Jerusalem Under Fire

Badawi | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
• Original Release Date: September 16, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Roir
• ASIN: B000001Q44
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,175 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Due to releases like Jerusalem Under Fire, Israeli percussionist Badawi (real name Raz Mesinai) has become one of the world's most renowned Middle Eastern percussionists. He's become an influential figure for the New York City trip-hop (or illbient) style of underground dancehall/dub music, a scene that has spawned the likes of DJ Spooky, DJ Olive, and a host of others. Amazingly, almost all the sounds you hear on Jerusalem Under Fire are played by Badawai himself, who handles percussion, flute, and effects duties, as well as supplying the string arrangements and remixing and rearranging the songs. Two other musicians (violinist Simi Sernaker and tabla player Karsh Kale) help fill out the already rich sound, while all of the compositions are entirely instrumental. Highlights are many, but the very best would have to be the constant violin swirl of "Soldier of Midian," and the percussion-driven opening track "Critical Combustion," and the traditional reggae sounds of "Kill the Messenger." — Greg Prato (All Music Guide)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars old-school dub with an arab twist, August 17, 2000

By 

ChairmanLuedtke "SchumpeterWasRight" (Princeton, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jerusalem Under Fire (Audio CD)

Any lover of dub music who is bored with the current orthodoxy of Mad Professor/Massive Attack-type Brit techno-dub should check out Badawi and his return to the old-school roots of reggae. Echoing such dub masters as Scientist and King Tubby, Badawi manages to be creative and innovative not only by putting an Arab, percussion-heavy slant on dub tracks, but also by mixing up the tempo and instrumentation of the songs to cross over with styles like rocksteady and rai. This album is a must-have for all fans of dub, as well as fans of all world music crossovers and synthesis in general. Also, if you like Badawi but would prefer lyrics (in French, English and Arabic), you should check out the French band "Gnawa Diffusion".