Harem Scarem
Live And Acoustic

When the so-called EPs (aka Extended Playing... records halfway between singles and albums) are in digital disc format, they can almost last as long as an LP: the CD presented here contains seven tracks for almost thirty minutes.

Its "patched-up" origin (as can also be deduced from the cover, euphemistically speaking, anything but design) is due to the record company's intention to swiftly release something on the Japanese market in 1994, while the band was busy composing their third album, which came out in 1995. Indeed, Japanese script abounds in the booklet of this CD.

And yes, Harem Scarem, Canadians, were (are) extremely popular in the land of the rising sun, so much so that in the tracklist of this work, they keep company, mixed with each other, two unplugged versions of already published tracks, three live recordings with full amplification of tracks already published themselves, and finally two alternative mixes of songs already included in their first two albums, one acoustic and the other amplified.

Clippings and scraps, in short, stuff for aficionados and completists. Nonetheless, this work can be a great way to get acquainted with this cosmically talented, honest, prolific, and gritty band.

It's a good vehicle to discover, or at least verify, how brilliant Pete Lesperance's guitar work is, who even with just a simple acoustic guitar paints melodically high-class lines and arpeggios, seasoned with perfect sound. His partner Harry Hess is no less, with his slightly husky and dramatic timbre.

Melodies, harmonies, rhythm, arrangement insights, and some high-class solos are certainly not lacking, as is more or less the case in all their albums. The highlights, in my opinion, are in the lush acoustic attack of the opening track "Honestly" (there is no better guitar sound), in the guitar accompaniment of the verses in "No Justice" (genius fiddling of the volume knob), in the very tight and crunchy syncopation on the acoustic version of "Jealousy", in the choruses of the final "Something to Say", indeed decidedly unchanged from the original version that closed their debut album.

Harem Scarem, legitimate offspring of Queen, Van Halen, and Extreme, are part of my personal Canadian Holy Trinity, along with Saga and Rush. Maximum respect.