Review: Hess “Living In Yesterday”

Melodic hard rock

Harry Hess, the throaty voice behind the phenomenal but now defunct hard rock outfit Harem Scarem, returns with his second solo effort, “Living In Yesterday” (not counting his excellent work as First Signal in 2010, reviewed here). Recorded at his Toronto studio, the songs included on “Living in Yesterday” are the result of Hess’ travels around the globe over the last few years with stops in Stockholm, Amsterdam, Brussels, Nashville, and Germany. Hess has no shortage of superstar guests contributing on the new record, including his former bandmates Pete Lesperance, Creighton Doane and Darren Smith, Tommy Denander, Marcie Free (Unruly Child), Howie Simon and Magnus Karlsson among others.

Hess set out with the goal to make some more great melodic rock music – just one listen to the new record makes it clear he’s achieved that goal once again. After all these years, consistently churning out one great slab of melodic rock after another, it still amazes me that Hess is not a household name. “Living In Yesterday” pumps out a continuous stream of top quality rock anthems, which is all I ever expect from Hess. Considered together, this collection of tracks reminds me of Brian Howe-era Bad Company. While no song is bad, some of the major standouts include the radio-friendly “Don’t Leave Me”, the driving rocker “Nothing Lasts Forever”, the groovy and contemporary “I Don’t Wanna Want You”, and the encouragement anthem that is the title track. If you enjoy power ballads, there are many here for your playlist consideration, including “It’s Over”, “What If”, “I Live For You”, and “Where To Run”.

Did you miss our 2010 interview with Harry Hess? Check it out here.

Hess – Official site.

The Best Albums You Never Heard

We’re proud to roll out another new feature here on BMF! Beloved music writer Kurt Torster (SFK, Kurt’s Krap) is back with a new column, “The Best Albums You Never Heard”, which shines the spotlight on records that – for reasons that defy all logic – never got the fame and recognition they deserved. There is no better example of this than the Canadian hard rock band Harem Scarem…

By Kurt Torster

Harem Scarem “Harem Scarem” (1991)


It’s weird how what has become one of my all-time favorite bands completely slipped under my radar for a few years. 1991 was a weird time in my life where music had taken a backseat to outside forces and my sense of discovery had been replaced by a complacency for whatever was fed to me via MTV (yes, they were still playing videos then). I had stopped buying my bi-weekly fix of Kerrang! magazine, which was my musical bible for much of the 80s, so new music was not high on my list of priorities. Even my monthly shopping trips into the Village in NYC had stopped.

Fast forward a couple of years, past life changing events, and a swelling undercurrent of discovery thanks to friends I had made through that new fangled thing called the Internet. By some point in 1993 or 1994, I had started to trade tapes (yeah, cassettes!) with people all over the world. One particular mix tape had found its way to me from Scotland. Insert tape, side A, press play and the first song that came out was “With A Little Love,” and I know it sounds cliché, but it changed my world.

"With A Little Love"


At this time frame of the decade, about all I was hearing of late were bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and their ilk. Suddenly though, with one simple song, I was catapulted back to my first (and still strongest) musical love. Taking equal parts of 80s arena rock (like Journey and Def Leppard) blended with late 80s hair metal (lots of Extreme and Winger), it was really like nothing I had heard in years. I drove out that day and hit all my favorite import haunts until I found not only their debut but the follow up, “Mood Swings.”

But that one little song, and eventually the entire album, re-lit my flame of discovery and led to my starting of a promotional website and company, SFK (which ran for almost 12 years), where like that mix tape, allowed me to share with the world all the great music that might be slipping under other’s own personal radars thanks to the mainstream musical wasteland that was the 90s.

That was only one song too. The rest of the album had so much more. Whether you felt like rocking your own arena to “Hard To Love,” “All Over Again” or “How Long” or taking it easy to acoustic power ballads like “Honestly” and “Something To Say,” it makes me wonder how this album didn’t sell millions. And, considering the band only seemed to get better more diverse with each outing, the mystery just deepens. In melodic rock circles, the band are still gods, with their cult-like following snapping up everything the foursome touch.

"Hard To Love"


Nowadays, the members own one of Canada’s biggest recording studios and do a lot or work for Canadian Idol. Smokey voiced singer Harry Hess also released a great hard rock album last year under the name of First Signal (read the BMF review here) while guitarist Pete Lesperance, who could stand his own with guys like Nuno Bettencourt or Brian May, had some minor chart success with his new band Fair Ground.

Maybe it was all in the timing. As this album was released, a wind known as grunge blew through and, well, you know the rest. Shame we couldn’t turn the clock back just a little bit and let them be big on their own terms.

"Honestly"

Interview: Harry Hess (First Signal, Harem Scarem)

Harry Hess talks about his new musical endeavour, First Signal, the end of Harem Scarem, and … bacon

Harry Hess, the powerhouse vocalist behind Harem Scarem, one of Canada’s most acclaimed hard rock outfits, is back with a vengeance singing for First Signal. The new studio project finds him paired with Dennis Ward and a dream team of other songwriters and players. We had the honor of having Harry take a few moments to answer some questions for The Rock and Roll Report!

Q: Like many other fans of Harem Scarem, I was really disappointed to hear the band broke up. What were some of the reasons for ending the many productive years with Harem Scarem to open up this exciting new chapter with First Signal?

Read the full interview here!

Our review of First Signal's debut CD can be found here.

Review: First Signal (featuring Harry Hess)

One of the most disappointing bits of news in the melodic rock world this past year was the break up of Harem Scarem. Harem Scarem (for a short time also known as Rubber) was arguably the most underrated hard rock band of its time. Formed in the late 80s by founding members Pete Lesperance and Harry Hess, Harem Scarem cranked up the amps year after year, unleashing their brand of melodic hard rock on the masses. Both Lesperance and Hess have released solo records before as side projects, so we were optimistic that we'd hear some echoes of Harem Scarem in the future. That moment has arrived in the form of a new project called First Signal, an alliance between the powerhouse vocals of Harry Hess and producer/bassist Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Khymera).

The concept behind this project was to bring back the classic Harem Scarem sound craved by many fans. A dream team of songwriters, including brothers Tom and James Martin (Khymera, Sunstorm, House of Lords), Erik Martensson (W.E.T., Eclipse), Ronny Milianowicz (Saint Deamon), Robert Sall (W.E.T., Work of Art) and Mark Baker (Signal, House of Lords) among others, had the task to recreate that magic sound, which is now back in all its glory thanks to a monster vocal performance from Hess and a crisp production and arrangement work from Dennis Ward. Other musicians on the album include Chris Schmidt on drums, Michael Klein on guitars and Eric Ragno on keyboards and the necessary background vocals contribution from the other ex-Harem Scarem member Darren Smith.

As you have probably surmised, First Signal sounds a lot like Harem Scarem (it is hard to imagine that anything with Harry Hess at the vocal helm is going to sound otherwise!). Best of all, the band doesn't just sound like Harem Scarem because of the amazing trademark vocals and thunderous riffs...it sounds like Harem Scarem because the songwriting is top-notch, A-one melodic rock. Tons of terrific hooks, anthem choruses, and spine-tingling harmonies.

Things begin with a bang thanks to the upbeat first single, "This City" - a song that is perfect to play while getting ready for a night on the town. "When You Believe" is a stereotypical AOR anthem that could have been found on any Rocky soundtrack. The gears shift down just a bit for the midtempo "Part Of Me", before shifting all the way down for the piano-driven power ballad, "Crazy". "Crazy" is well done - nice chord progressions, good mix of guitar and piano, and a stellar vocal performance by Hess. "Goodbye to the Good Times" is another highlight, with its smoky, blues-tinged verse, sing-a-long chorus, and jammin' solo. "Into the Night" is another upbeat track celebrating the nightlife, and deserves mention for being yet another irresistible sing-a-long. AOR fans will delight in the delicate groove of "When November Falls", a very strong adult contemporary track. I think fans of both new and classic Harem Scarem will find something to enjoy on the First Signal record.

This excellent debut from First Signal will be released August 27th 2010 in Europe and September 14th in the US. Fans of melodic hard rock and AOR rejoice - Harry Hess and company have saved the day! You have to hear First Signal if you like Def Leppard, Europe, Tyketto, and of course, Harem Scarem.

iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9

Harry Hess on MySpace.

Watch for my interview with Harry Hess...coming soon!

Check out the video for "This City":

New video from Harry Hess

Hot new video from Harry Hess is available for your viewing and listening pleasure! Hess is formerly of Harem Scarem, one of the most underrated hard rock bands of all time. The new song, "This City" carries on the melodic rock tradition Harem Scarem fans are sure to love.

His new solo CD, "First Signal" will be released AUGUST 27th (Europe) AND SEPTEMBER 14th (US).