''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 Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. Named after a Norwegian fairy tale, the album was something of a departure from the band's earlier radio-friendly sound to a darker, moodier tone. It peaked at number one in the band's native Norway and reached top 20 in various European countries and Japan. It was co-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 ...

, formerly of the band

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' wrote that "symphonic piano grandeur and alternating blues/metal/flamenco/funk additives collapse beneath the bloated synthesizer slush."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote: "This is a nicely crafted collection of songs, performed and sung beautifully, with lots of echoes and suggestions tucked into the music. While not an album one can discuss at length, it's an album that's a pleasure to listen to and one that deserves a better reception than the one, unfortunately, that it seems to have gotten."

Track listing

* "The Way We Talk" features Magne Furuholmen on lead vocals.

2015 deluxe edition

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 ...

– lead vocals, backing vocals *

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 know ...

– keyboards, backing vocals, string arrangements (5), second vocals (8, 10), lead vocals (9),

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(10) *

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 al ...

– guitars, backing vocals, second vocals (4), bass guitar (6, 7, 8), acoustic piano (11) Additional musicians * Jørun Bøgeberg – bass guitar (1-5, 9, 10, 11) * Per Hillestad – drums (1-6, 8-11) *

Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...

– drums (7) *

Martin Ditcham Martin Ditcham is an English drummer, percussionist and songwriter. Ditcham is a prolific session musician, working with artists such as Henry Cow, Status Quo, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Sade, Mary Black, Nik Kershaw, Chris ...

–

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

(3, 4), percussion (10) * Phil Todd – saxophone (3) *

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

– string arrangements (7) Production * Christopher Neil – producer (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10) * Ian Stanley – producer (2, 5, 7, 9, 11) * Nick Davis – recording, mixing * Haydn Bendall – additional engineer (5, 7) * Steve "Barney" Chase – additional engineer (5, 7) * Kim Champagne – art direction * Jeri Heiden – art direction * REY International – design *

Just Loomis Just Loomis (born January 1957 in Reno, Nevada) is a fine art photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography. His work has been published and exhibited internationally and has appeared in Harper's Bazaar, British Vogue, Vanity Fair, ...

– cover photography * Lauren Savoy – inner sleeve photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon 1990 albums A-ha albums Albums produced by Christopher Neil Warner Records albums