Hunting High and Low sold more than eight million copies worldwide and spawned two number one hits. In the fall of 1986, "Take On Me" and "The Sun Always Shines on TV" were nominated for 11 MTV Video Awards combined, and A-ha won eight of these. Tim DiGravina of AllMusic Guide said "It's a cohesive album with smart pace changeups, and it rarely fails to delight or satisfy a listener's need for a synth pop fix... One can't escape the feeling that Hunting High and Low is a product of the 1980s, but with highs like 'Take On Me' and 'The Sun Always Shines
High, Low and In Between in Houston when Van Zandt showed up drunk, sat in the front row and, in between songs, began heckling the young singer and demanding that he play "Wabash Cannonball". A flustered Earle finally admitted that he didn't know the song, to which Van Zandt replied aghast, ""You call yourself a folk singer and you don't know the 'Wabash Cannonball?'"" Earle responded by playing "Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold", effectively stunning Van Zandt into silence. Earle remembers that he wore out his copy of "High, Low and In Between" learning the song, which has "a jillion words," and claims that even