Customer Reviews

Secrets of the Eye

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

 

 

I have to approach this from a musical standpoint, since I'm a musician and not a belly dancer. (And a good thing too, who wants to see a 40 year old bald guy belly dance?)

Musically, what we have here is a fusion between Arabic music and more modern sounds. Ramzy uses traditional instruments along with the occasional synth and drum machine. At first I was bothered by the occasional intrusion of the synthesizer and the drum machines, but then as the music progressed I forgot they were there. Ramzy wants to introduce the modern elements, but he's pretty firm on keeping the Arabic element upfront. For the most part, this works, and it's quite possible to get caught up in it. He is a fantastic drummer, and all the musicians on here are more than competent.

I have to admit this doesn't attain quite the high level of spirituality and sensuality that more traditional Arabic music does, at least not for me, although "Aazab" comes very close. However, I'm not sure that's what Ramzy was aiming for. It seems that he's trying to bring Arabic music to a wider audience, as well as providing killer soundtracks for bellydancers everywhere, and in that he succeeded.

I personally wish the production was a bit less...perfect, I suppose, and that the musicians had gotten a little more carried away and a little less careful. There is a wildness that's essential to a lot of Arabic music that appeals deeply to me, and Ramzy only occasionally hits that wildness here.

But it's quite possible I'm expecting too much from this CD. It's also true, in spite of all I have said, that I listen to it and I like it, and find something to dig every time. So perhaps it would be best to ignore my reservations and listen to it for yourself. After all, whose opinion are you gonna take; mine, or the 40,000 or so gorgeous bellydancers who love Ramzy's music? I thought so. Me too.

After taking a World Music class, my interest in music of other cultures has peaked. I have always loved music of all kinds, but never knew how much diversity actually existed. I chose Ramzy's CD at a local music store after being inspired by a recent trip to Egypt. His music can be classified as Middle East/Egyptian/or Belly Dance. This CD is the first of any of these classifications that I bought and it is wonderful. I have since been able to compare it to others I have purchased and it remains my favorite. I am not a belly dancer, which just goes to show you don't have to be to enjoy this music and I hope it is not dismissed because it is sometimes categorized in such a way. What is great about this CD is it focuses on one instrument in each song, which is beneficial to Westerners because we are not familiar with many of the culture's instruments. For example, track four focuses on the Quanoon (spelled many ways, ex. Kanun). I love the sound of this string instrument accompanied by Ramzy's talent for playing the Tablas, drums which sound similar to Doumbeks - a popular drum for Belly Dance music. There are also familiar instruments focused on, such as trumpet and sax, which sound hypnotic when correlated with other Egyptian instruments. I wish to encourage Western ears to learn about music of other cultures and this is a great start! Anyone with more suggestions, please, e-mail me!

This CD is a nice, well-rounded sample of Hossam Ramzy's style. It is especially well-suited to the dancer or Egyptian music enthusiast who is interested in becoming more familiar with the instruments, since each track seems to have its own featured instrument, from maghroub to trumpet to three quarter accordian. many of the track start with nice long solos, and most are very upbeat, although track 6 is a slow meditative song possibly suitable for a fire dance. Most of the songs are of a moderate length for performance, around seven minutes. The only reason i didn't give it five stars is that a couple of the tracks (one or two) have what i find to be an annoying synthesizer beat at first. Overall, though, i find this CD to be wonderful to listen to as well as dance to.

This CD is traditional Hossam Ramzy. It's a great CD. If you are looking for something new or trendy it is not for you. But in my opinion you cannot go wrong with Hossam.

We use this in our Middle Eastern dance class.Hossam Ramzy is definitely one of the most energetic and fun cd's we dance to.He is truly a master musician.

There is a wonderful variety of music on this CD and if you bellydance then it's packed with wonderful drum beats and great overall music. Nice just to listen to.

The music is very contemporary. One can listen for enjoyment or for Belly Dancing

I like the exotic and this is one of the best.