Sunday, July 26, 2009

Houwaida - Gani Tani

The powerful voice of Syrian vocalist Houwaida always steals the spotlight. Though many remember her from the dispute she had with Nawal Al Zoghbi over the hit Mandam Aleik, Houwaida has proven her talent over and over again over the past decade. Unlike the direction Nawal took, Houwaida's preference for more oriental songs is evident in all of her choices. Gani Tani has collaborations with Samir Sfair, Walid Saad, Ramy Gamal, and the late Riyad El Hamshari. It can be argued however, that the album's weakness is the prevalence of ballads. While Houwaida can tackle them quite easily, they do not suit her voice as more upbeat songs, like Dallelni and Shway Shway, do. Still, there are ballads like Ya Habibi and Moush Haram Aleik, which Ahmed Adel and Medhat Khamis excel in respectively, and songs reminiscent of her earlier work, like Eini All Hab. The arrangers on this album include Mohamed Mostafa, Medhat Khamis, Ahmed Adel, and Tarek Aakef. There is more, and even better, Houwaida to come on the blog!


1. Gani Tani
2. Eini Alli Hab
3. Ya Habibi
4. Moush Haram Aleik
5. Bta'ref
6. Bakoun Ma'ak
7. Kelma Wahda
8. Dmou' El Sheteh

256 Kbps + Covers

Monday, July 13, 2009

Nawal - Nawal 1998

Nawal's 1998 album is another solid effort from Kuwait's top female vocalist. As always, the album has top names in the list of composers. Saudi singer-songwriter Rabeh Sagr composed three songs, La Shak Terdhini, Hobbek Aadi, and Nesani. Top composers like Kuwaiti Abdallah El Gaoud and Saudi Nasser El Saleh are here too with Tedhak Wana Abki (El Gaoud), as well as Ana El Mas'oul and Ya Sidehom (El Saleh). Mish'al El Orouj, who composed most of Nawal's hits in the past decade, has one song, Tekfoun Khallouh. The entire album is arranged by Egyptian musician Tarek Aakef and produced by Rabeh Sagr and Mish'al El Orouj.


1. La Shak Terdhini
2. Hobbek Aadi
3. Tedhak Wana Abki
4. Ya Msabber El Maw'oud
5. El Hob El Khaled
6. Nesani
7. Ana El Mas'oul
8. Ya Sidehom
9. Tekfoun Khallouh

256 Kbps + Covers