Eclipse

The World (Rykodisc/Mickey Hart Series), Hamza El Din, Mickey Hart | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009N3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,324 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #2 in Music > World Music > Africa > Sudan
  • #27 in Music > World Music > Africa > Egypt
  • #65 in Music > World Music > Middle East > Arabic

Track Listings

1. Helalisa (Nubian Song)

2. The Visitors

3. Ollin Arageed

4. Your Love Is Ever Young

5. Mwashah

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Unique among Middle Eastern artists, El Din is a Nubian oud player and singer from the Sudan who studied his craft in Cairo, and fashioned the oud--normally used for accompaniment or in ensembles--into a solo instrument, combining Nubian and Arabic musical gestures. Eclipse--produced by Grateful Dead drummer and world-music champion Mickey Hart--exploits elastic rhythms and repetitive motifs in moody, majestic pieces like "Helalisa," the lovelorn song of an Egyptian field hand, and "Your Love Is Ever Young," inspired by Egypt's late queen of song, Um Kalthoum. Fans of Turkish oud masters (like the great Udi Hrant) will find El Din's penetrating tone and attack familiar, though his arrangements and vocal accompaniments are a different beast altogether, producing an evocative, melancholy music that draws on several traditions simultaneously. --James Rotondi

Product Description

Repressing of this installment in the Mickey Hart Collection, a World Music series that the Grateful Dead drummer curated which incorporated his solo projects, other artists productions, and re-releases of out-of-print titles. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient and timeless . . ., June 26, 2004

By 

The Delite Rancher (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Eclipse (Audio CD)

Hamza El Din is one of those amazing performers that you have been searching for your entire life. His vocal and musical abilities are sublime. At the same time, his music sounds both ancient and accessible. Hamza's music is meditational. The songs will gently paint pictures in your mind of the rolling Nubian desert scenery. Much is said of his musical abilities, but the rhythm is also a highlight as the doumbeks and handclaps add to the trance inducive sounds. His voice is very deep (like an Egyptian Johnny Cash) and his oud style expressive. Traditionally, the oud is an accompanying instrument and is almost never played by itself and usually does little or no improvisation. It is Hamza who can maintain the integrity of this music while being an innovator at the same time.

For those of you who know the Grateful Dead, you will know that the band worked with Hamza beginning with their trip to Egypt in 1978. Throughout the 70s and 90s, Hamza joined the band on stage many times -and for good reason. In the new millennium, Hamza still plays with Mickey Hart's Planet Drum.

Hamza has many great albums like "Songs of the Nile" (JVC, 1982) and "Lily of the Nile" (Water Lily Acoustics, 1990) but this is his best. While I've heard a few songs here played on other albums, there's something special about "Eclipse." The only explanation is producer Mickey Hart.

Did you know that the oud is the root instrument where the modern electric guitar comes from? Travel back to your roots, to the collective roots of humanity and listen to something that is both ancient and timeless.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ruler of the Oud!, January 7, 2003

By 

"davehinsanfran" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eclipse (Audio CD)

Hamza's Eclipse is his best album. Only 5 tracks but each is a gem. Song #3 Olin Arageed is a Nubian wedding song played once in a person's lifetime as they exchange their vows. You can almost feel thousands of years of history as you listen to it. All of Hamza's albums are great - but sound similar to each other. If I were to buy just one, Eclipse is the way to go. Produced by Mickey Hart it sounds terrific and somewhat slick - but not overly so.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Oud!, July 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eclipse (Audio CD)

If you have been interested in Middle-Eastern/North African music but don't know where to start--open your world and buy this amazing CD from one of the masters of the oud! This is a very powerful recording. Close your eyes and experience the silky sounds of the oud, El Din's voice, and a wonderful track in which rhythmic hand clapping is taken to a new level.