Rai Rebels
Amazon.com
The cream of Algerian pop-rai’s boy Chebs and girl Chabas appear on this remarkable 1988 anthology of hits produced by the late Rachid Baba Ahmed, who adds guitars, drums, lots of keyboards, and the occasional accordion to vocals declaimed spontaneously over a click track. Despite the musical retrofitting, international hits like Chaba Fadela and Cheb Sabroui’s “N’Sel Fik (You Are Mine)” maintain an utterly rocking presence through which rai’s Bedouin roots, Moroccan melodies, and North African rhythms may be clearly discerned. Rai means “attitude,” and the rebellious subject topic touches on universal teenage angst, unadulterated sexual desire, and late-night drinking parties. Rai “king” Cheb Khaled proves the exception to the decadent rule with his boisterous, echoey tribute to Sidi Boumedienne, a scientist, holy man, and politico of the Middle Ages. –Richard Gehr
Buy Cheap Rai Rebels
No related posts.
Rai is the joyous composition of the Algerian coast so, even though I can’t be with you the (Arabic) words, it makes me reckon of warm summer nights, the soft lapping of the Mediterranean sea, and flirty nightclub romances. Brilliant!
Rating: 5 / 5
that’s awsome cd if you are new to this North african composition( maghreb),,it’s in algerian foreign language( mixed of everything) just like the maltese,,,or spanish…or even bahasa indonesia.. the age of dictators is buried…now the algerians needs to get back their identity..and even their foreign language(berber,chawi….targui…chenoua….)unfortunately these languages been banned and called arabic….what a shame… and RAi is originated in Oran, and it’s oral in Oranaise foreign language,,,( like catalan in barcelona, do you call it spanish? no..even it’s mixture of spanish,french,,,)and that’s what gives oran it’s own identity,,and RAi means=attitude the arabic word for Rai is el rai
Rating: 5 / 5
Knew nothing about Rai but this made me a convert, so much so that probably any other Rai CD will not be able to match it. Every song is indeed soothing. Incredible!
Rating: 5 / 5
Rai Rebels captures the liberation composition found in the port city of Oman in Algeria.
Soothing Arab melodies marry a passionate percussive beat for some of the most distinctively compelling composition around.
I could listen to “Sidi Boumeddiene” by Cheb Khaled on do again for hours on end, for the extended instrumental of fading drums that make its conclusion.
Unfortunately some of the other tunes are a bit monotonous, but what is excellent on this CD is very, very fine indeed — nothing like it.
Rating: 4 / 5
If you’ve never had the opportunity to hear Rai, this is a wonderful initiation to it. This fabulous composition from Oran is one of the best for dancing, with its pulsating rhythms and marvelous Arabic melodies.
It starts out with “N’Sel Fik” (“You are Mine”), sung by the fantastic Chaba Fadela, and her husband, the equally terrific Cheb Sahraoui, who’s intro to the song is one of the most sensual sounds I’ve ever heard…the song was a huge hit for the couple in ‘86, and continues to enthrall 15 years later.
Produced by Rachid Baba, the other artists on this CD are Cheb Khaled, who is worthy of his mark as “King of Rai”, and who sings a solo, as well as a duet with another top female voice, Chaba Zahouania. The CD is rounded out with songs from Houari Benchenet, and Cheb Hamid.
The booklet includes a brief history of Rai composition, the tale of how Rachid managed to record songs that were initially only improvised and hard to do again, and the cover photo is of the irrepressible King, Cheb Khaled.
Rating: 5 / 5