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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wild new interpretations of ancient Jewish melodies, July 13, 2003
Frank London, Michael Alpert, Dave Krakauer and other modern Jewish music luminaries take a whirl at modernizing old Jewish "khasene," or wedding songs, at least partly through a hip-hoppish filter. (There ought to be a clever, appropriate word in Yiddish that sort of, but not entirely, means "remix"... I'm just not sure what it is...) Anyway, they don't quite sustain the hip-hopization of the material throughout the whole album, but it certainly sounds like they had fun on this project. Definitely puts a new spin on some old, old tunes, and klezmer enthusiasts will appreciate the originality and audacity of these recordings.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I expected MUCH more..., July 16, 2003
By A Customer
As a traditional klezmer enthusiast still within the "youth culture demographic," I had really hoped I would find the music of Socalled and Solomon more exciting. As a lover of electronic music, I'd hoped to at least hear some ground-breaking sampling and rhythm techniques. Neither was delivered. The term "hip hop" seems to have been tacked on for no other reason than to hook a trendy audience, but it's nothing new. The choice and technique in the sampling is rather cliche, and reminds me of music that was actually new around 1991. Not a compliment to, it's quite a desecration of klezmer music, in my opinion. If you respect the genre and want to see it treated well, pick up the Klezmatics (and yes, I realize at least two of its members are featured on this album) or Di Naye Kapelye. ...
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly good, and well produced, January 29, 2004
After some other negative reviews here, I was bracing myself for some kind of overwrought musical experimentation. I understand that the word hip-hop may be slightly misplaced in this context, but I think I understand why it's being used. There is a lot of fun and technically-competent sampling that goes on. If anything, the CD reminds me of some early Norman Cook stuff (Beats International) with some early William Orbit (the second Bassomatic album) thrown in. I hope this type of music continues to get made, and other artists take a crack at it. I'm not sure my goyishe friends will listen to this more than once or twice, and the typical Klezmer listener will certainly have to be willing to experience something all together new and different. But for the few of us who like modern music as much as some of the more obscure older sounds, this is a REALLY nicely done fusion of the two. Sh'koyakh.
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by Solomon & Socalled 
