Search - Om Kalthoum :: La Diva Vol. 1

Om Kulthoum -- the legend.

Luay K. Nakhleh | Austin, TX USA | 07/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Om Kulthoum is the one and only legend of Arabic singing. Born in 1898, she sang for more than 50 years, exciting the millions of Arabs in the middle east and other places in the world. Even 25 years after her death, she's is still the diva of Arabic singing, and no one seems to get close to her status. This CD features some of her early songs in the 1920's and 1930's...those songs, though unpopular due to their "old age", are the ones that gave Om Kalthoum the biggest push forward. Ihighly recommend this CD for anyone who listens to Arabic music."

Brilliant, but an acquired taste for some people

Sean Burke | Ketchikan, Alaska, United States | 07/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a fan of Middle Eastern music, this CD is a must-own!If you're not familiar with Middle Eastern music, you might like this CD, or you might not. I've played this CD for some friends of mine who don't know much about Middle Eastern music, and some of them loved it and said things like "Wow, she has such an expressive voice!"; but others just couldn't stand it: "Sounds like a Siamese cat that someone trained to yodel!" I guess it's an acquired taste, like gamelan music, or caviar. So if you don't know much about Middle Eastern music, I say give it a try, but if you don't like it, pass it on to someone else, who might!A note for audiophiles: the audio quality on this CD is regrettably quite low, as the tracks are all from vinyl from the 20s to 40s. I wish it were better! There's no clicks or pops, but it's "AM radio quality", you could say. Maybe a future release will be able to enhance the audio just a bit more."

Amazing!

Susan Fensten | New York, New York USA | 05/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of my all-time favorite cds! I highly recommend to all fro their collections."