Search - Harem Scarem :: Best of

Obviously great but almost unneccesary

Perry M. Koons | Crownsville, MD United States | 02/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OK, if you are just getting into Harem Scarem, go ahead and snag this record if you just want an overview. But be warned, if you are into this style of music (heavy melodic AOR, sort of like Whitesnake meets Van Hagar meets Def Leppard with smoking guitar and vocals), you will more than likely go buy everything they've ever recorded, which will make this purchase basically obsolete. It doesn't help that it's an expensive import, and you can snag 3 or 4 of their other titles used for the same price...

Anyway, what's here is great, although some of the tunes seem randomly selected (especially from their masterpiece "Mood Swings"... "No Justice" over "Sentimental Boulevard"?) I think the biggest incentives for purchasing this album is the studio version of "Tables Turning," of which I think only a live version exists elsewhere. This song is a melodic monster with excerpts from their early demo "Say Goodbye" (later to appear on Early Years CD). I won't go into all the best tunes here like I do in my other reviews, but suffice to say that I really don't hit the skip button (maybe on "Turn Around", but it's still solid). Harem Scarem may be the best kept secret in melodic rock, here's to hoping they won't stay a secret forever...they're just too talented."