Customer Reviews

Anana Presents: Music From Israel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...and, if my Song titles seem different than Amazon's, or if I spell 'em differently, that's because I got those from the Artists' official webpages (either their own URL, or their myspace pages).

01. Miri Mesika - Tipa Tipa (Drop Drop)
02. Teapacks - Yoshvim Bebit Caffe (Sitting In A Coffee House)
03. Hemi Rudner - Geula (Redemption)
04. Aya Korem - Shir Ahava Pashut (A Simple Love Song)
05. Dani Robas - Masheu Hadash Matchil (Something New Begins)
06. Hadara Levin Areddy - Magic Time
07. Shay Amar - Be'Osher U Beoni (In Richness Or In Poverty)
08. Ohad Hitman - Chashaveti Shehye' Romanti (I Thought It Will Be Romantic)
09. Estar Shamir - Gachliliyot (Fireflys)

I am glad that people who don't understand Hebrew were willing to download this sampler and give it a spin. I appreciate that they are interested in reaching out to other cultures even if they can only take away a part of it for now. And maybe other reviewers will come along and fill in more of the picture as time goes by.

I think Israeli pop music is special because often the lyrics are taken verbatim from Israeli poetry of the modern era, not to mention an entire genre of songs by religious performers, for the religious sector of Israeli society, who have produced some majorly rockin' vibes of Biblical verses and passages. As a more secular listener, I especially love the songs that bring to life the words of such poets as Leah Goldberg, Natan Alterman, Yehuda Amichai, Chaim Nachman Bialik, Rachel, Natan Zach, and others. In fact, one of my favorite albums is called "An Evening of Poets' Songs" (Erev Shirei Meshorerim).

One of the loveliest songs in this little sampler is Asthar Shamir's Gachliliyot (Fireflies), music and lyrics both written by the singer. I found a translation of the lyrics online and am posting them here, maybe those who don't speak Hebrew will enjoy the song more once they know what it's about.

All credit and appreciation for the translation goes to Ayelet Bukai of Sunnyvale, California, who is listed on the website [...] as the translator.

I'm returning to the forest to gather fireflies
Tiny lights I have left behind
Words heavy from grief
that couldn't fly
Songs I didn't gather when I left.
I'm returning to the past to gather fireflies
To build with them a ladder of stars
Pathways I didn't take, which could not have been there
Maybe they are still waiting there for me

If you will go there, my heart
Come to the past without stopping
We will gather all the good
We will gather all the innocence
We will gather fireflies and return

A girl is there waiting, she falls in love without seeing
Fireflies surround her with bright light
Come back to me, I will keep you from harm
Together we will grow stronger

I go back to the past, with no fear of the time
I can tell right from wrong
We will gather all the good, the light and the innocence
And bring them back here

If you will go there, my heart
Come to the past without stopping
We will gather all the good
We will gather all the innocence
We will gather fireflies and return

Great, easy to listen pop music from Israel. Highly recommended!

At the same time not sure how could a fellow reviewer give only three stars to this album simply because he doesn't understand the words. You know, there are over 100,000 languages on this Planet - the world doesn't revolve around native English speakers or USA in particular. How embarrassing.

I have listened to most of the Free Samplers from Amazon and this is one of the better ones.

How disappointing they didn't include the artist names - You'd think a Sampler, in particular, would do that. Thanks to the previous poster who included the artists.

Five Stars

I liked the whole album the first time I listened to it. Only two songs really stuck out:
Gachliliot (Fireflies)
B'osher Ve'Be'Oni (In Wealth And In Poverty)
But I suspect with more times listening to it the rest of the album will grow on me more.
(And it has! I also like Yoshvim Bebet Café and Tipa Tipa)

I'm not familiar with Israeli music, but I found it a good variety in sounds (with an upbeat folk feel, or light pop). Pleasant to listen to, and catchy.

I got the album as a free sampler, but if that option isn't available to you, I still recommend buying it.

I especially liked #'s 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 and 9. This album is a really good listen. It's not too far out there, but it's not too Westernized to be dull. I have some new favorite artists thanks to this sampler!

Nice music to have on in the background. It's the sort of thing I'd listen to when I want to distract myself while cooking or baking. Very nice compilation. There's a couple of songs with a lot of English in, but that's OK. The overall style is consistent.

Beautiful music that I am not tempted to sing along with.
I can listen without the possibility of embarrassing myself.
Seriously, I like the music and it seems well done to me.
Thanks for making this available

Like several of the other reviewers, I enjoyed much of the collection despite understanding little of what was being said. The overall sound of the album is retro, recalling 1980s pop -- NOT New Wave, mind you, but the pop of singers like Sting and Stevie Nicks, with a lot of reverb, keyboards, and synthesizers.

I liked Estar Shamir's "Gachliliot (Fireflies)" best. The arrangement is more folky and eclectic, with guitar, bongos, and accordion. She has a strong, expressive voice. I also enjoyed Hemi Rudner's "Geula (Redemption)," an even-keeled lite rocker that recalls John Lennon's "Mind Games" and Al Stewart's "Flying Sorcery". (Rudner also records in English--he has an album of Beatles and Stones covers) "Yoshvim Bebet Cafe (Sitting In A Coffee House)" by the Teapacks, with its bouncy synthesizers, shows more New Wave influence and, in the bridge, gives the strongest nod to Middle Easternness in the collection. Miri Mesika's "Tipa Tipa (Little By Little)" sounds at first like it's going to be a folky acoustic tune, but halfway through it turns into something like a power ballad by Gloria Estefan. "Magic Time" by Hadara Levin Areddy differs from the rest of the collection in two ways: it is in English, and it is strongly blues-influenced. Hadara has (or puts on) an intriguingly goofy voice and matching accent (her "now" rhymes with "meow"), sounding something like a cross between Betty Carter and Madeleine Peyroux. Ohad Hitman's "Hashavti She'Yehiye Romanti (I Thought It Will Be Romantic)," could be an early, overproduced Sting song.

Really good album, I got it for free, I play it all the time. Highly recommended album! The only weird thing is that they don't list the artist's names (it's a compilation). Nice music, give it a try.