Baida

Faudel

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 11, 2001)
• Original Release Date: October 28, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ark 21
• ASIN: B00005TPGT
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #305,850 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Africa > Algeria

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Faudel, the Little Prince of Rai, burst on the scene with this 1997 debut, which is finally receiving a belated U.S. release. The young singer offers his own rai revolution, mixing dance beats with Maghrebi percussion on "Anti" and the massive French hit "Tellement N'Brick" (both the original and hip-hop versions), in addition to throwing in raps, flamenco ("Omri"), and the outright rai pop of "Dis-Moi." Like Khaled from an earlier generation, Faudel brings plenty of new ideas to the tradition, and his high, still youthful voice appeals across generations; it's equally at home on the Algerian sounds of the title track or the emotional ballad "La Valse." Hip, sometimes edgy, but always retaining a strong respect for the foundations of rai, Baïda marks Faudel as a star of the future who's firmly establishing his credentials today. --Chris Nickson

Product Description

With His Surprinsigly Mature 1998 Debut Album, The Young Rai Singer Has Seduced French Audience With His Unique Mix Of French Pop Songs With A Middle-Eastern Flavor. He's Now Bigger Than His Idols Such As Khaled And R.Taha. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Algerian Rai at its best!, January 3, 2000

By	H. Musazlioglu "Kebabpunk" (East London, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Baida (Audio CD)

Faudel - that's a mere twentyone year old singer, who shot to the French charts - and not only there - to number one with this great debut album of his and the massive hits "Tellement n'Brick" and "Baida" The reason why this album is so immensely pleasurable to listen to, is because of his uninhibited approach to different styles: wonderful spanish Flamenco and Latin sounds on "Omri", wild Drum 'n Bass on "Abadou", bone-hard French rapping on Dis-moi by the group Delta, Hip Hop on "Baida" (and another Hip Hop-version of "Tellement n'Brick" and an Oriental version of "Baida" which includes a beautiful Algerian String arrangement), this all is in fact Rai. A brave mixture of traditional Arab beats and melodies and Western sounds. Faudel sings in Algerian and French, accompanied in Spanish on "Omri". His voice sounds young as he is, very fresh, almost with a certain humour, his wailing always gets a grin on my face, and just beautifully fits into his compositions. Try this, if you like something truly exquisite, not only as a World music specialist, but as someone who likes to be challenged to quality music, from a place of the world, you wouldn't be sure instantly where to point to - North African coast. Enjoy!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars super cool!, March 15, 2000

By	David Harrison (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baida (Audio CD)

Faudel- Tu seras le maitre du rai bientot... This is a fantastic album that mixes Arabic, French and even Spanish flamenco sounds and vocals. The highlights would be Baida and Tellement n'Brick for both the original and the hip-hop versions, and Dis-Moi. The lyrics of Dis-Moi are very touching and come from the heart regarding faudel's perceptions on North African immigrants and "beurs" struggles to adjust to life in les banlieues. For those who are not very familiar with the immigrant experience in france, this album can teach you a lot. As opposed to Khaled who is an Algerian living in France, Faudel is clearly French and has a bizarre mastery of the two worlds. Moreover, even though Khaled's lyrics are often in French and Arabic together, he keeps the two languages distinct. Faudel's lyrics reflect a certain urban patois, where the two languages are mixed in a sentence- Tellement N'Brick is the perfect example.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a pop-rai mix, May 30, 2004

By	Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Faudel is one of rai's brightest stars, but in this first CD, he only partially succeeds; a partial success from Faudel however is probably better than the best from many singers. He has an excellent voice, and in these songs sounds youthful and sweet, and not what one usually associates with rai music. He tends to sing in a higher register than he does in his subsequent albums, and his voice does not have the colorations and mature musicality that it has on his 2nd effort, "Samra".

Favorite tracks: "Omri": A flamenco flavored number with terrific guitar work.
"Abadou": Faudel sings in a throatier voice on this track and sounds great, and the song has the feel of a more traditional Arabic melody.
"N'Sel Fik": Here Faudel is joined by Samira Cherraj for a rousing version of the song made a hit by the duo of Fadela and Sahraoui; this track is terrific and "real rai", with no "pop" sugarcoating.
Faudel fans will also like his hit "Tellement n'Brick", which is given a second "hip hop" version on track 12, and the title song is given an "oriental" version on track 13.
If you're looking for an authentic sounding rai CD, you will only like "N'Sel Fik", if you're a devoted Faudel fan, you'll enjoy it.
Sung in a mix of Arabic and French, the sound is good, and total time is 57'58.