Kenza

😏

It started off interesting, but quickly got a bit annoying. An hour plus of this is just too much. 2.5

I really enjoyed this. The Imagine cover was whatever -- I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. Loved all of the latin and Middle Eastern vibes throughout, really varied and just really well-written, performed and produced. I listened to it twice and could've gone again. Four stars.

Multicultural, diverse. Some music i think are a foundation of inspiration and i hear it in some music that are being created today. 8.5/10

Really dig how he blended the Arabic sound & vocals with a bunch of different genres. It got a lil funky and I was fuckin with it! Worst part was definitely the Imagine cover - there was no reason for that. Highlight: Raba-Raba

Algerian music, pleasant enough. Interesting version of John Lennon's Imagine. IMO not rock music more like a pop world music.

Fire intro. Velta ein kopp kaffi utover pulten på kontoret midt under første sangen. Snakk om å bli overstimulert. Litt et album kor eg håpe ingen spør meg om ka eg hørre på, tror ikkje det hjelpe på den nonchalante kule imaget mitt. Føle eg sitte litt emosjonellt berørt (av for mange drinks og opptreden) på ein karaokebar under imagine coveret. C'est la Nuit va koselig då Beste sang: Cest la nuit

2.5

I enjoyed this; the cover of “Imagine” was jarring Playlist add: “Raba-Raba”

Мені подобається північноафриканська музика. За цього виконавця не шарив, але очікування були) Сам альбом залишив змішані враження. Дуже багато пісень мені здалися не дуже цікавими. Ніби для якогось алжирського люкс.фм. Водночас й вистачало композицій, де або рух до якихось західних тогочасних трендів, або просто цікавіше інструментальна частина була. Хай буде 3

Трохи дивний альбом, є непогані пісні з північноафриканським колоритом, є кавер на імеджин, є якісь скрейчі. Хз, поставлю 3.

Definitely caught myself boppin on occasion.

Just something I can't get into, musically very interesting but nothing I'll be coming back to

This music ranks at the top of the list of music I cannot stand.

Very cool!

Too poppy for me

What am I at a Mediterranean restaurant?

I love international music, more than the next guy. But this is so insanely cheesy. I bet this CD is sold at the airport.

1,3/5

⭐⭐ Raj. Svårbedömt då det inte är en musikstil jag är van vid. Tycker bättre om början på albumet då det låter mer genuit. Tre första spåren gillar jag skarpt. De delar som har en mer poppig produktion gillar jag inte. Skulle kunna tänka mig att lyssna på delar av albumet men albumet som helhet är alldeles för långt och för ojämnt så det blir en svag 3a. Bäst är Aâlach Tloumouni, El Harba Wine, C'est la nuit

Cool with many different types of music I hadn't heard together before. Had me at the accordion ofc haha. But a bit too high energy throughout and lacking in emotion/storyline, although i didn't understand the lyrics so maybe that doesn't help

It was certainly different. But it was too long and didn't enjoy the random English song(s) mixed in, took me out of it a bit so taking a star for that.

Ehh…& wha?

The exact type of "world music" album I was expecting to discover on this list. However, the Imagine cover does remove a star from my rating.

I’m glad I listened to this, as it’s something different I’d never hear. I probably wouldn’t listen again either though.

Didn't start out too well but some really good moments further along. Surprisingly good album

The cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” caught me off guard. Felt like I was at a beach bar in the Med with the house band playing. Otherwise not terrible.

Different to other albums I’ve listened to given it’s an Arabic album and it’s not bad but it doesn’t resonate with me.

Don't hate the instrumental... Deb really likes song 2... actually she liked quite a bit of it!!

I am from the future, this man will make summer hit of 2012 for whole Europe. Apart from that, interesting album, fhat mixes a lot of different genre, Imagine jumpsacred me tho.

Saved by the Imagine cover. Unfortunately, this one didn’t land for me. It was too poppy, if that makes sense.

Not gonna dis the album but it's way outside of my normal music

Solo por esta página escucharía un álbum en árabe así que por eso no lo saltee después de la primera canción que estaba dura, y gracias a eso pude escuchar un buen cover de Imagine. Gracias. Igual el disco en sí estuvo duro de escuchar.

nothing out of the ordinary

A bit overly long, but I like the mix of traditional and modern.

Didn't love it ... didn't hate it!

Outside of Imagine, this is a fun album

Not really sure how to feel about this one. Some songs were definitely catchy. Favorite track: E'Dir E'Sseba

Good exposure to a genre I'd like have never listened to. Upbeat and fun

It’s fine for what it is, I think. I don’t really have much precedent for this kind of music, so I can’t really tell what I’m supposed to be listening for.

I feel conflicted here because I really don't like this - it has the worst of adult contemporary scattered throughout, even at best it is passionate and well produced but I don't know how well this style of singing works with this style of production at all. Like the beats here are very 90s r&b mostly and they drag 5, 6 minutes with no variation on the singing at all. I think I would go 2* if this was shorter but it is so unnecessarily long and frankly I can't understand the rationale for this being here. Is there not a better version of this style they could include?

Not my deal at all - the pop-sound combined with the 'traditional' sounds really grated at me. The imagine cover was likely well-intentioned but just missed the mark for me completely.

Sparkling wonder

I enjoyed this, but didn’t make much of an impression on me. I despise Imagine in any format.

Some good songs, a nice sound. Does not stand out as great.

Enjoyable, but wouldn’t listen to it again. I could tell it was a lot of covers.

I didn't actively dislike it but it also didn't really do anything for me. Interesting to get non-English music at least.

Pleasant but not particularly remarkable.

Was tempted to give it a 2 until I got to Imagine.

Very lively voice. Like the rhythm and the mix of different sounds around it.

Khalid > Khaled > DJ Khaled Parts of this were interesting, but other parts of it were overproduced nonsense. Kind of glad to see that cheesy 90’s music was a global thing. Also, like many albums of its era, it loses a point for the length.

The beats are cool & catchy I am actually thoroughly enjoying this I might have to give it a 5 to skew the numbers not sure I understand the 1 star reviews; I know music is subjective & it might be a little different than what we listen to on the daily but isn’t that the beauty of this project?

Algo de variedad se agradece, aunque suene a disco que compraría gustosamente en una gasolinera para amenizarme la ruta. El momento baladita/Alejandro Sanz en 'C'est La Nuit' me ha hecho gracia, la verdad. Los momentos donde se pone más 'occidental' me han sobrado completamente (véase la versión de 'Imagine' como ejemplo, buen delirio). Canciones favoritas: Aalach Tloumouni, Ya Aachkou

We got Algerian Imagine before we got Turn on the Bright Lights on this list. Not bad tho

I can’t say it was bad, but it was way too much and way too long. I don’t dislike this genre, but I don’t have a huge frame of reference for it, and I just didn’t really enjoy sitting through it. If it was 40 minutes, I’d think it would be a different story. 2/5 ⭐️ 259/1081

Found it more interesting than I expected. But I do agree it was a bit overlong by the end.

This is Arabic music of the kind that you would hear playing in a rug salesman's shop in the Shuq in Israel or Turkey. But it has been heavily Western-influenced. It takes a while for your ears to get used to the music - until that point it will really all sound identical to Western ears. But once you have acclimated, you will find that this is really pretty interesting and not at all "run of the mill" Arabic music. I will probably listen to this again. Favorite song; E'Dir E'Sseba

Just not my thing, sorry. Way too pop for me.

Meh

I didn’t know what to expect from Algerian music. It sounds like Arabic singing over Indian-sounding strings and beats ranging from tabla-sounding drums to one track with a drum and bass groove! I like the ones with a good beat. I’m less into the cheesy disco-sounding tracks, the ballads and the cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine”. I don’t know what the lyrics are about.

Need to revisit again but first impressions were good.

Hmm well okay, I was asking to be shown something different. This album definitely has its fun parts, good pop songs. What I don’t really love is the random sound of the whole album. The Algerian music is definitely not for me, but I can appreciate it. I can’t give it a one because I see why people love it but I just don’t.

nah

Why the hell does this have to be so long? Sorry but I have given up after listening 2/3rds of it, rounding up that's the whole album, I highly doubt there are any curve-balls in the final few songs.

Not bad, quite enjoyable. Quite a cool chill vibe.

I don't even know how to rate this. It needs it's own scale

My inability to speak Arabic or French and being completely unfamiliar with the Rai genre, it's hard to give a legit review of the album. Most songs are very dramatic (many overly so) but the rhythm section has a good groove throughout. The ballad, "C'est la nuit" is simple and pretty and there is a 70's soul/funk feel to "E'dir E'sseba" that works. There is also a cover of "Imagine" here that is...rough. Thanks to Gal Gadot, though, it should remain under the radar. One could argue that Khaled's vocal range is pretty limited and the album is also simply too long.

I'm gonna do my best to review this and remove myself completely from Western culture. This is truly an international message. I had to look up a little bit about the guy and I certainly had to learn a lot more about. Raï music. And in the end, I don't the style music. And I need to point out that the vast majority of the world agrees. As other than ABBA.... pretty much every artist in the top 50 is Anglo-centric. And even ABBA sing their songs in English. But his Algerian heritage gave him a significant ability to reach out to Francophones. He had a couple songs that had given us that Latin/Spanish flair. He even brought in some accordion to give us that Mediterranean feeling. And of course, dropped an English speaking tip of the hat to pop with the iconic Imagine. In the end, I really can't stand this kind of music... but I understand how he sold 80 million records. In the Arab world there is virtually no bigger singer and I understand that not everybody can afford to buy albums, but.... simply put if this was really genuinely truly great music, it would've cross cultural borders better. Gangnam Style and the Macarena being two great example examples. I'm gonna give him three stars because I understand why somebody would think that this is excellent. I don't agree with them, but I can respect the vibe.

09/06 WAY too long and every song sounds the same. Have no idea why this is on the list

Didn't expect much but this is nice.

not for me

Imagine was solid. Otherwise, it was an OK album.

Some epic jams on here but not super my thing

DJ Khaled really got into some new territory.

Good fun, spirited Middle East enjoyable

The music was okay. I wish I could understand Arabic and French though. Maybe then, I could get the message of the songs.

Docking a star for Imagine but a very interesting album which I enjoyed. Maybe I was just in the right frame of mind.

We the best music

i am neutral on this

Kind of peppy and fun. It's nice to see the 1001 albums list stretching out a bit to other countries and sounds, but this one, like most of those I've heard so far, is rooted in a very Western type sound. I mean, there's a cover of "Imagine" on it, so how different can it really be?

It's fine. Very pop-ish. I asked my wife to translate, but she wasn't really interested enough in the music.

Pass

First Algerian album I’ve ever heard. If this is the standard, I’m ok if its the last.

Ganske sprikende sjangerblanding. Et cover av Imagine verden godt kunne vært foruten, funk/disco pastiche, salsa/samba, drum 'n' bass (i hvert fall i et øyeblikk), og en låt eller to som er på kanten av downtempo. Problemet er todelt. For det første er jeg ikke helt med på denne måten å synge på. Kall det hva du vil, men jeg tar den på egen kappe. For det andre er det instrumentale så blankpolert at det er på randen av å gi gjenlyd. Det er friksjonsfritt og mangler attitude. Assimileringen av vestlige stilarter byr ikke på noe krydder utenom vokal. Hadde det ikke vært så helvetes langt kunne det kanskje fått noe mer enn strykkarakter for sporene som ikke får meg til å tenke på at jeg kunne hørt på noe annet.

Virkelig ikke min kopp med te. Og så lange alle låtene er uten at jeg egentlig skjønner hvorfor.

Blir överraskande glad av skivan. Lite för lång och covern på imagine är otroligt onödig. En del låtar är meh. Men framför allt två sticker ut i mina öron, som jag lyssnat på svinmycket, El harba wine och El bab.

Börjar bra och de tre första låtarna blir jag glad och upplyft av att lyssna på. Covern på Imagine var verkligen ingen höjdare, men efterföljande Trigue Lycee lyfter det igen. Därefter blir det dock svagare generellt och mer ojämnt, där de mer ”moderna” bitarna inte flyger lika bra för mig. Det blir också alldeles för långt, men ändå en kul lyssningsupplevelse som på det stor hela är positiv. Stabil trea.

Not my thing

I’ll start by saying that I don’t need to understand what the singer is singing in order to appreciate an album. With respect to Kenza, I simply don’t enjoy Khaled’s vocals at all, I did not enjoy really any of this. An hour and 20 minutes Khaled? C’mon man, we didn’t need this, we absolutely didn’t need that weird ass cover of Imagine. I was gonna give this 2 but I just remembered I gave him an hour and 20mins of my attention. I hated this. 1 star

A view into a completely different world. Quite enjoyed it but not a top album for me. 3/5

No

1/10

Good grooves on this one. Is this considered Bhangra? I enjoy the tone and energy throughout this one and it kept my attention the entire time. I like this.

No. 423/1001 Aalach Tloumouni 2/5 El Harab Wine 3/5 C'est La Nuit 3/5 Imagine 3/5 Trigue 4/5 E’dir E’sseba 3/5 Ya Aâchkou 4/5 Melha 3/5 Raba-Raba 3/5 El Bab 4/5 El Aâdyene 4/5 Gouloulha-Dji 3/5 Mele H’bibti 3/5 Derwiche Tourneur 3/5 Leïli 3/5 Average: 3,2 Really interesting listen. Some songs clicked more for me than others.

I was happy to see anything that is not british post punk. I dont have a good frame of reference for the album as I have not listened to alot of Rai music so I will compare it to the other international albums I have listened to so far. It is ok. It is not offensive and it was not a tough listen by any stretch. At no point did I need to turn it off, but it did seem a bit boring to me. Its very polished and bland. And why the fuck does everyone need to cover Imagine. It is not even a good song. It lost a star for that alone.

I'm not sure I'm into this. Maybe culturally it's not resonating with me, but I don't find it particularly engaging. I cant help but find it corny, as if I'm listening to a soundtrack from a rubbish movie. Despite it definitely being pretty catchy at points and there being some danceable moments, it all just very feels overproduced and cheesy, and quite frankly it's just not my cup of tea at all.

Fuckin’ RIGHT ON!! This is what I’m here for! Never heard of the dude, but this album absolutely slapped from start to finish!

Hvað á maður að segja. Þessi Imagine útgáfa er svolítið ferleg, en Rai stefnan virkar er ágæt og fjölbreytt. Og þetta rennur alveg ágætlega í bakgrunni. Gefum þessu þrist.

Before today I had never thought twice about what Algerian music sounded like, let alone Algerian pop music. Thanks to my journey through the 1001 I can now change that! Kenza is a mix of traditional tunes, mostly in Arabic, with a smattering of more contemporary pop that keeps you on your toes. Khaled has a strong and confident voice that carries the album, with guests breaking things up from time to time. There's even a surprise cover of John Lennon's Imagine, proving that music is truly a universal language. Though the record never falters in quality, there is a similarity in tone that keeps it from being as exciting as it maybe could have been. This may very well be my untrained ear, but it was still a worthwhile listening experience!

No standouts