Customer Reviews

Hikayet Hob, Original Soundtrack [IMPORT]

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

 

 

Anyone who's heard Abdel Halim Hafez knows his voice and skillful musical interpretion are faultless. He will always "own" every song he sang.

I was very excited about having this CD of classics from his movie "Hikayat Hob," since I long ago wore out an Egyptian "Randaphone" cassette of these songs purchased at a street kiosk in Cairo. I rushed to play the CD when it arrived, hoping to relax and enjoy Abdul Halim's wonderful singing (and all the memories of Egypt it brings back) without the distractions of poor recording quality.

When I couldn't get the first track to play (having just removed it from the factory wrapping), I knew all was not well. Sure enough, I had to sit by my CD player for the length of the CD, coaxing it past skips and repeats and bizarre spurts of speed. Not the experience I hoped for!

Luckily, the best track (#4: Fi Yom Fi Shar Fi Sana) was mostly fault-free on my particular copy. I don't dare return the CD and ask for another, so long as I have a good version of that track.

So, 'caveat emptor' about the quality - even if you're buying it as a gift for someone, unwrap it and test it out first.

That said, three cheers to EMI for bringing us this music! What better way to honor Abdel Halim Hafez than to bring us these recordings from when he was still young, and a generation grew up adoring him.

EMI: if you reissue this, perhaps you could use more stringent quality control standards in the factory? Also, a summary of the plot of the movie from which this soundtrack derived might help those who never saw the movie (to their great loss). It would set the songs in context.