Customer Reviews

Eye on the World

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

 

 

The music by the Brothers Of The Baladi has been popular among belly dancers since the early 1980's, and their first few releases were devoted entirely to Middle Eastern music. The word "baladi" itself is an Arabic word for "home town". In recent years, they have taken their music in the direction of more mainstream appeal, but they still have a lot to offer the dance community.

Although most of the songs on Eye On The World are of Middle Eastern origin, a couple of the cuts are from elsewhere. The overall choice of instrumentation for this album gives the music a New Age flavor. As someone who likes Middle Eastern music, I really enjoyed this CD because it gives a new sound to old favorites.

Six of the cuts that appear on Eye On The World would be quite suitable for belly dancing use: Mastoom Mastoom (Persian), Ah Ya Zein (Arabic), Oud Taxim, Bouzouki Taxim, Backbeat, Gole Sangiam (Persian), and Dere Dere (Turkish). Backbeat is an improvised percussion solo. The two taxim cuts are both improvised instrumental solos, one on the oud (a Middle Eastern instrument which was the ancestor of the lute) and one on the bouzouki (an instrument widely used in Greek music).

Another interesting Middle Eastern song on this CD is Lamma Bada, a 10th-century classical Arab piece. Although it's fascinating to listen to, its Samai (10/8) rhythm would make it too challenging for most belly dancers to use in a performance.

"Paint It Black" is a very interesting arrangement of the popular Rolling Stones song. "Twa Corbies" is a haunting Scottish song that I also found myself wanting to listen to over and over.

I am giving my opinion from a dancer's perspective. There's quite a bit of dance material in this one. Mastoom Mastoom, an old Persian love song, would be great for an entrance bit. It's upbeat and catchy, with mostly traditional intsrumentation. And the 2nd track! Ah ya Zein, an Egyptian love song, makes me wiggle in my seat! I find it hard, if not impossible, to sit through! It's a " Get up and dance " tune, for sure. There is a particularly lovely rendition of the old ( and I mean old ) Lamma Bada. There is something in it's strains that pull at the heart strings. There is also a fun rendition of the Rolling Stones' classic, Paint It Black. Gole Sangiem ( Flower of Stone ) is beautiful in a rather mournful way. Might be ok for veilwork, should a dancer wish to express a sad note in her routine. All in all, I really love this CD. The only reason I don't give it a 5 is because, as a dancer, I'd like every track on every CD to be perfect for dance routines. Well, Twa Corbies just doesn't appeal to me that way. But at least when it can't be danced to, you can have it for your listening enjoyment.

I have been after this CD for some time and was pleased with the fact that I managed to get one in so good condition

I came to know of this album through the website of an oriental dancer called Shira who rated it quite highly.....well...I would be of the same opinion, but only as far as the first two songs are concerned...

The first song, "mastoom mastoom" waltzes away with all the honors, followed by the second one "ah ya zein." They make great dance numbers, and as odd as it may seem, this is where the problem lies. As much as these numbers contribute to the appeal of the album, they also detract one away from the rest of it. They will take you so high up and away in such a rush of endorphins (especially mastoom mastoom....) that they leave you quite unprepared for the downslide that follows as you listen to the rest of the album, which is just about "okay".....in fact, ever since I received it, these are the only two songs that I even bother to listen to.....followed by "lamma bada" to a lesser degree...

"Backbeat" a tandem drum solo improvisation and "lamma bada" do try to scale the heights intially reached, but don't quite manage it....having said that, I must say "lamma bada" is quite beautiful and scintillating in its own way.....

the weirdest inclusion would be the last song, a scottish number.....which sticks out like a sore thumb amongst all of the other middle eastern songs....i mean why on earth would one want to include a song about two ravens discussing life over a battlefield in this album.....

So in a nutshell, if you are looking for an out-and-out dance album, then prepare to be dissapointed, but otherwise, its an okay-to-average buy with its crowning glory being the first persian number that goes mastoom mastoom mastoom...ooh la la!!!...my hips are wiggling already...