Customer Reviews

Desert Wind

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

 

 

Ofra Haza's distinctive, pure voice may be gone, but there are countless albums available. Listening to Haza's albums, even upbeat, dance albums like this one, is a mourning exercise for me these days (even though it is October, 2000) and she has been gone for many months. Nevertheless, the intensity of her voice continued to amaze and surprise me, even when many of the songs echo the same sort of dance beat in the background. Her voice soars over all the other noise. Definitely underappreciated in the U.S. she was elevated to pop diva status in the Middle East and elsewhere. If you are searching for a strong-voiced female vocalist, Haza is a wonderful choice (and for those who have never heard of her, you may have heard her vocals in the film Prince of Egypt; she sang the part of Moses's birth mother as she is setting him adrift on the river). Finding fans in the U.S. now that she is gone might seem ironic, but you definitely would not regret this vocal journey. Of particular note are "Fatamorgana" and "Kaddish", although this entire album is splendid.

The followup to Ofra Haza's landmark Shaday is a solid effort by Israel's late and great desert angel.

The darbuka which made Shaday's "Im Nin Alu" so exotic is done to great effect in "Ya Ba Ye." The mid-paced "I Want To Fly" has the same sound without the darbuka.

The best song by far and the most painfully relevant is "Middle East." Terrorism and fanaticism plague her beloved homeland, and the fanaticism runs rampant on both faiths (e.g. the groups Hamas and Hezbollah on one hand, Meir Kahane and Baruch Goldstein on the other). She truly wishes for peace between the two races, which unfortunately at this date, is like the song's two parallel lines that are destined never meet. This is a dance tune, by the way, and a catchy one at that.

More leaning towards the Israelis are the plight of Jews in Ethiopia and Yemen who cannot emigrate to Israel and too often are forced to convert to Islam by the people there. That is the topic of "Mm'mma." Being allowed to leave to practice one's faith is one thing, but being prevented to do that, that's something else.

The songs are more danceable here than on Shaday, such as "In Ta" and "Wish Me Luck." The latter song is an optimistic note on what the morrow will bring, happiness or sorrow.

Her soaring melodic voices are at their best in the ballads, such as the mournfully beautiful "Kaddish" and "Slave Dream." As explained in the notes before the song lyrics, the kaddish is a prayer said on someone's death. The desert trek songs "Fata Morgana" and "Da'asa" are also showcases for her voice. The trek from Yemen to Israel was after all, what defined her family's life and as such, remain special to Ofra Haza. Even her mother makes a guest vocal appearance on the former song.

In closing, a kaddish to the victims of the current Middle East violence, both Israeli and Arab, and a special one to Ofra Haza, who made two truly great albums, this one and Shaday.

I'll never forget the day I first heard this on cassette. My wife came home from shopping and put it on. I said "WOW, who is this??" And she said "I don't know who she is, they were playing her at the music store and I asked who it was and bought it. I think she's Arab." Then I saw Ofra Haza's picture on the cover and had to say "WOW" again. As we soon learned, she was a Yemenite Israeli, already world-famous (except in America) back then in 1990. We saw her in concert later that year and of course learned much more about her and her earlier music, particularly her groundbreaking "Fifty Gates of Wisdom (Yemenite Songs)".

Following "Fifty Gates" in 1987, Ofra Haza turned to a dance beat in "Shadday" (1988), an album, in my opinion, of derivative western dance-track sounds and only two stand-out songs. Then, a year later, she turns out "Desert Wind", this stunning, hook-laden, beat-driven, authentically Middle-Eastern album of passionate, meaningful songs, juxtaposing Hebrew and English verses, almost all written or co-written by her. Best are the danceable "Ya Ba Ye", "Middle East", "I Want to Fly" and "Taw Shi", and the gorgeous "Fatamorgana", "Da'asa" and "Kaddish". That's a lot of favorites for one album, but that's the kind of album this is. "Slave Dream" and "In Ta" take some getting used to, but even they turn into winners once you've managed to absorb them. "Kaddish" left hardly a dry eye in the house when she performed this in concert. "Middle East" has ironically the least middle-eastern melody of the dance tunes (i.e. it's in a major key), and it is a rousing song of hope for peace - even a love offering to the Palestinians. Ofra seems to put one such song on every album. Tragically, Ofra is gone, and we're all still waiting to hear popular songs of peace from the Palestinian side. Ofra would probably say keep hoping.

February 13th the world lost one of its most stellar voices. I still cannot believe Ofra Haza is gone. At least we have her recordings, and there are 10 to 15 that have not been released in America. Look for them!

Ofra Haza's voice is often described as angelic, which it certainly is. But it's so much more than that. Ofra's voice has a depth and purity unlike that of anyone else I've ever heard--Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Charlotte Church and all the rest can barely compare, as lovely as their voices are. Her gorgeous vocals give me shivers and goosebumps; they move me into a realm in which there are no words, only uadulterated emotion. There are two reasons for this: first, Middle Eastern music is so very exquisite. It has incredible passion and lilt because it uses a different scale than that of Western music. Second, Ofra Haza's voice is second to none, so when you combine Middle Eastern vocal styles with a voice such as Ofra's, the result is heavenly. In particular, I enjoyed "Ya Ba Ye," "The Middle East," and "I Want to Fly," although all the songs are noteworthy.

I bought this CD because I'd been to Israel and Ofra is quite popular there. She sings in both English and Sephardic Hebrew (which sounds like Arabic), and her music uses Western synthesizers--it was produced by Thomas Dolby-- over Middle Eastern drum beats. Ofra's emotionally-laden voice vibrates and soars all over the album.

This CD is a wonderful mixture of middle eastern rhythm's
and mainstream pop. The music on this cd is both interesting and
exciting. Ofra Haza's singing is consistently superior in every respect to most other female pop vocalists. Her technical excellence, clarity of tone and pureness of pitch are at least equal to the best efforts of the best: Celine Dion, Sarah Brightman, Barbra Streisand. Ofra Haza poured
great depths of emotion into all her singing. With the majority
of her songs it is easy to discern that her soul is on full display, that she put her heart into her singing, and that the feelings expressed are genuine. She wrote much of her own music and most of her own lyrics. In "Desert Wind" the booklet provides a brief explanation of what each song is about. For example, the song "Fatamorgana" (Mirage), one of the best on this CD, tells the story of Ofra's mother traveling on foot through the desert to escape oppression in her native country. The CD provides a well balanced mix of fast paced and slower songs. The two standout fast paced songs are "Wish Me Luck," and "Middle East." Ofra typically put one or two very good songs at the end of her albums, and in this CD it is the excellent,relective "Kaddish." Overall, this is a very satisfying CD, and like almost all Ofra Haza's music, it
is worthy of many multiple listenings.

Ofra's Haza's singing on this album is stunning, where we can hear her above the loud accompanyment. I just hope that with modern recording technology they will reissue her work with the background toned down so that we can enjoy the beautiful soaring voice. There was none like her. Whenever I hear Ofra's voice on a sound track I recognize it instantly. for my taste, it is the "dance club" rhythmic beat that it too loud. I prefer Kaddish and Slave Dream where the background music stays in the background.

Again Ofra Haza sing with her marvelous voice in english and arabic looking for new markets. To listen to "Slave dream" is like to be transported to the desert, with the bedouins and their camels facing a storm of sand. Really beautiful. "Ya Ba Ye" and "Da'Asa" are other of my favorites, with the rates most characteristic of the Middle East.

A great album, excellent.

OFRA HAZA WAS A WOMAN OF PEACE...

I can try to articulate the emotion that this singer brings out in her music but I will not bring her complete justice. Her voice is unreal, it sounds as if she is an angel, taking a listener to incredible hights before unreached. Each track is complete, in and of itself. Everyone should take a moment to appreciate such genuine genius talent.