HAREM SCAREM – Harem Scarem (1991 WEA)
Harem Scarem didn’t emerge from the Toronto rock scene fully formed. Rather, they first appeared as an AOR pop rock group, assisted by pro writers such as Marc Ribler, Christopher Ward (“Black Velvet”) and Honeymoon Suite’s Ray Coburn. My sister Kathryn liked Harem Scarem because their singer’s hair made him visually resemble a lion! It would take them until album #2 to shed the outside writers and find their feet as a progressive pop rock band more akin to Extreme than Bon Jovi.
They did, however, create a buzz by selling loads of copies of their demo CD. This was a rare thing, since most bands released demos on tape. Very few had the resources to put together a CD, and this got them signed to Warner.
The result is Harem Scarem, a somewhat faceless but incredibly hooky pop rock record waiting for radio play. It spawned five singles, including the huge (Canadian) hit “Honestly”. “Honestly” might be most notable today for its video, a cheesy affair starring Judge Reinhold!
What makes Harem Scarem special is the vocal work of lead singer Harry Hess. The man has a powerful voice, and when teamed up with drummer Darren Smith, the result is a big thick layered harmony. The band was rounded out by bassist Mike Gionet, and virtuoso guitarist Pete Lesperance, who really didn’t get to properly show off his chops until album #2. He does shred here, but sparingly and somewhat buried in the mix.
The debut album is loaded with mid-tempo rockers and ballads. A few too many ballads if you asked me, side one of the album has three ballady tracks in a row. It was 1991, grunge had yet to appear, and a mixture of ballads and rockers was the tried and true path to radio and video play. The best ballad isn’t the hit “Honestly”, which I find incredibly boring, but the closing song “Something To Say”. It’s an acoustic winner, and features plenty of Pete’s enviable chops. Harry sings passionately; this is a song that fits in with the acoustic hits of the day such as “More Than Words” and “To Be With You”.
Rather than the ballads, I keep coming back to the rockers. “Hard To Love”, which opens the album, is one of those AOR tunes that Bon Jovi only wishes he could have written. “How Long” is similar, catchy as hell, a singalong rocker that begs the windows to be rolled down on a hot summer day.
The centrepiece of the album was “Slowly Slipping Away”, the debut single/video. Still a great song today, this straddles the boundary between rocker and ballad. Opening with acoustic guitars, it soon works its way into a killer chorus, with guitar hooks and powerful harmonies galore. This is the song that got me into the band, as soon as I heard it, I knew this band had something uniquely theirs to offer. Unfortunately it took them a while to fully expand upon their sound.
I saw Harem Scarem live at Stages in Kitchener early in 1992. They played most of this album, some new material, as well as a couple covers: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. They complained that the bar owners made them play covers, but it was “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” that underlined their potential. They absolutely nailed it and proved that they had a lot more to offer than the simple AOR of their album.
I signed up to be a member of the fanclub, and I still have my membership card. I’m glad I was on board from the ground up, since the band grew by leaps and bounds in the years to follow.
The Japanese import version of this album had three bonus tracks: acoustic renderings of “Slowly Slipping Away”, “How Long”, and “Hard To Love”. Those songs were available on a limited edition Acoustic Sessions EP, which I reviewed here.
If you’re into AOR rock, with lush harmonies, ballads, and melody, then you need to add Harem Scarem to your collection, particularly since the band have recently reunited. If that’s not your thing, fear not: I have a feeling you’d be into their later material such as Mood Swings and Karma Cleansing. This band had a lot more to offer than just rockers and ballads.
2.5/5 stars
mikeladano.com 
I skipped this release at the time as it reminded me to much of Alias,and for me one Alias was enough(for that band I thought they should have rocked more having 3/5 of the original Heart) but once I heard the next release Mood Swings I was in…..
It just seem to me like u say lots of mid tempo rockers,ballads just didn’t do it for me….
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Alias were a product of their times I think. Also I think the two guys from Sheriff kind of ruled the roost in that band.
Mood Swings is awesome, A review of that album must be done carefully. I love it so much.
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If album number 2 is “Mood Swings,” I was just listening to it yesterday. It is definitely not what I want would call AOR or Bon Jovi. In fact, I quite like it but after reading your post, I think I’ll skip the first album.
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Yup. Mood Swings is the second. A really great CD. Probably their best, if you asked me, I can’t wait to review it!
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Mood Swings was just that a mood change in regards to sound….as in from mid tempo first album to hard rock second album..yeah for sure it’s there best..they lost me after the first live album and the name change..I just moved on,but this one is great..still to this day….
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I have always kind of classed them on the edge of progressive rock myself…not progressive rock, but with elements of it. Like the virtuoso solos and some of the song structures and arrangements, even the Queen influences.
They did some good stuff post-name change. I liked the album Weight of the World a lot, although it was an obvious calculated return to the Mood Swings sound. I stuck with them as loyally as possible budget considered. I’ll probably end up reviewing all the Harem Scarem albums or at least most.
I heard Brighton Rock is working on a new album.
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U sticking by Harem is like me sticking by ZZ…..and man this yr I was rewarded with La Futura!!
Yeah I seen some footage of Brighton playing Firefest last yr and they sounded good….be interested in what they come up with …..
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As long as the guy from Brighton Rock can still scream!
La Futura was one of the best albums of last year. One I am enjoying a lot!
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Awesome stuff Mike,did u read that Roth interview at Rolling Stone,interesting what he had to say about Anthony….sorry to go off track here…..interesting read never less…
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No I agree man, that was quite surprisingly candid. I wonder if he got in shit with the VH brothers over that interview. You know how they can get.
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Antoher good ready… but I’m going to have to Oooga Boooga here! Hahah
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*Another good read* I meant.
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Thanks man! And a hearty Oooga Boooga back! I don’t have a lot of autographs but I’d like to get them all up here on the blog.
I have a real Paul Stanley autograph, totally legit, and that makes a GREAT record store tale.
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I’m sure Dave’s in the Ed doghouse for sure. What’s Dave got to worry about ?? His tour grossed 45 million last yr!! So I guess he can be vocal until,the funds dry up..hahaha
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Yeah for sure! I think he would love to get right in there and make a new album, tour the world this time…but you can’t make Eddie do something.
We’ll see what happens eh? I always figured a new album with DLR would be a one-off, we’ll see if I was right or if they manage to write some new music.
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Well they might as well release sumthin and do the reworking of the old demos like they did for DKOT….I’d be ok with that!
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I’d be fine with it too. I wonder how many ideas they have in the can? I’m sure it’s a lot, Van Halen were never much into B-sides or extra material.
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You guys and your ooga boogas. I’m afraid it’s gonna become an unnecessary catch-phrase like Sheldon’s ‘Bazinga’ on BBT. It made my three-year-old laugh, though.
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Unga bunga!
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Harem Scarem was one of those bands I heard at the time, and haven’t thought much about since.
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