a High Note’ tour
• a-ha to play 3 concerts in New York, Los Angeles as part of 2010 farewell tour