Mesk Elil

Souad Massi (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 15, 2005)
• Original Release Date: November 1, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wrasse Records
• ASIN: B000BCKFJ8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,629 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Africa > Algeria

Track Listings

1. Mesk Elil

2. Kilyoum

3. Ilham

4. Khalouni

5. Denia Wezmen

6. Tell Me Why

7. Miwawa

8. Dar Djedi

9. Malou

10. Hagda

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For her third album, which was a strong presence on the European world music charts throughout late 2005, the Algerian-born, Paris-based singer-songwriter has chosen to operate on a much larger scale. Mauritanian vocalist Daby Touré (a star in the making if there ever was one), Pascal Danaë, a French-born musician of Caribbean ancestry and the versatile Mino Cinelu on percussion are only a few of the capable artists appearing on the recording. The tunes are a mixed bag, jazzy, sophisticated yet for the most part true to their sources; clearly Massi is trying her wings as a composer. Ilhem ("Inspiration") a percussive gem fronted by chiming plucked strings, is infectiously extroverted and packs a strong West African/Touareg flavor, while Khalouni ("Let Me"), a North African-Iberian confection sung with a wonderful male singer named Rabah Kaifa, gets the blood moving. But the title track, with its limp Brazilian-inspired melody and MOR-like string arrangements, is less effective. Ultimately, although Massi's former one-on-one, almost perilously intimate rapport with the listener seems somewhat refracted these days, her message is as timely as ever. Her sensuous alto voice remains swooningly flexible yet serenely unadulterated, a miracle of confident, sensitive femininity. --Christina Roden

Product Description

Souad Massi's melodies-at once exotic and familiar-are influenced by shaabi music, French chanson, flamenco, 1960s American folk, and a variety of African musical traditions. Accessible and engaging, her delicate guitar playing is the perfect accompaniment to her beautiful lyric. "Mesk Elil" the highly anticipated 3rd album follows on from 2004's "Deb".

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Algerian In Paris, February 8, 2006

By	Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (CA - USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Algerian born Souad Massi continues with another strong performance in her third CD 'Honeysuckle/Mesk Elil.' Her voice doesn't appear to be as strong, or her range as vast as some of the other more well known female voices in the genre of Middle East/World Music, it is none-the-less an immensely enjoyable exotic sound incorporating all the traditional vocal nuances that one would hope for.

While the upbeat, festive tracks like 'Inspiration' and 'I Won't Forget My Roots' are a nice change of pace, I think the poetic, melancholy love songs like 'Honeysuckle', 'There's Worse' and my personal favorite 'Why Is My Heart Sad' are Souads' real musical strength.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the most beautiful contemporary North African singers today...., August 10, 2006

By	D. Pawl "mariposarosa2" (Seattle) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If this is your introduction to Souad Massi, this is definitely a strong example of her beautiful and haunting body of work. "Mesk Elil" is album #3 for this Algerian-born, Parisian based alto. Souad combines the haunting Arabic-inspired percussive rhythms with inspirations spanning everything from bossa nova to ballad, flamenco to trip hop.

The strength of "Mesk Elil" is in Souad's strong delivery of the songs. Also, the tone of this album and its pieces are delivered in an introspective and very poetical way. After you are done listening to this album, I suggest you check out "Deb," her 2nd (and in my opinion) strongest album. You will fall in love with her (you'll have no choice!!).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mara tania , November 21, 2005

By	PhoenixTree "PhoenixTree" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

Once again Souad Massi ingeniously manifests her masterful and beauteous voice through equally transcendant lyrics and music. This is far less lulling than her previous album, 'Deb,' but just as expressive and filled with her signature Algerian longing. I can only rate this four stars because the sleeve only bears interpretations of the lyrics and not the lyrics themselves, so singing along might take months unless you happen to be quite adept at memorizing lyrics. Totally worth the purchase.