Harem

Sarah Brightman Photos

More from Sarah Brightman

Time to Say Goodbye	Diva: The Singles Collection	Eden
Diva: The Video Collection	Live from Las Vegas	La Luna (Live in Concert)

I've been a fan of Sarah Brightman since the release of 'Eden' back in 99 and have since then acquired many of her albums and concert DVDs and, imho, this is by far her best work to date (although many will disagree because it's so experimental). She's a true angel of music and 'Harem' (forbidden places) explores the exotic with beautiful, crystalline singing and ethereal, wordly-pop meets middle eastern beats that will keep you entranced until the very end (and then you'll probably start it again because world music can be very addicting if it's done the right way and if you've got the ear/taste for it). This album is hypnotic and enchanting and very different from her successful predecessor 'La Luna' but it definitely rises above anything she's ever done before and it showcases her love of varied styles. Operatic singing is pretty much nonexistent here but she still incorporates her old roots with a well-trained classical voice on "A Stranger In Paradise" and a great adaption of Puccini's "Un Bel Di" (It's a Beautiful Day). Frank Peterson continues to guide Sarah's career in the right direction by producing the sweeping, dance-infused "Harem" (the title being a song in which she wrote herself) while bringing in some new faces to spice the mix up, like keyboardist Jaz Coleman (ex-Killing Joke who also worked on the highly praised New Zealand project, Oceania) to breathe life into the soaring string orchestrations.

'Harem' also features a lot of guest artists, such as the passionate Iraqi vocalist Kadim Al Sahir on "The War Is Over" and classical violinist Nigel Kennedy who recently worked with crossover star Josh Groban. The late Ofra Haza appears on "Mysterious Days" while Natacha Atlas lends additional background vocals on "Arabian Nights" (the theme for this record) which, lyrically, is separated into five different parts that fuse together seamlessly.

Since the entire album is absolutely stunning, it's nearly impossible to choose favorites here but "What You Never Know", "The Journey Home", "Free", "The War Is Over", and her breathtaking remake of Mandalay's "Beautiful" seem to standout the best with me. The Asian-influenced, U.S. bonus track "You Take My Breath Away" is another notable mention but it's hardly new to me. It was originally released on her import album "Fly", which would probably be the best of her previous albums to compare this to as it was her first real venture into the pop-rock genre.

Sarah may be singing simpler tunes on 'Harem' but she's never sounded better. This album is like a trip on a magic carpet ride to foreign lands that breakthrough to the peaceful paradise of your inner dreams - only your still awake - and it's sure to elate and exult your spirit.


Evocative.   June 11, 2003
Mr. Fellini (El Paso, Texas United States)
34 out of 41 found this review helpful

Sarah Brightman remains one of the great voices in modern classical music, she is also one of the artists who has made a crossover between classical and pop with great success. Her last album, "La Luna," was a great piece of dramatic flare with operatic experimentation (singing along to Beethoven's 7th)and visual richness for the ears. "Harem" is her exploration of Middle Eastern flavors and imaginings, it works to great, emotional effect in many of it's areas. The opening title track is epic and lavish like a Maurice Jarre composition (remember "Lawrence Of Arabia?"), it goes from lush Eastern tribal beats to techno thumping that doesn't harm it, simply updates the sound. It is custom by now for Brightman to perform one or two pop favorites, here we get a new rendition of "A Wonderful World," which seems like a stretch for an album titled "Harem," but it works to nice emotional effect. "A Beautiful Day" returns to the Eastern melodies with nice, fast violins and a large operatic scope, we like Brightman best when she soars with her wonderful voice and here she delivers once again. "What You Never Know" is the weakest song on the album, but it will please fans of simple, good pop. "Free" is a nice piece of typical, heartbroken pop but what makes it noteoworthy is the appearance here of violinist Nigel Kennedy, one of the great violinists of our time. "Mysterious Days" is a soaring piece with great sitar. Other noteworthy songs are "The War Is Over" with Kennedy once again and "You Take My Breath Away," which is evocative and dreamy. Is this Brightman's best album, probably not, it does not feel as complete as did "La Luna," but yet it feels more free than that album and feels like a turning point for Brightman. She gets a lot of writing credit here which is rare, and her leaps towards more mainstream sounds shows she still has what it takes to bust into the charts in the era of Gwen Stefani and Shakira. "Harem" is lush, emotional, dramatic and has some memorable moments, Brightman fans should like it, those who want something a little different from normal mainstream music should also give it a try.


Incredible Job, Sarah!   June 10, 2003
Karl Miller (Phoenixville, PA United States)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

This CD is gorgeous!
Sarah Brightman has a voice that deifes expectations. Anyone who knows her unique talent doesn't need a review to understand that taking that incredible instrument, and blending it with sensuous Middle Eastern instrumentation, classical textures and modern dance rhythms has to result in a nearly perfect product. Anyone who doesn't know Sarah, but apprecites fine music, owes it to themself to make "Harem" their introduction to one of our greatest working songers.
The highlight of this set (and there are many great moments, but this song is unvelivably good) is "The War Is Over". Featuring a brilliant violin contribution from Nigel Kennedy, and vocals by Kadim Al Sahir, this song is intense, clever and haunting. Brightman and Al Sahir's vocals sound like they are flying over the underlying melodies. Their voices work so well together, you have to pray that Al Sahir accompanies Sarah on her world tour later this year, because this song will play incedible in a live setting.
Sarah has a great talent for choosing remakes, and always makes the songs so personal that her versions become new standards. The two choices on "Harem" are Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World", and "Stranger In Paradise". Both are excellent choices, but extra kudos have to go to her version of "Paradise". Bathed in Eastern rhythms, Sarah's vocals on this song capture the desire that the well-known lyrics always seemed to convey in a whole new light. I kept playing this over and over, because listening to the shifts in vocals is a true pleasure.
Nigel Kennedy also contributes to "Free", an end-of-a-love-affair song with an intense string section. It's amazing how well Sarah's vocals shift from singing this type of song into the almost raucous "The Journey Home" which has the expected percusssion that accompanies most Bollywood tunes, but again bbenefits from an all-out vocal.
Other highlights are the simple, touching "What You Never Know" (which sounds like a potential radio hit", and "Beautiful" a very lush, very quiet ballad with wonderful instrumentation.
I can't wait to hear (and see, because part of the fun of being a Brightman fan is attending her "all-out" live shows) these songs performed live. There are very few stars that could take this incredibly produced studio session, and turn it into a live show that exceeds the recorded performance. "Harem" represents a great opportunity to learn of this lady's vast talents - or to remind yourself why she is a great a performer as anyone working today.


Opera Trance meets the Middle East - Brightman's Harem!   June 16, 2003
Brett D. Cullum (Houston, TX United States)
14 out of 18 found this review helpful

Sarah Brightman began singing disco songs in the late 1970s such as "I LOST MY HEART TO A STARSHIP TROOPER", and then she became the muse for Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera" and "Aspects of Love" while married to him. She moved on to marry her current producer Frank Peterson who has worked on her albums from DIVE to the latest HAREM.

She's never easy to categorize - not strong enough to please opera purists, but not pop idol material. So she treads a place all her own between two worlds. She has a haunting ethereal soprano voice that blends nicely into Frank Peterson's Euro Disco worlds of strings and techno beats mixed with the high drama of popular opera. She's the ultimate cross-over artist, but one that never started in opera but rather in pop.

HAREM is a Middle Eastern fantasy-land where Sarah sings over a variety of World Beats in an extended Arabian Knights dream spread over 14 tracks. It's relaxing, pretty, and well-produced. The album is more high energy than TIME TO SAY GOODBYE or LA LUNA, but not as dramatic in shifts as EDEN or purely techno-driven as FLY was. There are beautiful moments in both song and music, and don't worry ... this is not Bollywood, but SARAHwood. No nasal arabic prayers, but lots of soprano singing like a bell over a scimitar!

Perhaps most moving is the post-humous featuring of Israel's Ofra Haza on STRANGE DAYS. Frank Peterson produced her last solo album (before she passed away), and here we find probably her last work. It's a great song too!

All of the work here is amazingly well done. There's a nice balance of classical, Middle Eastern, and pure pop so that everyone should find it enjoyable. Except maybe that opera snob who might scoff at the re-working of Madmame Butterfly for BEAUTIFUL DAY's techno trance feel.