''Wild Seed'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

and first English-language album by Norwegian

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer

Morten Harket Morten Harket (; born 14 September 1959) is a Norwegian singer who is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band A-ha. A-ha has released 11 studio albums as of 2024, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough hit "Take On Me" i ...

. The album was released on 4 September 1995 through

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. After

a-ha A-ha (often 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 ros ...

went on a hiatus in 1994, Harket began recording ''Wild Seed'' with British record producer

Christopher Neil Christopher Neil (born 1948) is a British record producer, songwriter, singer, and actor. Neil has produced records for A-ha, Amazulu, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Cher, Dollar, Edyta Górniak, Gerry Rafferty, Jennifer Rush, José Carreras, Le ...

, who previously worked with the band on their fourth studio album, ''

East of the Sun, West of the Moon East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

'' (1990). ''Wild Seed'' charted at number one in Norway and at number 89 in the United Kingdom. It has since sold 160.000 copies in Norway.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Caroline Sullivan of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' commented, "The A-ha frontman's solo debut reveals that, all this time, a poet's soul dwelt beneath that camera-pleasing exterior. Harket's brooding balladry calls to mind

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

and his sultry like, with a touch of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

in his low voice on 'Brodsky Tune'. If he's not as gifted a lyricist, he's got a lovely grasp of the rhythm of language." Myles Palmer of ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' praised ''Wild Seed'' as an "excellent solo debut" on which producer

"frames Harket's appealing voice between chunky drums and spacey synthesisers, uses the guitar cleverly, and proves that good production is all about what you leave out". Ryan Gilbey of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' was negative in his review, writing, "If A-ha was his

Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...

then ''Wild Seed'' is his '' Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'', a collection of aching ballads which cover everything from tortured love to painful longing. Not a lot of ground. Even less when sung over music which belongs in a lift, despite the majesty of Harket's voice."

Track listing

*"Brodsky Tune" lyrics from the poem "Bosnia Tune" by

Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled ("strongly ...

, chorus by Morten Harket. *"Lay Me Down Tonight", "Tell Me What You See" and "Stay" are based on a Norwegian poem by Håvard Rem.

References

1995 albums Morten Harket albums Albums produced by Christopher Neil {{1990s-alt-rock-album-stub