The Story of Arabic Song

From Rhythm Magazine
Assembled by EMI Arabia, this collection represents some of the greatest names in Arabic song, most now deceased. Since some of the best Arabic recordings are of just one hour-long song in which the singer wrings every possible nuance from each phrase, the challenge was to find selections by major artists that would fit into a single CD. Remarkably, there are nine tracks here-the shortest, by Om Kalthoum, clocking in at just over three minutes. The liner notes give a few brief lines about each performer, but they are cryptic and frustratingly inadequate. If Mohamed Abdou is "considered a major modernizing force in Arabic music," what did he modernize? If Layla Murad was "enormously popular," why did she abandon her career in 1955 "due to political and media pressures"? The answers may be familiar to aficionados of Arabic music, but the rest of us will be left in the dark. --Michal Shapiro

Tracks:

Ayouh - Mohamed Abdou
Ala Balad El Mahboub - Oum Kolsoum
Khayef Aqool Elli Fi Albi - Fairuz
Kunt Fein - Abdel Halim Hafez
Hebeena Hebeena - Farid El Atrache
Sanatein Wa Anna Ahayel Feek - Layla Murad
Alla Allah Ta'Oud - Wadih El Safi
Yalli Naweit Tishghilni - Mohamed Abdel Wahab
Maza Aqool Wa Qad Himt - Talal El Madaah

Customer Reviews:

Worth the Dinar.......2007-02-16

The Story of Arabic Song is a very good musical collection of Middle Eastern music. There are so many interesting qualities to the music - and most likely attributed to my love of music and my travel to the region beginning in my teenage years. So, let's begin the analysis:

Ayouh has a melody which remind me of my travels through Morocco and northern Africa, while the screams toward the middle have the aura I've experienced passing a funeral procession in Turkey ,,, Ala Balad El Mahboub is enjoyable and has an obvious discrete level of tonality as the singer progresses through the lament ,,, Khayef Aqool is very, very soothing (my favorite) ,,, Kunt Fein has an interesting mix of Middle Eastern, western, and Indian influence - whether this fits classically, I'm not certain ,,, Hebeena --- the first half is similar to celebration songs that are played at wedding, reunions, or birthday parties - however - the middle shows that it is truly a middle eastern piece - the transition toward the end of the song is well done - reverting back to its roots ,,, Sanatein is relaxing to listen to - and its instruments - Yes ,,,, (my 2nd favorite) ---/--- The only two songs that I have not appreciated are Alla Allah Ta'Oud (boring) and Yalli Naweit (reminds me of an epic story from the 1920's put to pre-dated musical themes) ,,, Maza Aqool had good background with vocal accompaniment (although the singer was a bit nasally).

Overall, I would recommend buying it.

Now I'm an Egyptian dancer.......2002-09-28

The best way for me to review this CD is to describe how it affected me... The first song "Ayouh" annoyed me after a while with the constantly quavering voice of the singer, and in the next the woman's voice was too piercing for me, so I advanced to the third selection, "Khayef Aqpool" which was pleasant and soulful with rich voice and instrumentation. Song number four (Kunt Fein) was smooth and passionate, and inspired me to sway and twist around the house, and number five, "Hebeena", was quite lively with a bouncing rhythm, and really got me moving. The remaining songs are a little more subdued, but they are richly textured with many contrasting and intertwining sounds: voice, clapping, and a variety of Arabic instruments blending and taking turns in the spotlight. The selections are from a variety of authentic Arabic recordings, and although not all of them appeal to me, most carry me away to Arabic lands, and provide a great alternate listening experience in my collection of world music.

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