CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Big Blue Ball

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Sinead OConnor, Karl Wallinger, Various Artists Peter Gabriel

Release Date June 24, 2008
This CD really blew me away from the first note to the last. Each and every song fills my soul. What an awesome bunch of musicians. I would have loved to have experienced the sessions with them. Amazing.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Big Blue Ball

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Sinead OConnor, Karl Wallinger, Various Artists Peter Gabriel

Release Date June 24, 2008
"Big Blue Ball" is the fruitful, fascinating fusion of three amazing Recording Weeks at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio in Wiltshire, England. Gabriel united musicians from around the world in an electrifying open mike session. There's something for everyone. It's a natural compilation, right down to the tracks "Forest" and "Rivers."

"Big Blue Ball" opens with the electrifying "Whole Thing" that deftly blends Pygmy flute with contemporary dance. In the sensual "Habibe", Egyptian diva Natacha Atlas sings a love song with the Hossam Ramzy Egyptian Ensemble. "Shadow" magically blends African music with Spanish flamenco. "Altus Silva" blends Celtic stylings with Papa Wemba's congas. "Everything Comes From You" is a plea for peace. It ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

One

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
from: Ceres

Release Date March 03, 2008
I love to listen to this album on my way to Karate and Yoga. It puts me in a very open and contemplative mindset. I really love it.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Elysium for the Brave

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Azam Ali

Release Date July 25, 2006
What can I say other than it's the most sensuous CD this side of an "X" rating.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

The Idan Raichel Project

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Idan Raichel

Release Date November 07, 2006
Idan Reichel is probably the most interesting musician working in Israel today and one of the more interesting anywhere. His "project" brings together a movable feast of artists from many different traditions. When I saw him perform last year in Washington DC, the lineup included an Ethiopian and a South American singer as well as some of his regulars. Reichel with his dreadlocks looks like a Yemenite rasta.
The result is a hard-charging sound with lyrics in Hebrew, Arabic and Amharic. The music is not ostensibly political but the subliminal message is: it says that music can bridge wide cultural divides and bring people together -- that music has a universal appeal if it is well-done. This is definitely well-done.
For more on me, go to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Arabic Groove

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Various Artists

Release Date June 12, 2001
I really like this CD. The music features popular (mid 2000s) artists from various Arab countries. I think it's a good sampling. I really like music with a fast beat and a lot of energy and this album has that.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Harem

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Sarah Brightman, Frank Peterson

Release Date June 10, 2003
A voice so pure, effortless and flawless. What a gift - this voice.

Brightman turns every song into a seductive love song. She could gargle mouthwash and seduce me. Definitely a CD for cosmopolitan lovers.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

The Essential Ravi Shankar

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Ravi Shankar

Release Date October 04, 2005
Other reviewers here have noted that, if all you want is one CD of Ravi Shankar's music, this 2-CD set ought to do the trick. It also works as a good capsule introduction to Ravi-ji and his music; Disc One is a more pure distillation of Hindustani music, where Disc Two gives the listener a sampling of his collaborations with Western artists, all of whom seem to have had a good grasp on what was needed to make the collaborations work (not always the case with cross-cultural experiments).

Another bonus is that many of these tracks are not as readily available as one might like (I've yet to find a copy of the Chappaqua soundtrack anywhere), so their inclusion here is all the more welcomed. It is also helpful if one does not wish to buy every CD of ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Desert Crossroads

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Etran Finatawa

Release Date April 22, 2008
The promise of Etran Finatawa's debut album has been well fulfilled in this more mature feast of powerful rhythm, call and response, and serious joy. The group's members are of two nomadic peoples of the Saharan desert and the Sahelian grasslands, the Tuareg and the Wodaabe. They sing of their concern of maintaining their ancient cow and sheep herding life in times of environmental, political, and social change. The album insert includes extensive notes and some very fine photographs; their clothing is indicative of their respective territorial climatic zones. While the pioneering and successful Tourag group Tinariwen have become bluesy, funk world musicians, Etran Finatawa remains more rooted to tradition (as much as the introduction of electric guitars allows), yet ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Putumayo Presents: Turkish Groove

CD-Charts > Music > Middle East
by: Various Artists

Release Date March 21, 2006
I have been an avid follower of Putumayo for some time. The music on this disc simply stated is uplifting, gets your feet moving, and quite catchy. I buy music as I hear it, rarely do I turn the radio on to catch what's new. Simply put, this CD offers a change to the groove series, a departure maybe, which in this world it is pretty cool to be different. So overall the CD lives up to my expectations.