Taking place more than 30 years after their MTV-assisted breakthrough debut, MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice captures the first acoustic concerts of Norwegian synth pop trio a-ha. Coinciding with the 2017 summer solstice, when the region has 20 hours of daylight, it was recorded in front of an audience of just 250 at Giske Harbor Hall on a remote island off Norway's west coast. Special guests in the nearly two-hour, career-spanning set include Alison Moyet, who duets with Morten Harket on Minor Earth Major Sky's "Summer Moved On," and American alt-country singer Lissie, who assists on "I've Been Losing You." Ingrid Helene H?vik from Highasakite joins the band on the soaring "The Sun Always Shines on TV" (Harket handles the song's closing notes), and Echo & the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch sits in on "Scoundrel Days" as well as a cover on his own band's "The Killing Moon." While album producer Lars Horntveth did most of the show's elegant arrangements, which include strings, woodwinds, mallet percussion, lap steel, and instruments like harpsichord and harmonium, Martin Terefe arranged concert highlight "Take on Me," a poignant redesign with only a suggestion of the song's famous keyboard line. The event was released by Universal in eight different versions, including audio, video, expanded, and abbreviated editions. ~ Marcy Donelson
- Format: Vinyl
- Genre: Pop
