Minor Earth Major Sky (stylised as minor earth | major sky ) is the sixth studio album by Norwegian band A-ha , released on 14 April 2000 by WEA .
Minor Earth Major Sky Released 14 April 2000 Recorded 1998–2000 Genre
Length 58 :42 Label WEA Producer
A-ha
Kjetil Bjerkestrand
Millenia Nova
Ras
Roland Spremberg
Andre Tanneberger
Pål Waaktaar
Background and release
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Following the release of a-ha's fifth studio album, Memorial Beach (1993), the band decided to go on a hiatus. In 1998, the band was invited to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert . Paul Waaktaar-Savoy had written "Summer Moved On " especially for this performance.[ 2] They also performed "The Sun Always Shines on T.V. ". This performance was a-ha's comeback into the world of music and the band decided to return to the studio.
Almost the entire album was remixed by producer Niven Garland at the record company's insistence to make it more radio-friendly for the band's German market.
"Summer Moved On ", "Minor Earth Major Sky " and "Velvet " were commercially released as singles. "I Wish I Cared" was an Internet download single, accompanied by an Internet-only music video—one of the first of its kind.
The aircraft cockpit on the cover art is from a Boeing 707 .
Backing vocals for the track "Velvet" were provided by Simone Larsen of Norwegian band D-Sound.
Minor Earth Major Sky debuted at number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart , and became the band's first number one album in Germany. The album peaked at number 27 on the UK Albums Chart , but was not released in the U.S.
This album was certified platinum in Norway and Germany and gold in Austria, Spain and Switzerland.
Standard version Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 1. "Minor Earth Major Sky " Paul Waaktaar-Savoy , Magne Furuholmen Boogieman, Roland Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Kjetil Bjerkestrand[a] 5:25 2. "Little Black Heart" Furuholmen, Waaktaar-Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 4:35 3. "Velvet " Waaktaar-Savoy, Lauren Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 4:21 4. "Summer Moved On " Waaktaar-Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 4:38 5. "The Sun Never Shone That Day " Waaktaar-Savoy, Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 4:40 6. "To Let You Win" Morten Harket , Håvard RemBoogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 4:24 7. "The Company Man" Furuholmen, Waaktaar-Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 3:15 8. "Thought That It Was You" Harket, Ole Sverre-Olsen Bjerkestrand 3:50 9. "I Wish I Cared" Furuholmen Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 4:23 10. "Barely Hanging On" Waaktaar-Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 3:56 11. "You'll Never Get Over Me" Waaktaar-Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] 5:40 12. "I Won't Forget Her" Waaktaar-Savoy Boogieman 4:44 13. "Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count" Waaktaar-Savoy Waaktaar-Savoy 4:51
Japanese version (bonus track) Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 14. "Summer Moved On" (remix) Waaktaar-Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] , C.L.A.S.S. Production[b] 6:00
Russian version (bonus tracks) Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 14. "Minor Earth Major Sky" (Black Dog mix) Waaktaar-Savoy, Furuholmen Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] , R.A.S[b] , Island Brothers[b] 4:07 15. "Velvet" (Stockholm mix) Waaktaar-Savoy, Savoy Boogieman, Spremberg, a-ha[a] , Bjerkestrand[a] , Palaar Suna[b] 4:16
2019 deluxe edition (disc two) Title 1. "Minor Earth Major Sky" (Early Version) 5:50 2. "Little Black Heart" (Alternate Mix) 4:35 3. "Velvet" (Early Version) 5:18 4. "Summer Moved On" (Early Version) 4:38 5. "The Sun Never Shone That Day" (Early Version) 4:24 6. "To Let You Win" (Early Mix) 4:39 7. "We Will Never Speak Again" (Demo) 4:19 8. "The Company Man" (Early Version) 4:30 9. "Life's Not Fair" (Early Version of "I Wish I Cared") 3:31 10. "Barely Hanging On" (Early Version) 3:52 11. "I Won't Forget Her" (Early Version) 4:51 12. "Manhattan Skyline" (Live - Oslo 2001) 5:51 13. "Thought That It Was You" (Live - Oslo 2001) 3:45 14. "You'll Never Get Over Me" (Live - Oslo 2001) 6:02 15. "Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count" (Live Oslo - 2001) 6:06 16. "Summer Moved On" (Demo) 3:34
^[a] signifies a co-producer
^[b] signifies a remixer
Additional musicians
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Technical and design
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a-ha – arrangements [ 4]
Jon Marius Aareskjold – engineer, Pro Tools operator
Jan-Erik Kongshaug – engineer
Ulf Holand – engineer
Niven Garland – mixing (1, 2, 3, 5, 7–13)
Andreas Herbig "Boogieman" – mixing (4, 6)
Kjetil Bjerkestrand – Pro Tools operator
Magne Furuholmen – art direction
Kjetil Try – art direction
Henrik Haugen – logo artwork
Bjørn Opshal – photography
^ Stavenes-Dove, Siri (1 April 2000). "a-ha, It's Those Norwegians Again". Music & Media . Vol. 17, no. 14. p. 1.
^ interview on "a-ha live at valhall homecoming" DVD, 2001
^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7 .
^ a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky
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^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF) . Music & Media . Vol. 17, no. 19. 6 May 2000. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
^ "a-ha: Minor Earth - Major Sky" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved 19 January 2019.
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^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2000. 22. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ . Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 23, 2000" . Chart-Track . IRMA . Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ a〜haのアルバム売り上げランキング [a-ha album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon . Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2019 .
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF) . Music & Media . Vol. 17, no. 20. 13 May 2000. p. 13. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ "Swisscharts.com – a-ha – Minor Earth | Major Sky" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ "Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 2000" (PDF) . Music & Media . Vol. 17, no. 52. 23 December 2000. p. 9. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2000" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 19 January 2019 .
^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000" . hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2022 .
^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (A-ha; ' Minor Earth / Major Sky' )" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 19 January 2019 .
^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE . p. 954. ISBN 84-8048-639-2 . Retrieved 19 January 2019 .
^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (' Minor Earth, Major Sky' )" . IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019 .