As the frontman of a-ha, Morten Harket delivered high notes via sculpted cheek bones, making for a huge teen fan base and untouchable electro-pop numbers. While they struggled to gain the critical acclaim their later work deserved (Coldplay and Morrissey were fans), the tours still filled arenas across the UK. To promote his latest solo album, Brother (his fourth English solo LP), Morten is playing just one rescheduled London date at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. In a stark contrast to a-ha’s record breaking Rock In Rio date in 1991 (198, 000 tickets sold), there are a few spare seats in the 2000-capacity ex-music hall.
As a fan, it’s frustrating that his epically scaled vocal goes almost unnoticed when he isn’t singing ‘Take On Me’, but without Paul Waakter-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen’s writing input the songs are good but lacking in the magic that the Norwegian trio brought with them during the 80s. And even higher than Harket’s high notes, the audience’s screams (“WE LIVE FOR YOU, MORTEN!”) add an air of nostalgia that distracts from the talent on stage… That’s talent as in, musically.
Opening, as the new album does, with ‘Do You Remember Me?’, it’s folk-tinged pop and unreachable sing-a-long notes from the off, with uncharacteristically brooding verses and a chorus that hits even ,higher notes when the initial ones were impressive enough. ‘End Of The Line’ adds a rockier edge to the night, while the tracks from Letter From Egypt (2008) are much more ballad based. Surprisingly, 2012’s Out Of My Hands, which followed a-ha’s lead back to electro-pop and provided Morten with his highest UK charting album, is ignored.
The lack of any a-ha numbers is clearly an attempt to separate himself from the band, but the fact of the matter is that some of the numbers on the setlist (‘Darkspace’, ‘There Is A Place’) are weak and filler when compared with others, particularly the worldly sounds of hid debut Wild Seed; ‘A Kind Of Christmas Card’, ‘Los Angeles’ and ‘Spanish Steps’. Tracks omitted from Brother are even included, when ‘Stay On These Roads’ or ‘Summer Moved On’ would have been a much more welcomed inclusion.
A cover of The Everly Brothers’ ‘Let It Be Me’ closes the evening in a heartfelt, stunning style, proving that when the songs are strong, Morten Harket is still, arguably, one of the most impressive singers on this planet. And when he can be heard over the 40-something fans still believing that his open hand might pop out of a comic strip sometime soon.
Dan Bull
@danbull7609
Dan Bull
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