Customer Reviews

Songs of the Victorious City

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you ever considered My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, by Brian Eno and David Byrne, to be essential to your life, then this album is for you. Endless Festival is a throbbing, motoristic blend of rock'n'roll and middle eastern harmonies. Force and Fire features a throbbing, driving whirlish blend of mysterious chants and teasing musical riffs. The pieces here are more than mere "film music," and certainly more than "mood music." At least two or three of these pieces would feel quite at home on top 40 radio. Although most persons might consider the efforts of Jaz Coleman and Anne Dudley to be fresh and new, the music here sounds quite similar to that on other middle eastern rock'n'roll albums. The album My Eyes by Sheila (2451 CD on Caltex Records) features a pulsating, polyrhythmic offering of Persian rock'n'roll, and an example of a sound similar or identical to that found on Songs from the Victorious City.

Imagine if, the next time you went to another country on vacation, you brought back an album you had recorded rather than a video or slideshow. That's sort of what Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman have done here. They "keep it real" by using Egpytian players and instruments throughout, but rather than record a straight-up Egyptian folk album, they add their own instruments and musical ideas to make it a very interesting mixture of the two cultures. Although it works best as background music, certain tracks stand out - "Ziggarats of Cinnamon", "The Conqueror" and my favorite, "Endless Festival". Listen to the samples, and if it floats your boat, pick it up.

Lucky for you this was issued stateside - I rushed to buy a German issue when this was new. I had heard some of this material on Killing Joke's tour (they would play it before coming onstage) and had to have it. Jaz (Killing Joke) and Anne (Art of Noise) have created a deeply sincere work here, and I wish they'd do another. Although flavored with Egyptian moods and instruments, the structure is not entirely traditional, with Western scales and melodies that drift like the desert sands. Not quite Classical, not quite World or New Age, but a beautiful blend of all the above that can add a romantic or meditative mood that pulses with the rhythm of life and beckons mysteriously.

Killing Joke frontman's stab at Arabic and western electronic music succeeded when it came out over 16 years and still hold up well even now though some of the pulsing technoish synths sound a bit dated. Though this is listed as Anne Dudley and Jaz- make no mistake Jaz is the force behind this one. He has done egyptian style arrangements for Natacha Atlas Sarah Brightman and symphonic Led Zeppelin and studied arabic music theory. This album is actually very popular in Egypt and is probally one of the best nonarab produced cds out there. But there are many egyptian musicians on this one who bring out the traditonal style of music and melody. Victorious City is a great mix of pulsing energetic Arab music and utterly beautiful mournful sounding odes to Arab culture. For the cheap used price it is beyond a bargain its a must own.

I had this CD for years,when it first came out. I use it for belly dance and I know lot of my fellow dancers used it at one time or another. And I personally used at least 4 of the tracks for dance cheorgraphies. It is a great CD who want something different to belly dance to in their music library

Eastern melodies are performed by both modern and traditional instruments and the result is wonderful.

The music on this CD is rich and full. The exotic sounds of Cairo, the victorious city, carry one's imagination away to a romantic place and time!

I first listened to this album in 1990. I had it on tape. I lost the tape and I could not remember the name of the album or the band. After 12 years I have found it again.
It is the best arabic music made by a non arab period. It does not get any better than this. This is a must have for anybody interested in arabic-oriental music.

Wow. This is one of the most incredible albums I have ever heard. When I first heard it I had to have it. Subsequently our whole professional dance troupe unanimously voted to use this particular album for our 2002 tour. You definitely will not loose on this purchase.

An Egyptian orchestra and voice samples meld into a thoroughly entertaining musical expenrience flavored with melodies of the mid-East. Some Art Of Noise almuni and their record company are repsonsible for this work but, for some reason, you'd have to search to discover that fact. Only complaint is that the final song leaves you wanting more.