"Early Morning" is a song by Norwegian band

A-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

, which was released in 1991 as the third single from their fourth studio album, ''

East of the Sun, West of the Moon ''East of the Sun, West of the Moon'' is the fourth studio album by Norwegian new wave 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 e ...

'' (1990). It was written by

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million alb ...

and

Magne Furuholmen Magne Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. He was named Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav by King Harald for his services to Norwegian music and his international success. Furuholmen, better kno ...

, and produced by

Ian Stanley Ian Christopher Stanley (born 28 February 1957) is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He was previously a member of the English band Tears for Fears for most of the 1980s, and played a key role in the making of their multi-plat ...

. "Early Morning" reached number 78 in the United Kingdom and number 29 in Ireland. A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Michael Burlingame, while the video's black-and-white footage was directed by

Lauren Savoy Lauren Lucia Savoy is an American musician and film director. Upon graduation from the London Film School, Savoy started directing music videos and commercials. She has original songs in the movie "Hawaii, Oslo" as well as "One Night at Mcool's." ...

. Recalling the song in 2015, Furuholmen revealed the song references

the Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

, which had been "childhood heroes" to the band.

Critical reception

On its release as a single, ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "The band continue their brand of easy recognisable pop tunes which EHR programmers will welcome with open arms." Julian Cope of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' picked "Early Morning" as one of the magazine's "single of the week" and commented that it "could be from the second Doors album". In a retrospective review of ''East of the Sun, West of the Moon'', Sassan Niasseri of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said the song "tells of murder and suicide, backed by a psychedelic-sounding bass drumming a la

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

." Paul Sinclair of ''Super Deluxe Edition'' described it as "wistful adult pop".

Track listings

*CD single #"Early Morning" – 2:59 #"East of the Sun" – 4:47 #"Train of Thought" – 4:11 *7-inch single #"Early Morning" – 2:59 #"East of the Sun" – 4:47 *12-inch single #"Early Morning" – 2:59 #"East of the Sun" – 4:47 #"Train of Thought" – 4:11 *Cassette single #"Early Morning" – 2:59 #"East of the Sun" – 4:47

Personnel

A-ha *

Morten Harket Morten Harket () (born September 14, 1959) is a Norwegian vocalist and songwriter, who is the lead singer of the synthpop/rock band A-ha. A-ha has released 10 studio albums to date, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough ...

– vocals *

– guitars *

– keyboards Additional musicians * Jørun Bøgeberg – bass guitar *

Per Hillestad Per Hillestad (born 25 March 1959 in Øvre Årdal, Norway) is a Norwegian musician (drums) and record producer, known as drummer in Lava and was contributing in releases by a-ha, Vamp, Jonas Fjeld, Bjølsen Valsemølle and Marius Müller. Car ...

– drums Production *

– producer * Nick Davis – recording, mixing Other *

Knut Bry Knut Johannes Bry (born 3 October 1946) is a Norwegian fine-art photographer and film director. Bry chose photography as a profession in 1975, when he was 29 years old. He has won a number of photographic awards, among them Photographer of th ...

– photography * Bill Smith Studio – design

Charts

References

{{authority control 1990 songs 1991 singles A-ha songs Songs written by Magne Furuholmen Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Song recordings produced by Ian Stanley Warner Records singles