The Leopard Man,
CD Review
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Khaled is back! After years of experiments with French funk, for instance on his "Kenza" album, and layers and layers of synthsizers from his French/Arabic backing band, comes his new album "Liberté", which undoubtly will extend the number of musical followers. "Liberté" contains 17 tracks, all included, and more than 70 minutes of music. We are met by a mature Khaled this time, but he still comes up with brave musical solutions. The album presents big, mainly accoustic arrangements, with a full orchestra, recorded in Cairo. It works splendidly. The orchestra is always in the bottom of the arrangements, while Khaled's incredible voice or solo instruments like oud, keyboard/accordeon or even elguitar and brass are playfully(!) present on top of it all. I simply get goose bumps from this interplay, for example on the intro of the title track, where the keyboard/accordeon hits a bluesy theme over Khaled's expressive singing. Then comes the bass and the drums, and we're off. If I only understood Arabic! The lyrics are missing on my downloaded version. It's a pity, because one certainly gets an impression of the fact that Khaled is out with some important messages here. On "Zabana" a jazzy theme rolls on, with accoustic guitar, oud and piano in the backing. On "Soghri" the jazz beat is also highly present, even more laidback and with a violin playing over Khaleds eminent vocal. It's like one nearly undersatands what he sings from his early childhood and youth. Beautiful and gripping, anyway. On "Yamina" the accordeon is back on a dramatic intro, before the song starts rolling, emotional and danceable. I could continue to number the peaks; the album consists of a row of emotions from the sore and emotional to the heavy and rocky. But it is never flat or boaring; this is simply great music, a fantastic new album from the King of Rai 08/24/09
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