Search - Elvis Presley :: Harum Scarum / Girl Happy

Who needs the sun sessions?

Mark Bychowski | houston tx | 01/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"as this is a two part cd, so shall this review be. are you ready, kiddies? now it begins!!!harem scarem is not a good movie. nor is it a good soundtrack. it falls in the category of forgotten elvis, simply because it is neither king-of-rock-&-roll good, nor is it fat-man-on-the-toilet bad, it simply lies there, like a forgotten tuna fish sandwich at the carnival. only three tunes stand out: shake that tambourine is most definitely FMOTT bad; generic rock backing with a cringe worthy lyric. one can almost hear elvis weeping into his hands after recording this. hey little girl would be just another blatant come on from the king to one of his unworthy minions, except for the fact that, in the film, he's actually singing this entendre laden swill TO A LITTLE GIRL, making it rather uncomfortable to listen to (you want easy listening? pat boone is waiting!). & so close yet so far is (no foolin) a great great ballad. one can almost see elvis sigh with relief after getting a decent tune to sing, then pound his fist in exasperation after getting the lead sheet to "go east young man". girl happy. girl happy is the finest elvis soundtrack ever. girl happy is the finest elvis movie ever. girl happy is the greatest elvis ever. sure, okay, you might dismiss the whole thing as mindless escapism & heresy to compare this slight 20+ minutes of material to the finest the king had to offer, but allow me to rebut with this: you are wrong. nothing touches this. you want great rock & roll with minimal investment in time? meanest girl in town, got to find my baby, & startin tonight all fit your bill-not a one over two minutes & action packed HEAR ME action packed! you need stooopid, head scratchworthy babble? why not try ft lauderdale chamber of commerce & spring fever? you dig elvis da stud? cross my heart & do not disturb should be ringin your bells! i know you wanna dance dance dance, so get animal & listen to wolf call & do the clam! in fact the lamest song on here is the most conventional, puppet on a string, but it is but a small price to pay for otherwise perfection. forget heartbreak hotel & hound dog, in the ghetto & kentucky rain, hurt & patch it up. THIS is elvis' peak."

Harum Scarum

D. McClure | Wilmington, DE United States | 09/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I give it five stars simply on the material provided for the Harem Scarem part of the cd. Most of the songs on the Girl Happy section do not interest me in the least. There are some beautiful and haunting songs in the Harum soundtrack, especially "Wisdom Of The Ages" and "So Close Yet So Far" with that far off mystical sound that I wish Elvis would have used more later in his career. Elvis' voice is absolutely supurb, showing his versatility as he always does. I highly suggest this just based on the strength of the Harum Scarum tracks. You just might learn something."

Elvis reaches the height of his creativity

Samuel Poe | great falls, montana United States | 11/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I know of not one song on the album Harum Scarum that was released as an single. The Music is outstanding on Harum Scarum and the psychedelic era would soon follow. In my opinion the best song on Harum Scarum is "Wisdom of the Ages", and the song "Golden Coins", is almost as creative as was "Wisdom of the Ages". The Beatles song "Norwegian Wood" is much similar to "Wisdom of the Ages", especially the Guitar work. The other songs are also very creative especially "So Close Yet So Far From Paradise", and "Animal Instinct", and "Harum Holiday", both of those songs you will notice Beatle influence. The other songs are also very good songs but not the type of songs that would make it to the top ten. This Elvis album in my opinion is one of the greatest albums ever recorded because it had an impact obviously, and Middle Eastern music afterwards would become a part of rock music. The album "Girl Happy" is another good Elvis album for the most part and is worth buying."