878. Khaled - Kenza (1999 !!)

Track Listing

1. Aalach Tloumouni
2. El Harba Wine
3. C'Est La Nuit
4. Imagine
5. Trigue Lycee
6. E'Dir E'Sseba
7. Ya Aachkou
8. Melha
9. Raba-Raba
10. El Bab
11. El Aadyene
12. Gouloulha-Dji
13. Mele H'Bibti
14. Derwiche Tourneur
15. Leili

Review

There are albums that are bad. There are albums that are so bad that they are good, and very rarely there are albums that start out so bad that they are good but with repeated listenings become just great.

This last case is what happens here, there are obvious moments of ridiculousness such as the cover of Imagine, but then there are some pretty brilliant moments such as El Harba Wine. After a while as you notice the little details in the arrangements, in the smart use of North African music even while the more obvious influences in a particular song come from as far away as Cuba.

So yeah, Khaled often sounds a bit silly, but some of the songs are truly infectious, the singing is great, some of the arrangements are really smart and the album is just generally great fun. I must say that I am pretty partial to North African and Middle Eastern music so you should make your own decisions. But this was one of the funnest albums of late on the list.

Track Highlights

1. El Harba Wine
2. Leili
3. Aalach Tloumouni
4. Raba-Raba

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The album was named after Khaled's second daughter Kenza. Kenza is Arabic for treasure.

El Harba Wine:

877. Korn - Follow The Leader (1998)

Track Listing

1. It's On
2. Freak On A Leash
3. Got The Life
4. Dead Bodies Everywhere
5. Children Of The Korn
6. BBK
7. Pretty
8. All In The Family
9. Reclaim My Place
10. Justin
11. Seed
12. Cameltosis
13. My Gift To You
14. Earache My Eye

Review

Boring. Long and Boring. Derivative, Long and Boring. Shitty, Derivative, Long and Boring. Annoying, Shitty, Derivative, Long and Boring. Honestly, why is this on the list? Kid Rock is better for fuck's sake.

I really can't think of much positive to say about it. Some moments are bearable, other than that it is immature, annoying, shitty, derivative, long and boring. I can understand how someone would enjoy occasionally listening to one of the singles, but the whole thing is just too damn much.

Some of the singles do have a cathartic nature that if you are drunk and in a dancy situation might just make you jump around. Yes, that is the redeeming nature of this obnoxious, immature, annoying, shitty, derivative, long and boring album.

Track Highlights

1. Freak on a Leash
2. Cameltosis
3. Children of the Korn
4. It's On

Final Grade

4/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Follow the Leader has sold over 5 million copies in America by the RIAA count.

Freak on a Leash:

876. Talvin Singh - OK (1998)

Track Listing

1. Traveller
2. Butterfly
3. Sutrix
4. Mombasstic
5. Decca
6. Eclipse
7. OK
8. Light
9. Disser/Point.Mento.B
10. Soni
11. Vikram The Vampire

Review

Talvin Singh brings us an album mixing traditional Indian and other Asian elements with electronic music, the result is interesting. Unfortunately it is often more interesting than actually that great.

The best thing about the album are actually the Asian elements in it and some innovative use of them, for example in the first track there is an Indian orchestral string section which is just great. The Japanese choir in the title track is also pretty nifty.

The worse element of the whole thing is the electronic stuff which sounds very much of its time and hasn't survived that well down the years. This is a general point about electronica but in this mix of influences it sounds particularly dated as many other have tried to do what Talvin does, saturating the market and often not being as proficient as him. So a mixed bag.

Track Highlights

1. Traveller
2. OK
3. Soni
4. Butterfly

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The title was chosen because of the universality of the word OK, which can be understood almost anywhere in the world. It is mostly a reinterpretation of Indian classical music with flute, sitar, and tabla. The album won him the Mercury Music Prize for 1999.


Traveller:

875. Air - Moon Safari (1998)

Track Listing

1. La Femme D'argent
2. Sexy Boy
3. All I Need
4. Kelly Watch The Stars
5. Talisman
6. Remember
7. You Make It Easy
8. Ce Matin-Là
9. New Star In The Sky
10. Jeanne

Review

Fortunately I never had the pleasure of listening to this album as accompaniment to a dinner party. When I was into this album it was my first year of university, and the greens partaken while listening to it are not usually found in salad. Unfortunately this album has gone down in history as dinner party music.

This is a bit unfair, however, it is not Air's fault that their music was used like that. In fact this album has a lot more to it than background music. Each song is interesting in its own way, there is a constant retro feel to the album, but it is an invented retro that never really existed, which gives it originality.

There is a lot more happening in the music here than in most electronic albums of the time, even daft punk seem a bit shallow in comparison, Air's use of textures and humour and analogic instruments just makes it all the more special. Give it a good listen.

Track Highlights

1. La Femme d'Argent
2. Sexy Boy
3. Talisman
4. All I Need

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

It scored hits with the tracks "Sexy Boy", "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "All I Need" (which features vocals by Beth Hirsch). Moon Safari debuted at number five in the UK album charts mainly due to almost universally glowing reviews by the British music press and the success of the single "Sexy Boy"

Sexy Boy:

874. Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age (1998)

Track Listing

1. Regular John
2. Avon
3. If Only
4. Walkin' On The Sidewalks
5. You Would Know
6. How To Handle A Rope
7. Mexicola
8. Hispanic Impressions
9. You Can't Quit Me Baby
10. Give The Mule What He Wants
11. I Was A Teenage Hand Model

Review

All I knew of the QotSA was the singles, and I quite liked them in a casual way. This album was therefore not a complete surprise, and I quite liked it indeed. It is nothing particular about the album that attracts me, just the general sound of it.

The album sounds very full, very "fat", so "fat" that most of the sound changes are made just by modulating. This runs throughout the whole album, and that makes it a pretty good album to listen to.

They have often been described as "stoner rock" and there is definitely something slightly psychedelic about their sound. This makes them more attractive to me than most metal... not that I'm a stoner or anything... not usually.

Track Highlights

1. How To Handle a Rope
2. Avon
3. If Only
4. Regular John

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The album features a riff-oriented songwriting style that Joshua Homme dubbed "robot rock", similar to the extended jam sessions of his previous band Kyuss.

In a September, 2008 issue of NME Magazine, Josh Homme stated that he was going to remaster the 1998 self titled album for a November 2008 release. Since, the release date has been pushed back to November 2009.


How To Handle a Rope: