Shahinaz - Aheb A'ishlak

Shahinaz launched her career with Egypt's shortlived talent search program Starmaker. Her first song was a hit cover of Anna Vissi's To Poly Poly, titled Oulli Oulli. Her debut album, Ala Eih, met with some success also, but it was Aheb A'ishlak that truly made audiences pay attention to this rare talent. Shahinaz's sophomore album is full of defining hits hits: the dramatic Aheb A'ishlak, the heartbreaking Malnash Makan, and Kaman Kaman, which was recently covered by Turkish singer Günce Koral. Look before the surface however, and there are even more gems to be found, like Habibi Bashtaq Elik, Lazem Tigi, and Men Gheir Ma Tehlef. Musicians on the album include Mohamed Rifai, Adam Hussein, Tamer Ali, Karim Abdel Wahab, Osama El Hindi, Tarek Tawakol, and Tamer Ashour.

1. Kaman Kaman

2. Habibi Bashtaq Elik

3. Bi Ban Fe Eineik

4. Ez El Fouraq

5. Malnash Makan

6. Lazem Tigi

7. Aheb A'ishlak

8. Men Gheir Ma Tehlef

9. Kaman Kaman [Remix]

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Monday, June 8, 2009

Najwa Karam - Ya Habayeb

Ya Habayeb is Najwa's debut studio album. It was released in 1989, but this rip is from the second edition from 1995. This album is a great example of Najwa Karam's beginnings with composers she has not worked with in a long time now, such as Samir Sfair and Suhail Fares. Samir's style has changed considerably, and Najwa works primarily with Imad Chamseddine and Wissam El Amir nowadays. The album is very "Arabic", with tarab-style songs as well as dabke and mawals. It is definitely worth a listen.


1. Ya Habayeb
2. We Ygoulou Rjou'ou Garib
3. Khalli Ketfak A Ketfi
4. Ma Baddi Eyounak
5. De'i Ya Tboul
6. El Haq Alayeh
7. Baladiyat

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Julia Boutros - Bi Saraha (2001)

Julia Boutros' releases may be far apart, but the effort put into the beautiful music is always evident. Her 2001 album is, as most of her later albums are, composed by her brother Ziad and written by Nabil Abou Abdo. While the album is not as memorable as her runaway hit La B'ahlamak, there are beautiful ballads to be heard here like Kelmeh Aal Waraq, Ma Maraq, and Bi Saraha. There are more playful songs too, like Elna Mazha and Wa'd Alayeh, though the former is a little more interesting. Nashid El Horriyeh, Nehna El Sawra Wel Ghadab, and Ma Am Befham Arabi are songs with political messages, which Julia has never shied from. Never one to skimp on musical quality, the list of musicians is full of famous musicians like Claude Chalhoub, Tony Anka, and Hani Siblini. For those who liked the Bahr Al Nojoum soundtrack, here's some trivia: Jessy Jleilaty is part of Julia's chorus on this album.



1. Bi Saraha
2. Wa'd Alayeh
3. Kelmeh Aal Waraq
4. Elna Mazha
5. Ma Maraq
6. Nashid El Horriyeh
7. Nehna El Sawra Wel Ghadab
8. Ma Am Befham Arabi

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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Hind - El Ghoroub

Hind's 2004 album was not met with the media fanfare its successor did, but it is a solid album. Unlike Hind 2008, El Ghoroub features a lot more fellow Bahraini talent like veteran Khaled El Sheikh, man of the moment Ahmed El Hermi, and arranger Siruz. Like most of her albums, this record is made up of mostly traditional Khaliji ballads, with a few more upbeat songs like Inta Wana Wel Shoug, Khalas, and Ma Gedart Asber. The album has mostly traditional instrumentation, though Siruz makes interesting use of "oriental" saxophone on Majnoun. There is also an interesting R&B track, Sahi Ou Lahi, also composed by Siruz.



1. Inta Wana Wel Shoug
2. Khalas
3. Ya Hasafa
4. Tajruba Murra
5. Jerouh Dafina
6. Sahi Ou Lahi
7. Majnoun
8. Tejahelni
9. Ta'al
10. Ma Gedart Asber
11. El Ghoroub

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Friday, May 8, 2009

Grace Deeb - Aktar Min Gharam

The biggest crime an artist could do to an excellent album is to sell it short. Unfortunately, that is what Grace Deeb did after releasing the video for the title song, and she disappeared. Though the album is her best so far, she only released two singles, Aktar Min Gharam, and many months after, Ghinniyat. The album is a huge change from her first, which relied heavily on very western-style songs. George Marderosian, who composed her hit Ghannali, returns with two amazingly good songs. Lail Ou Bel Lail is a breathtaking ballad which Adel Aayesh compliments with great arrangement, and Endak Khabar is in the traditional fashion that Marderosian always innovates with. Tony Abi Karam wrote and composed Law Kan, a beautiful ballad that only pales in comparison to Lail Ou Bel Lail. A surprising name on the list is Salah El Sharnoubi, who composed Alfein Mersal, a great, upbeat song with fun beats and baglama, and one of the best Salah has composed in a while. Rawad Raad's compositions, the nouveau-dabke Ghinniyat and Latin-influenced Aw'at are also interesting, upbeat songs, both arranged by Dani Helou. The album ends with Wissam El Amir's Endi Ehsas, which had it not been preceeded by two great ballads would have been much more appreciated! It is not clear why Grace was away for so long, but the fact her management changed after this album may be a clue. Nevertheless, this is a top-notch album, that finds the balance between Grace's western voice and great Arabic music.

1. Aktar Min Gharam
2. Law Kan
3. Alfein Mersal
4. Aw'at
5. Ghinniyat
6. Lail Ou Bel Lail
7. Endak Khabar
8. Endi Ehsas

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Thursday, April 9, 2009

Bassima - Aini Ya Mo

Bassima has never been one to follow the pack, and Aini Ya Mo is no exception. After the huge success of Andi Sou'al, Bassima returned in 2003 with a completely different song. The title song is written and composed by Marwan Khoury and unlike anything released before, thanks to Roger Khoury's arrangement. He combines fun pop with more serious tarab-style strings and beats. Boudi Naoum brings his always unique brand of East meets West with two power ballads, Bekhtesar and La Tfel. Mohamed Ba'asiri takes a much more different tone with three quintessential, upbeat Arabic pop songs: Wel Khad Metki, Wala Hammi, and the extremely catchy Doum. Wissam El Amir contributes with Lamouni, which is a good tarab-style song, but has nothing very interesting. Roger Khoury arranged most of the album, with the exception of Bekhtesar and La Tfel, which Boudi Naoum arranged himself. Like most of Bassima's albums, there is not a bad song here, and it's no wonder the album was so successful.

1. Aini Ya Mo

2. Wel Khad Metki

3. Bekhtesar

4. Wala Hammi

5. La Tfel

6. Lamouni

7. Doum

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Najwa Karam - Ma Hada La Hada

After the upbeat Hazzi Helou (I'm Lucky), Ma Hada La Hada (No One Belongs to Anyone) was a marked change of tone for Najwa Karam. The first single, El Tahaddi (The Dare) and the title song are defiant songs, rejecting love. The album was the beginning of a long creative relationship with Egyptian musician Tarek Aakef, who arranged the entire album. As always, he is diverse, using dabke, Khaliji, classic tarab, and modern beats and effects. The talented Wissam El Amir composed tracks 2, 4, and 6, while tracks 1, 3, and 7 are by Salim Salameh. Imad Shamseddine wrote and composed Baddi Mnajem (I Need an Astrologer). Despite being a sales failure, Ma Hada La Hada is without a doubt one of Najwa's most solid (and significant) albums.



1. El Tahaddi
2. Habib El Zein
3. El Helou
4. Ma Hada La Hada
5. Baddi Mnajem
6. Btousaq Fiyeh
7. Bjarreb Ensa

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Friday, March 20, 2009