Description

American re-issue featuring the Live And Acoustic and Live In Japan albums and one bonus track

Formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1987, Harem Scarem (named after a Bugs Bunny cartoon) are a hard rock/glam metal outfit known for their hard-hitting guitar riffs, incendiary guitar solos, powerful vocals, and huge anthemic choruses. The band was formed in 1987 by frontman and vocalist Harry Hess (formerly of Blind Vengeance) and guitarist Pete Lesperance (formerly of Minotaur). With the addition of bassist Mike Gionet and drummer Darren Smith, the band began to attract attention when they released a demo cd in 1990. Due to the professionalism and strength of the recording, the band was signed to Warner Music Canada. Their eponymous full-length debut was released in the summer of 1991, and placed in the Top 100 of the Canadian charts. The record was a success, spawning five singles (with “Slowly Slipping Away,” “Something to Say,” and “Honestly” proving particularly popular), and much of the album was featured in the Canadian TV series Degrassi Junior High. The album also featured guest appearances from fellow Canadian rock musicians Paul MacAusland of Haywire, Carl Dixon of Honeypatch, Ray Coburn of Honeymoon Suite, and songwriter Christopher Ward. They released their sophomore effort, Mood Swings, in 1993 — it incorporated a much harder-hitting and heavier sound than their first album. Although it didn’t chart as high, its lead single, “No Justice,” did well, earning them a burgeoning fan base in Japan and making way for a live unplugged EP, Live And Acoustic (only released in Japan and in Canada). Live In Japan is a safe, fairly compact selection of tunes from the first three studio albums. It could use less Voice Of Reason, an album which never boasted the killer tunage from the first two. In fact if one edited out Blue, Candle, Breathing Sand and Paint Thins, you could make a pretty tight set. Leave in Warming A Frozen Rose though; it was always the best of the Voice Of Reason tracks. You can also leave in the title track as it’s pretty heavy. Most of the real firepower comes from Mood Swings. The opening salvo of Change Comes Around and Saviours Never Cry are a rousing start to the proceedings. Live, Harem Scarem were tight. Their harmonies are handled easily by the four guys, all capable singers. There is only one song from the 1991 debut album Harem Scarem. Representing Harem’s early pop rock roots is Slowly Slipping Away; call it a power ballad or just call it a song. It feels like it has too much guitar to be a ballad, so call it what you want: it’s great. You can clearly hear Barry Donaghy’s contributions on backing vocals, an essential part of the song’s hookiness. The live set closes on No Justice, the best known track from Mood Swings and an obvious crowd favourite. The vocals are just outstanding from the whole band. There are three bonus studio tracks on this album, a nice little unexpected treat.

Track list:
Cd 1: Live And Acoustic
1. Honestly-acoustic
2. If There Was A Time-edit
3. No Justice-live
4. Mandy-live
5. Hard To Love-live
6. Jealousy-acoustic
7. Something To Say-edit

Cd 2: Live in Japan
1. Change Comes Around
2. Saviors Never Cry
3. Warming A Frozen Rose
4. Blue
5. Candie
6. Slowly Slipping Away
7. Breathing Sand
8. Had Enough
9. Empty Promises
10. Paint Thins
11. Voice Of Reason
12. No Justice
13. Pardon My Zinger
14. More Than You’ll Ever Know
15. Change Comes Around-acoustic