Customer Reviews

New Soul

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

 

 

The beautiful and talented Yael Naim was born of Tunisian/Sephardi-Jewish heritage in Paris. This lovely woman's vocals are reminiscent, for me, of a luscious and warm ray of sun, shooting through an overcast sky. Her delicately accented English only adds to the charm of "New Soul" (best known as "The Mac Song" for the new Air model of laptop, marketed as one of the skinniest laptops ever--so slender that it can fit in a large manila envelope!). This tune is as much a throwback, for me, to another time (maybe 1970s folk/pop?) as it is appealing on a contemporary level. I could see Cat Stevens joining in with her on the infectious chorus, as well as the prolific and original Regina Spektor, accenting the verses with her unique brand of quirkiness. Naim truly transcends time, place, and ethnicity and makes us want to learn more about this "new soul" who has made "every possible mistake," because, truly, what could this woman ever do besides make us love her all the more?

First off, I gave this song 4-stars because nobody else has yet done so. But anyways, when I first heard this song in full, I wasn't impressed, and the MacBook commercial seemed to get the best part of the song. I mean the song was original, different, and a throwback to who knows when, but it just wasn't that impressive. Well, I am now sad to say, my opinion hasn't changed much, however this is the type of song that grows on you. So at first you may hate it, then you'll think it's OK, then you'll like it, then you might love it.

The song has a real novel quality, in that it's a novelty. It's not going to win Grammy's, but it's fun. I really started loving it when me and my family found ourselves singing along with the 'la la la la' part. However, the song is great for the first two minutes or so, then it starts falling apart, going off in weird and strange directions. So like most Peter Jackson movies, this song needed to go back to the editing room. Sure 2-minutes isn't very long, but when your peak is a MacBook commercial, you can shorten the song a bit.

So overall, you might love it, you might hate it. It's a strange and different song that may be far from perfect, but it has some very good elements to it. And that might just make the song worth buying...

Real Score: 3.5

I feel happy when I listen to this song. Isent that what music is about? making the person who is listening to the music to 'feel' something?

It is a bit simple, but sometimes simple is the better way to go, Very nice voice
I like the trombone, even if it doesn't fit exactly, in my opinion, a good effect

Every time I listen to this song it brings a smile to my face. Such a whimsicle collection of sounds with Yael's lovely voice is a happy place for me :)

Very Catchy type of song. Nothing like anything I have ever downloaded before, but I really enjoy this song.

Although Yael Naim's voice is strong and has a definite presence, this song feels more like a children's song applied to an adult voice.

The melody is nothing but a sine wave that scales up then down then up then down, over and over again. That alone is forgivable and this is certainly not the first song to do so; however, the "filler verses" are incredibly annoying with the even verses being nothing more than "la la la la la" for the equal duration of the odd verses. Was it that difficult to add lyrics in tune with the overall story? 1/2 of the song is nothing but "la la la la la la"!

Finally, the solitary trombone opposite her voice feels immensely out of place. Instead of adding a harmonious addition to her singing, the trombone makes the song feel like a bad attempt at New Orleans-style jazz. The combination just doesn't work out.

If this song was released in the late 1980s alongside with songs by groups such as 10,000 Maniacs, it would have been a smash hit on college campuses. But here in 2008 on traditional radio, it just doesn't work. Hopefully, her future works will have more depth and complexity than this song, enough to match her soft yet strong voice.

Just heard this singer on Conan O'Brien - for the FIRST TIME EVER I just had to run to the internet and order the album. Incredibly haunting. I would buy this song and any other by Yael Naim. Looking forward to hear any of her other music - French and Jewish versions.

Open minded, I gave it a try and listened more than once. This CD just doesn't work for me. Nice album cover though.

This album was perfect background music for reading the book, "Thoughts and Amateur, Heart of a Poet" by Klista Ali.