Search - MC Sultan, Tranquility Bass, Natacha Atlas :: London Global Connection: Arabesque

Not the best Arabic compilation

J Lee Harshbarger | Ypsilanti, MI United States | 11/27/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I like this album significantly less than the other Arabic compilations I have, such as Indestructible Arabian Beats, Arabic Groove, Arabian Travels 2, and Bellylicious. There are some good tracks on here, but some of the tracks have a flavor I don't care for, although I'm not sure how to describe why. Some seem to have a kind of jazz sound that I don't like very much, others just don't seem to jump out at me much. And the songs I like the best, I also have on other albums; in fact, the songs even sound better on the other albums because of the sequencing (which emphasizes the importance of sequencing!). For example, this album has "Kidda" by Natacha Atlas, possibly my favorite Middle Eastern song, but the song is much better surrounded by the tracks it is on Putumayo Records' compilation entitled Arabic Groove. The song "Ya Rayah" is included on here, as well as being included on probably four other compilation albums I have. At least this one is a remixed version I've not heard anywhere else, but it's not a particularly compelling remix.



The overall sound of this album is definitely different from the other Arabic music compilations I have. The compiler of this album runs a restaurant and club in London, and this music sounds like a kind of club music. In fact, the album has more of a club feel than an Arabic feel, but not a dance-beat club feel. I don't know how else to describe it. It doesn't hit me like the other albums do, but when I want to hear some Middle Eastern flavored club music different from what I normally listen to, it fits the bill.



By the way, Amazon.com also sells the import version of this for twice the price, with the only difference being that the import version has one more song."