Customer Reviews

Beautiful Noise

5 star:		(3)
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Salim Nourallah has created something magnificent with this CD, his second solo offering, written and recorded in the wake of a near personal tragedy, almost losing his then 3 month old son. His lyrics are personal and intimate, written from the heart. Considering the subject matter, this album could have been a downer, but it isn't. It's a celebration of life, and the reality of life and its tragedies, and coming out the other side. As another reviewer termed it, this not just a collection of songs, but an album. It's not a "concept" album, really, but it's complete, and meant to be listened to from beginning to end, in order. Salim's production style is sparce and tasty, never over produced. It feels as though everything, every guitar lick, piano fill, harmony, is right where it's supposed to be. There's never too much and never too little, and nothing ever feels out of place. I really enjoy his voice, too, it's very personal, as though he were singing just to me. A CD well worthy of being in anyone's collection. And I'm sure glad it's in mine.

"Beautiful Noise" is Salim Nourallah's (ex-Nourallah Brothers) 2nd solo offering. It's a 12 song cycle that mainly deals with facing mortality, coping with loss and what it all means to be alive. Pretty heavy stuff but not depressing. There's always a faint lining of hope in Salim's songs that keep his albums from becoming gloom fests. There's also his amazing sense of melody, which can satisfy listeners who don't even pay attention to the words. From the opening lines "We start out in this life in paradise, we only know the joy, the beautiful noise..." to the final track "Life in a Split Second" these songs weave an almost dreamlike thread that makes the listener realize this is an "album." It seems BN was meant to be played from start to finish, carefully sequenced - not just a collection of songs that have nothing in common with each other.

Salim Nourallah's album's are always unique and beautiful. In Beautiful Noise the strings and creative use of other instruments make the music as wonderful as the words. As usual Salim has written all of the songs and recorded the CD himself so he has total artistic control. The result is a truly exceptional musical experience.