Kenza

These types of albums are always difficult for me to review because I have no idea what most of these songs are actually about, with the exception of the "Imagine" cover. It's hard to fully connect with the song when I don't understand the lyrics. That said, I enjoyed the way Khaled blends different styles throughout the album. There's some interesting stuff happening musically, and the variety keeps it from feeling too repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed parts of it, but this is likely an album I'll never return to.

Ingen bakgrundskoll alls men det låter som en samlingsskiva med bidragen till den turkiska schlagerfestivalen mellan 87 och 98 ungefär

Instrumentalt finns det väl vissa kvaliteter. Men jag har svårt för den arabiska sångstilen. Imagine blir bara komik.

Så klart att det är svårt att göra en rättvis bedömning av ett album som ligger utanför den egna referensramen. Samtidigt lyckas man med en sådan genomusel och meningslös version av Imagine så får man skylla sig själv. Där och då ristas ettan i sten.

När Papa Dee hade P3 rytm så körde han ofta låtar med Khaled. Det var de svängigare spåren han brukade lyfta fram. På Kenza finns det några sådan låtar, men också rätt många trista spår. Imagine är riktigt usel. Jag håller öppningsspåret som bäst tillsammans med Ya Aachklou.

I really liked this album! I can’t believe I never heard of Khaled before this, but I’m glad this project put him on my radar!

I'm in no position to judge this album. I'm entertained, and I loved the cover of Imagine.

Completely new to me. Never heard of the artist, the genre, and I’ve probably never even heard an Algerian musician. What I liked about this was all of the linguistic variety. The music was interesting and intriguing, but somewhat simple. The John Lennon Imagine cover was a surprise and also trite. This is an album where the experience exceeds the music. I’m giving it a low(ish) rating but glad I heard it.

Taxicab confessions

Not for me …moving along.

No clue what he was saying but it was groovy. I was having a good time with it. Then Imagine came on. It derailed the album for me. I get wanting to cover it, it's not even a bad cover honestly, he does a good job with it. Yet for some reason that song ground the enjoyment to a halt. I listened to his cover of Imagine days later, separately from the album and enjoyed it more without the rest of the album. I also skipped it on a relisten and enjoyed the album more without that cover. It's weird. It being there takes you out for some reason. I even had a buddy listen and he said the same thing! Super weird. Other than that I enjoyed the album. It made me wish I knew more languages.

POV: You just stepped into an algerian barber shop looking to get a fresh cut for 10 bucks and this plays on a radio that's older than the internet. First song is great, the rest is too poppy for my taste. Imagine is a shit song, doesn't matter who sings it. The arabic flair does elevate it to being more enjoyable and fresh than a lot of pop records on this list. For that I'll give it 7.5/10

An interesting Arabian pop album, using influences of western music but definitely making Arabian music first and foremost. Makes for a cool album I might try out again at some point

Albums like this are why I'm doing this whole thing.

Was ein Mist.

Derwiche und Leili (letzten beiden Lieder) fand ich gut. Ansonsten ganz ok, kann mit der Art von Musik nicht viel anfangen.

Immerhin besser als DJ Khaled

Gostei da experiência de ouvir um álbum que não é de origem ocidental. Sei que esse disco é meio que ocidentalizado, mas a identidade está intacta. Bem legal. Truthear Zero: Red.

This is something different. There seems to be lots of different genres of music all mixed up and played with. Obviously didn't understand any of it but it was OK. However it's not something I'll listen to again. Would have given it 3 stars but Imagine was dreadful so loses a star

The language barrier is too high. Sorry, mate

It's got some funky instrumentals and impressive vocal performances. The vocals don't sync well with the instrumentals in mine humble opinion.

It is what it is, strange and totally foreign. But I did like the cover songs...

Not my usual thing so went into this trying to be open minded but Imagine took me right out. Overall ok though

I loved this album one first listen during my work out this morning. I live in an area of So Cal that has a lot of Arabic-speaking residents and it’s not unusual for a party nearby to be playing this style of music. I listened 1.5 more times throughout the day particularly while running errands in the car. These subsequent listens were not as enjoyable in fact some songs started feeling quite repetitive and annoying. I still would put this on. Downgrade from initial 4 to 3/5.

Ha! I thought this was Khalid. More like 2019. Didn’t really look at it. That was a shock to the ears. I went in expecting some sweet RnB and I got - KHALED! Full on. With a cover of Imagine. I need a moment. Um. Ok. That cover of Imagine. I realize the guest vocalist is Israeli. Khaled is Algerian, though ostensibly living in France. This is 1999. So the whole thing is POLITICAL. Yeah. With a capital P. That doesn’t make it good. Idk. This album is a super duper mixed bag. Don’t know what you’re going to get when you reach your hand in. Could be a treasure. Could be a steaming pile of poo. Other reviews have said it better than me by a mile. It’s in the 2 or 3 territory for me. I will probably bump it to a 3 because I am generally ignorant of the genre and there really are good moments on the album. But I can’t speak to it being on the list. I just don’t believe THIS is an album I needed to hear before I die. 3 Boolean: False

This was almost completely unknown territory for me. Khaled, yes. Raï, vaguely. But I came into Kenza with very little idea what I was actually going to hear. Fifteen tracks later, I’m left with an odd question: why do I feel I’ve learned rather less about raï than I wanted to? That isn’t Khaled’s fault. By 1999 he was a huge star in France, living and working there, collaborating internationally and making exactly the sort of cosmopolitan crossover record he apparently wanted to make. Expecting an Algerian musician to demonstrate the authenticity of his local musical tradition for my benefit would be absurd. It would be like demanding U2 get the bodhráns out. But as a choice for 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Kenza left me slightly frustrated. The problem isn’t Algeria. It’s Parisian studios. There is a lot of extremely polished Francophone pop here. Tasteful keyboards, tasteful grooves, excellent musicians, funk, disco, Indian percussion, Latin pop and enough late-90s studio sheen to buff out almost any rough edge. And I don’t particularly like polished French adult pop. Not French pop generally. Give me yé-yé. Jacques Dutronc’s “Et moi, et moi, et moi” is a fantastic record. The problem is a particular strain of tasteful, cosmopolitan pop where everything has been made extremely legible. That gradually became my problem with Kenza. It’s a coat of many colours, but the colours are too legible and too tasteful. There’s the funk bit. There’s the Indian bit. There’s the French-pop bit. There’s the Latin-pop bit. There’s Khaled. Everybody has been introduced and everybody is getting along beautifully. Sometimes rather too beautifully. I started calling it restaurant music. That isn’t necessarily an insult. Restaurant music can be lovely. You notice a nice percussion part, admire the accordion, think the bass player is doing something interesting, and then have an entire conversation without the music once demanding your attention back. “Melha” runs for 6:08. During it I managed to disappear into a lengthy digression about Washington go-go, Tommy Boy Records, Selectadisc in Nottingham and Graeme Park playing saxophone in Grantham because he loved X-Ray Spex. Khaled carried on underneath me. I could still hear the clinking of glasses. Then, nine tracks in, “Raba-Raba” happened. OH. FOR FUCK’S SAKE. WHERE HAS THIS BEEN? The glossy keyboards largely disappeared. The Western handrails disappeared. Suddenly I didn’t feel as though anyone was translating the music for me. I had to go towards it. And I loved that. “Meli H’bibti” produced a similar reaction later: hypnotic circularity, accordion, North African melodic language and percussion that sounds almost Indian, but without everything being strapped onto a reassuring funk bass line. This was the crossover I wanted. Not different musical traditions being placed politely beside one another, but musical languages actually negotiating. “Derwiche Tourneur” gets somewhere interesting too. It’s still polished and slightly contrived, but neither side completely swamps the other. Ironically it’s a Jean-Jacques Goldman composition, which complicated my developing theory that Jean-Jacques Goldman was personally responsible for everything I disliked about the record. He performed above expectations. He was not acquitted. Because Goldman returns for the closing “Laila (C’est la nuit)”, a slow bilingual reprise with glossy electric piano which triggered what I have previously diagnosed as Baaba Maal Last Track Syndrome: the sudden urge to end an interesting African album with something terribly tasteful and internationally comprehensible. And fucking Goldman again. There’s also a version of “Imagine”, sung with Israeli singer Noa. Musically? Beige. Politically? Considerably more interesting. An Algerian star publicly singing a hymn to coexistence with an Israeli singer was hardly a neutral gesture, particularly given Khaled’s history of upsetting conservative voices at home. And you have to put your head back into 1999, when quite a lot of us were still living in that strange end-of-history bubble where globalisation was apparently going to sort everything out and people could seriously suggest that countries containing McDonald’s restaurants wouldn’t go to war with one another. The 2020s would like a word. But the most useful thing Kenza did was gradually eliminate my easy explanations for why it wasn’t connecting. I don’t dislike Khaled’s voice. In fact, I came to really enjoy his attack, particularly the way he uses Arabic consonants almost percussively. I don’t dislike Arabic or North African musical language. I don’t dislike French lyrics. I don’t dislike crossover. Apparently I don’t even automatically dislike Jean-Jacques Goldman. What I dislike is crossover whose method is homogenisation. Compare my reaction to Ali Farka Touré. When I first encountered desert blues, it was intoxicating precisely because the music didn’t come and fetch me. I had to travel towards it. The circularity, space, repetition and relationship with the blues were the proposition. I had to learn how to listen. Or Lightning Bolt’s Wonderful Rainbow, which I heard for the first time only a couple of days ago. Almost no conventional handholds whatsoever, yet the bloody thing followed me out of the album. I was still talking about it the following evening because I wanted to grab a bassist I know and say, “Believe it or not, THAT IS A BASS.” Kenza gives me handholds everywhere and rarely creates that sort of compulsion. Which brings me back to the 1001 selection. Khaled owes me absolutely no education in raï. Sitting here demanding “educate me, Algerian musician” would be an extraordinary piece of entitlement. But the book does owe us interesting choices. If this is one of its relatively scarce opportunities to introduce a listener to one of the major figures in raï, I’m not convinced Kenza is the album I’d have wanted it to choose. It introduced me very effectively to Khaled the international pop star. I’m still waiting to be properly introduced to raï. And yet perhaps that’s also why it belongs. Kenza put my head somewhere inside France and Algeria in 1999: immigration, post-colonial identity, raï becoming international pop, musical borders dissolving and that extraordinary burst of millennial optimism. A French listener might hear “Raba-Raba” and think, “Did he really have to do this?” I hear it and think, “WHY DIDN’T YOU DO MORE OF THIS?” Neither of us is wrong. There aren’t universally experienced albums any more than there’s one universally experienced world. There are eight billion little universes observing the same things differently, and communication occasionally lets us peek into somebody else’s. I don’t particularly care for Kenza as an album. But I care about several tracks on it. And it has made me want to hear more raï. That’s not nothing.

The Good: We get something different!!! The Bad: Getting kicked in the nuts is something different too… The Ugly: I am not going to say it… okay, I will… that John Lennon cover song… RAI, or Rural Access Index, is significant as it measures the proportion of the rural population living within 2 km of an all-season road, serving as an important indicator for poverty and sustainable development. Oh, wait, wrong RAIRAI, or Radiotelevisione Italiana, is Italy's public service broadcaster, playing a crucial role in providing news, entertainment, and educational content to the public. Damn, did it again… RAI, Respiratory Arousal Index, measures the number of times per hour that brief awakenings occur in response to breathing disruptions during sleep, often tracked alongside the apnea–hypopnea index in sleep studies. Okay, we all know that RAI really stands for Return As Is… which is how I will rate this album… It was different, that will give it 2*, however, this sounded like it was recorded 20 years earlier than it actually was… nothing noteworthy for me here… 2*

Okay, I have to admit that this is not the best album that I have listened to, as it is not really my type of music, but this seems to be the typical Algerian music that you would hear in the background of a movie, or in a restaurant, but it's okay having it in the background. It seems that Khaled was quite influential and revolutionary back in the day, and although there are songs that are a bit meh, it's actually not too bad overall.

I don’t know why these dudes chose this album in particular - guessing it opened a door to a world of music for Dimery or someone else involved, but maybe it hit at a time and in a way that opened that door for others. It’s good, but there are so many others in the vein - even by Khaled! - that are better. Don’t lock the door if this doesn’t open it for you, especially if you don’t make it to the second half of the album, which rips!

Not my cup of tea

This has to be the most culturally diverse album I've heard.

You know what, I don’t think the cover of Imagine was that bad

Crazy that I only really learned about Raï music today. I live in France, a country that's well known for its Maghrebian community (especially Algerian). I've heard his "C'est la vie" pop hit a million times, and no doubt have heard his songs in many corners of the country without realizing that it was him. This is one of the reasons I'm doing this challenge! Not sure what edition of the book this album was in - assuming that it's here for a variety of commercially successful reasons (signed to Universal, selling over 100 thousand albums in France, etc.) but Khaled (pronounced HA-leed) has been active for a long time in Algeria since at least the 80s, selling over 80 million albums - making him the best-selling artist in the Arabic language in history (!). Raï music seems just up my alley - modern, dancey, fun, with politically and socially charged lyrics. Love the synths and production, especially the percussion and Khaled's varied ways of injecting emotion and trance into his singing. This album is bit all over the place, however. Some of the songs are seriously fun and badass: "Aalach Tloumouni", "El Aadyene", "Raba-Raba", to say a few. However, it has one of the worst starts I've ever heard to album in my life. The succession of "El Harba Wine", "C'est la nuit", "Imagine", "Trigue Lycee" almost made me rage quit the album. Cheesy, schmaltzy, pointless, godawful! I realize that Algeria was still going through a civil war at the time and he wanted to send out a message of hope and good vibes, but it's like he knew they sucked and wanted to get them out of the way so he could go back to his Raï tunes. It's SO LONG as well. Cut out the crap and you've got yourself a solid 45-minute commercial Arabic-language album (I usually listen to the older offerings, so it was cool to listen to something more recent). Will explore his other stuff and especially Raï music! The history of this genre is incredible and unique. 3.5 stars.

Still getting new stuff to me, nearly 900 albums in. Can't say I'm too familiar with the Algerian pop music genre of Raï. I'll give this particular album some flowers though, as it is not too one-note and tends to stay fresh early on. Although I have no frame of reference to tell if this is too "poppy" for traditional Raï music. Was NOT expecting a cover of John Lennon's Imagine, however.

It’s an introduction to a genre of music I’ve never heard of before so it fits this project as a whole. I’m just not that in to it.

Konačno nešto arapsko! Niko ne može optužiti ovaj album da je monoton, ima svega od genijalnih pjesama na kojim sama krenu ramena do nekih koje najradije ne bih više slušala pa moram uzeti prosjek i dati srednju ocjenu.

Always a breath of fresh air to have something that's less white-male-rock-critic. I enjoyed the fusion of styles on some tracks, but it was a bit poppy for my tastes overall.

8/6/26. This album gets tiresome as it goes on, but cool to be exposed to music from a culture I’m unfamiliar with. A big MENA/Western mashup that screams late 90s.

good vibes overall

Bit poppy for my liking, too long and the Imagine cover is appalling, but otherwise I enjoyed it.

Khaled is apparently a very well-known Algerian artist in the Rai genre of music. I didn't know of him prior to this, but I did mostly enjoy this album. There is a cover of "Imagine" on here, which is never a good idea for anyone to do, and the album is a little padded out - I feel like he could have taken five tracks out and it would still be comfortably sized. He has a very nice voice and the songs make me want to move when they're not too poppy. I added "Aalach Tloumouni," "Trigue Lycee," and "Derviche Tourneur" to my playlist. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s pretty enjoyable. Liked it better than I thought I would, though some of the songs are a bit silly.

Well this challenge throws up stuff I never thought I'd listen to in my life, and Algerian pop certainly falls firmly in that category. A lot of this is not to my taste BUT I didn't hate it. Surprisingly there are a handful of tracks that aren't too bad and, despite not understanding a word, quite catchy. 2.5/5.

Certainly not my typical musical choice, however, I found this album to be highly listenable.

Just not for me overall. Not bad, just something I won’t come back to or find myself listening to.

I'm delighted to see a non- USA or UK album, there are far too few on this list. Of course I knew a few of Khaled's hits - Aysha, Didi. I always felt this was like a popularised/commercialised version of what could have been good. So I started reading a bit about the Raï genre. Interesting! Basically, yes, this is a more poppy album by Khaled from after he moved to France. I don't like it that much, esp. the drums feel like a mismatch. BUT his story is interesting (persecuted by the regime), he has made more authentic music in his early days, and has helped put Raï (also the less commercial versions) on the map. The best thing is, I have now discovered other Raï musicians I like much more. Sheikha Rimitti is great! Glad this album exists and something by Khaled (could have been another album) deserves a place on the list. Will listen to the genre again, just not this album.

Ranging from some sort of '90s disco-pop style, a ballad or two, and some presumably more-traditional though oft repetitive tracks (though mostly preferable), all with an excessively clean, commercial, sort of bland shine to it Much was thrown at the wall, but little stuck

Fun music. I would listen again.

I could tell it was good but I couldn’t get into it.

15 songs and a run time of 1 hour and 8 minutes to me means every song is so damn good you couldn't cut one. I can get past not understanding the lyrics but thisnis just really cheesy pop music. I'm all for more international artists but find some good ones.

#402 This was quite interesting as I want to hear more from other cultures but this wasn’t really for me, sounds like something you’ve heard in a restaurant, in a taxi, or on your holidays somewhere. It’s Algerian, sometimes in French but mostly Arabic but the music draws influence from all over really, which does keep it interesting. The cover of Imagine needn’t be spoken about, and it’s 1 hour 20 minutes 😐 Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Listen before you die? ❌ Fave track(s): Geloulha-Dji Rating: 4/10 ⭐️⭐️

This was ok. I really dug some of the instrumentation, but not being able to understand the lyrics detracts from my enjoyment a little.

Not really for me honestly it was just very repetitive i would give it a 1.5 if it was an option….

첫소절 듣고 껐어요 ㅎㅎ

Not really my style, but it is a fun listen and it’s nice to finally get another album that isn’t from the U.K. or U.S. take out that cover of Imagine and I might even be inclined to give it another star

I started out quite liking this. Then came the Imagine cover and afterwards it devolved into background music a bit.

not really smth i would listen to, though i was happy to see another album NOT in english

Sucker for 90’s pop!

Best international album I’ve had so far I really like all the sounds and poppy sound of the overall album Imagine kinda caught me off guard but I don’t mind it Feel like this album should’ve been shorter Back half feels super long and it shouldn’t be almost 90 minutes 3.5/5 Favorites: c’est la nuit

Neat

not a fan of indian sorry

I really really like this! Production on point and vocals were very cool. Definitely deserves a spot here. Light 8.

Don't like

Might be a normal album in Algeria but no idea how to make sense of this. 3/5

I really don’t like the songs in flat, but the ones in minor are surprisingly appealing!

5 чисто за то, что это не DJ Khaled. На секунду испугался, что тут мог быть его альбом

Вот это нормальный понедельник. Вот это я понимаю. Культурный код не пропьешь. С кавера на Леннона почему-то улетела.

Экспириенс конечно интересный, но я не любитель арабских мотивов в музыке

лучше моих заниженных ожиданий, но все равно 3

wenige Hits

Surprised to find a ‘non-western’ album like this on the list. Surprised in a good way. Found the opening track exciting. ‘Imagine’, less so. The opening lines sounded minion-esque and the track on the whole felt out of place. Things picked right back up with ‘Trigue Lycee’ - the energy of the music from this part of the world kicking in again. More like this please - how about some Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan?

actually pretty decent for being outside my normal stuff.

I read this review: «Thought this was a fun album and nice change of pace from the other albums we have heard so far.» Kudos to that reviewer, I felt exactly the same ;-) However, however... it's way too long and it's quality degrades theme after theme. And I have to agree with others, that Imagine cover is a nightmare, man

Quite enjoyed this. At first I thought this was a generic Middle Eastern or Turkish pop, but it seemed to blend other North African genres too, and one part was almost a drum and bass intro to one song. As there's so little non-Western music on the list, it'll get an extra star, so 4 stars.

This is something I would never come across normally. That’s what I like about the project. I did enjoy it to begin with but then it felt like it went on to long and blurred into the background.

eh, jut not really interested in this one

Hard listen, not my style after 3 songs. Skipping this one but 1/10

Next…

This one walks a fine line. At times I felt like if I heard some of these songs while hanging out at an Algerian nightclub with a bunch of worldly babes that would be cool. But then at other times it sounded like the band I caught on a side stage standing in line to ride the next rollercoaster while attending World Music Day at Six Flags.

I’m such a non-culturally sophisticated simpleton, but yeah….this just isn’t for me. I’m sure it’s great for peeps who are into this. 2.25

It isn't fair to Mr. Khaled, but Gal Gadot ruined all Imagine covers both past and present. Woof. This is a tough one because I feel like I could hear some of these songs one-off and be into it...but a rough listen for over an hour. Gotta round down. 2.5/5

Different & a little long, not particularly a fan but hey it's not Elvis Costello so fuck it 4 stars

I mean… fair enough. It was fun for the first few songs but the Imagine cover really ruined it for me.

This was a very unique experience for me, having never listened to Iranian music in a full album setting. This album surprised me and a lot of ways, from a mix of languages to the mix of genres. It definitely is trying to push the boat out. I think it was an enjoyable listening experience. Definitely gives you some perspective on how western music differs from the rest of the world. I always really appreciate when this list doesn't focus purely on american or british music only. I think you should try music like this and that's why it's important that it's on this list. Be more open to different experiences. Honestly, I don't really know why this is rated so poorly. It's a pretty decent album throughout, and it doesn't ever make you want to pull your hair out at any point. Maybe not something I would consistently come back to, but something I would happily listen to again. People are so dramatic about the 'Imagine' cover, like guys is really not that bad .It is perfectly fine. Fav Track: E'Dir E'Ssaba

I enjoyed this one, would listen again. Don't get the hype behind Trigue Lycee compared to the other songs but maybe it's just cause I don't know what he's saying. Best song: Aalach Tloumouni Notable(s): El Bab, Ya Aachkou

Supongo que en Algeria esto debe ser la onda, pero a mí me costó mucho trabajo. Todas las canciones, aunque con su ritmo, me sonaron igual, y la duración no me ayudó en nada. Llegó un punto en que rogaba por que terminara. No fui fan, pero tampoco creo que sea malo.

I am really not familiar with raï music. But I can see it's relation to some of the Arabic music I heard during my stint in Iraq. I did develop an appreciation for that music, without it really becoming a fascination with me. This feels a bit more westernized, which may be the point, but it it is, this is a hybrid I really enjoyed spending time with today. It is a bit overlying and maybe a few that lean more into traditional raï, but when the dance grooves hit really enjoyed it.and even some of the ballads had an early 80s soft pop blend to them. In fact the closing song "Ces't LA Nuit" not only did I like, it kinda sounded familiar to me but I'm not sure where. Overall I did enjoy this listen and may return to it at some point. (7.55) ★★★½

Arabic pop music. Apart from the awful "Imagine" cover, I mostly like this, but it runs way too long. 2.5 stars

I wasn't too hot on this album. It's not that I don't like music from North Africa, but I prefer something like Mdou Moctar to this, which brought in way too many 90s dance pop elements. The "Imagine" cover was next level unnecessary. 2 stars.

Kompletely inessential but not all bad. Not keen on the Borat singing, John Lennon Imagine cover and hodgepodge bits of drum n bass but there are some nice stretches of accordion on this. Like Algeria between the 1998 and 2002 World Cups this should have been a DNQ for this list.

This is sort of an odd album. The first track is Rai style, the rest is a wild ride through different genre, for example even Latin music or a cover of "Imagine". I'm not sure what to make of this. My western ears don't need such a ride. From that point, it all feels reductive. Yet there are good songs on here and the album isn't bad by any means. I think it really depends if you want to listen to an Arabian man singing for nearly 80 minutes.

A very interesting album. I enjoyed a lot of it (some songs were a little too poppy for me). I don't believe I've ever heard Algerian music before so it was nice to sample it here.

Not another album that is in the list because it’s “different”…because it’s not. Change out the language and this is the same crappy electro-pop that is recognized to be the cotton candy of music by anyone discerning. Also, the album cover looks like a still from the movie Harold and Kumar Found a Time Machine and go to White Castle in 1973. 1⭐️

There is some amazing talent on display here. The cultural difference from the music I typically listen to wore me down after an hour though.

Cool! Have never really listed to this genre before. 3.5/5

Glad old mate made it. Seems he's a big deal for certain types of guys. Not for me.

DNF - got to the Imagine cover and I just couldn’t do it to myself.

Melha

Rien que pour imagine 4

Je connaissais Khaled pour Aïcha que j’avais découverte dans « N’oubliez pas les paroles » mdr, mais il confirme qu’il est génial ce monsieur Playlist pick : Trigue Lycee

That Imagine cover is pure syrup, but most of Kenza is an enjoyable reminder of why I came to the generator in the first place - to hear something different I otherwise wouldn't have listened to.

Enjoyment: 6/10 Replayability: 3/10 Cohesion: 6/10 Flow/Pacing: 7/10 Artistic Merit: 5/10 Weighted Average: 5.2/10 Review: This was a fun listen. I likely would've enjoyed it more if I understood the words, but my ears don't need English to respect a good album. Liked Song(s): El Habra Wine, Imagine, Ya Aachkou Disliked Song(s): (None) Recommend? No Heard Before? No

I appreciate the diversity of representation here, but top 1001 records of all time? Even in all of Africa? All of Algeria? Top 1001?

Really expanding my musical horizons with this one.

Day 20: Isn't Khaled the artist known for "Aicha" a big hit from the 90s or so? It is ok to play this for one time but it is another music style out of my range. Very poppy and catchy tunes but Algerian/arabic music is just not for me. The cover of Imagine though was quite a torture and was tempting to give another one, but in general this is way better dan gangsta rap so I keep it with 2

This is exactly the kind of album I love to see on this list! I discovered a new genre; raï. I would have never ended up listening to Algerian music on my own, but I really digged it especially the first two songs. I really want to explore this genre more and find ones less accessible to a Western audience. I wish I could give it 5 stars for the discovery, but it is a bit over long and some of the tracks aren't very good. I am more intrigued by the genre itself than this album's presentation of it. Favorite Track - El Harba Wine Least Favorite Track - C'Est La Nuit ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Would not buy

Interesting, I don't think I'll be listening again, but it was cool the first time

Catchy 90 sound

Liked it. The up tempo songs were good. I thought the ballads were a little cheesy and dated. This was the first album and/or artist I had no knowledge of. I wait to do research after I listen. I can only assume it’s on this list because it was revolutionary or political or groundbreaking or something. Liked the instrumentation

So relieved to not have another Sonic Youth or Dylan album. This was a welcome addition

Having no idea about the language, I really only have the choice to look at this one through a similar lens to BVSC, just judging purely from the vibes the music give. Overall, I had a quite fun time listening to this. The tracks are generally quite bouncy and fun, offering something worthwhile, even to a person who does not speak a word of Arabic. There's some vibes here, musical motifs perhaps, that draw parallels from the 70s and 80s in the West. Things like the synths, and a cover of an extremely well known song. Adapting a foreign movement like that, and putting a local cultural spin on it acts as a bridge, making the foreign culture more accessible to a Western audience (read: me). Would I listen again: Maybe. Honestly, it's pretty unlikely. But possible all the same.

I don’t speak Arabic. That’s an important baseline to admit here – I have no clue what the lyrics are singing about, so I’m focused entirely on the music and the sound of Khaled’s voice. That said, I do like what I’m hearing here. I’ve never been one to shy away from the “world music” category, as there’s a lot of interesting sonic landscapes to explore. And there’s a lot to appreciate in this particular case; many of the sounds that are present here, musical motifs and instruments, just aren’t anything you’d expect in music that originated in the West. Or at least, that’s what the first two tracks seemed like. Then “C’est La Nuit” came on and suddenly I’m faced with a soft-pop chanson that only gives the smallest hints of the album’s Algerian origins. Admittedly, French influence would be expected, given the history of that country, but I really came here for something new and outside of my typical listening. ...and then it’s a bilingual John Lennon cover. OK then. Kind of risky, singing a song that explicitly expresses the idea of no religion when you live in a country with religiously-conservative laws… And in this case, the middle-eastern styling of the violins toward the end actually make me think more of something by George Harrison than Lennon. After those two tracks, we’re back into the more directly Algerian music again, and a lot of this just gets my head bobbing, and oh wow that’s record scratching in “E’dir E’sseba”. The biggest problem I have with this album, honestly, is the length. I find myself feeling as if, well… it just keeps going. And going. I like the music, I really do, but I find myself wondering if the reason this *specific* album is on the list is partially to give Algeria a bit more time in listeners’ ears against the sheer volume of US/UK albums. OK, wait, “Mele H’bibti” is an interesting surprise toward the end. Bit of light D’n’B action going on there, alongside some symphonic influences, that’s interesting. Gonna give this a 6.9/10, and rounding up to 4 stars. Would have been 4 stars either way but it loses a bit on the numeric rating because it just got a bit long-winded, and the last track was the chanson again in a different language but still “C’est la nuit” a whoooooole bunch of times.

decent

It was an interesting album, sure, and the variety of styles was impressive, but the production wasn't quite there for me.

Some great, more traditional N. African songs and then some dated 90s crap that pulls the album down to a solid three. I suppose I'm more of a Rachid Taha guy, but Khaled will do in a pinch.

3.2 2x besides Imagine, the album was interesting and good for what it was

Smooth synthy pop with French and Arabic vocals and lots of harmonic minor scales. The fancier higher tempo stuff has the feel of music videos blastic at a late night falafel shop, the slower ballad stuff is tepid.

Pop de Medio Oriente? No

J’aime ça alhamdulillah

Thought I was in for a slog during the first song, but it bounced back admirably. Still quite hit and miss but earned its 3 against the odds.

No thanks.

Pointless

Sort of enjoyable when it was on

Is everyone named Khaled a bad singer?

1 - TERRIBLE

Some rad tunes interspersed with not so good tunes interspersed with bad tunes.

Not bad when it stays in genre. Covers are painful.

this album DRAGGED but i recognise the last track, it wasn’t bad but the songs were long and it just took a while to get through

THIS RULES!!!! EXCEPT THE IMAGINE COVER!!! BUT OTHERWISE THIS RULES!!!

Hmm. Considering the niche level of this album, I'm surprised it's on this list. It's good but I can't listen to a whole album of it.

Estuve todo el disco dudando si era DJ Khaled antes de ser DJ. También creo que podía morir sin escuchar este album.

No thank you

*Tons of tracks makes this a little long, but great musicianship

gewöhnungsbedürtig.

Khaled ist gefällig aber der ganz grosse Song fehlt auf dem Album

There should be more exposure to MENA music. I was surprised how many different genres and artists Khaled had on this album!

ANOTHER ONE. WE THE BEST MUSIC (Real mixed bag here, but overall the energy was positive and the vibes were good)

A couple standouts but overall pretty unenjoyable. I laughed at the cover of Imagine

This was pretty fun to listen to but only 3 stars.

2.5

i don't even understand the lyrics but it still sounds corny

oh okay! this one's a real curveball. can't tell you if i've listened to any arabic music on this list so far... guess this is our first. yup, traditional arabic pop music, released at the end of the 20th century. this album was named after one of khaled's daughters. i mean, this album is alright, i guess. it's cool to listen to music from other countries, and i do enjoy khaled's meslismatic vocal runs. however this is literally just... it's just contemporary pop music. it may be from another country but it's pretty standard stuff here... slightly overproduced music tracks, drum machines, moderately funky melodies to sing and dance along to, nothing too loud or unpredictable. i expected something a bit more... something that wasn't top 40 music from algeria. it either sounds like ricky martin or a slow cheesy ballad from the credits of a '90s disney film. there's a cover of john lennon's "imagine" on this album. that's what we're dealing with.

For the only Algerian album on this, at least it's got some groove to it. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. Just some really enjoyable soundscapes here. I translated most of the lyrics & while I did notice a lot of these tracks were woeful relationship songs wrapped up in ‘90s US pop production bows, I just have to assume that the trademark of the genre is being able to smile through the pain in a way, since a lot of these feel like they were tailor made for dancing through trauma. The production work here is one of the aspects that makes or breaks one’s opinion on the album; if you don’t really like late ‘90s pop production, you probably won’t like this too much. The other thing that makes or breaks it is the length; this thing is a staggeringly long 78 minutes that retreads a lot of topics. If you need less tracks with more lyrical variety, you probably won’t like this too much. For me, I’m somewhere in the middle; I liked the production work here a lot, but I fully think a lot of this album’s more repetitive tracks could’ve been cut down, especially in the back half when they resort to vocalizing to fill out more of the songs that can’t warrant more lyrical depth. The 78 minutes doesn’t hurt me too badly, since a lot of it was just a good groove & the tracks themselves covered a strong variety of genres… but I did feel the length bearing down on me by the end. All of that said, I don’t want to judge this too harshly, since I enjoyed a lot of it. I don’t quite understand the 2.59 on the site (at the very least, like a 2.8 or something, come on), but I can understand this album’s initial shockwave of appealing soundscapes feeling much less effective on any further relistens. Regardless, the floor here should be a 3. I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5 just because I was able to get up & groove around a lot, and if music can make me feel that good, it’s doing something right. It’s a surprisingly nice pick for the list.

For someone that doesn't understand arabic and doesn't consider it beatiful, it was great, specially C'Est La Nuit, loved that song.

Although it’s way out of my usual listening pool, it does have a lot of life and some decent arrangements. Not something I’ll come back to, but doesn’t mean it’s not worth a listen.

Very different and far from my normal listen, but in trying to be subjective, I enjoyed the sound. I wouldn't revisit.

Solid album and I enjoyed this more than I expected. The fusion of multiple genres worked for me but I found it hard to connect on a strong level likely due to the language barrier. Some definite ear worms on this and glad I listened.

Some really great music on here... Imagine if he did no covers

This didn’t hit for me but the Imagine cover was pretty cool.

I’ll return to this one. Wish it wasn’t so long

Pleasantly surprised. It was a good one time listen that was better than many of the albums we've already crossed.

Gotta love this list for expanding my horizons yet again. I may not be coming back to this any time soon, but I'm glad to have heard it once. Not everything was my cuppa tea but there were some seriously groovy songs that were hard not to dig.

Thank goodness it’s not DJ Khaled Overly long. Enjoyed it at first but it became a bit of a chore towards the end

Pretty good! Too long, but I liked the overall vibe and found myself unexpectedly enjoying that Imagine cover

Oh, no thank you. This is not for me. Good luck with all your endeavors, sir.

No. 214 I have no frame of reference or culture context to evaluate this by. However, it is - objectively - an enjoyable album.

catchy. great. different.

Someone said this is standard issue for cab drivers, and that feels unfortunately accurate. I could survive a listen through this, but I’m not sure I will ever listen to it again. There was a section of “El Bab” that sounded surprisingly western and modern and that was my most notable moment because it took me off guard.

Love the inclusion of this kind of music, but the album as a whole couldn't really woo me

Lähi-idästä tulevaa poppia. Intialaisillekin vaikutteilla. Raikas tuulahdushan tällainen on, ei kuuntele näitä muuten kuin 1 000 ja yksi albumia kautta

Some fun stuff buried in there

When this one is good, it's fine, and when it's bad (that cover of Imagine, just, why?). There's a few decent moments here and there, just not my vibe. At all.

Not my style of music, but I enjoyed listening to it

A very interesting blend of ‘90s [primarily] Arabic pop(?) music.

never would have found it any other way, could have been shorter

A good album. Nice surprise!

It was ok for one listen but not really the sort of music I’d put on for my personal listening pleasure. More for a background music at an Algerian restaurant or as a killer soundtrack to an appropriately exotic movie.

ну вроде хорошо но не заворожило + многовато ремейков чтобы полноценно погрузиться

It turns out that besides the chubby Khalid, who performs contemporary American R&B, and the plump DJ Khaled, to whom, for some unknown reason, the entire US rap elite flocks to bow, there's another Khaled. Also new to him? And yet, the guy has sold nearly eighty million records in his forty-year career! He sings in a style called "rai." The internet describes it as a blend of Arabic, Spanish, and African traditional music, but I still haven't figured out how this differs fundamentally from other songs you typically hear in European taxis. The album occasionally features some interesting forays into reggae and funk, but overall, it's typical 90s pop, just from the Eastern world. A light 2, overall. No, the authors of this list are certainly great for not focusing solely on Anglo-Saxon music, but it's immediately obvious they didn't go on holiday to Antalya in the early to mid-2000s.

I can't do it .. I tried, honest I did

This one immediately hooked me in track one then lost me just as quick with track two. Hit a bit of a lull there for a moment, especially with the Imagine cover. It eventually found its way back to the energy I liked in the first track and ultimately won be back over. By the end I had forgotten all about John Lennon (or was that Paul?)

Zuhause, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Gar nicht meins.

Interesting

The imagine cover fried me a tiny bit during my morning commute. E’Dir E’Seba was a crazy listen. I liked it. I felt like I was in Paris, dancing and shit. El Bab sounded like it could be in a Katamari game. Yeah, I dunno. Not really my vibe, but his voice is lovely.

Listened to this mostly sitting in traffic dropping off Callie at daycare. It seems to pair well with a sunny day. Khaled brings some great energy to his music. I loved the cover of Imagine. Though my favourite cover of that song will always be by A Perfect Circle. It did catch me off guard hearing Kahled’s version.

The imagine cover was so surprising to me because it was a mix of Hebrew and Arabic. It took me a second to realize

India, and Algeria in two days? What are we world Travellers? Let me guess, UK tomorrow? 😏 This was fun, opening track was nice, was surprised with the DnB track later on in, that was dope. I enjoyed my listen through, but probably won't return anytime soon! 7/10

It was fine, not convinced by the Imagine cover though.

Arabic pop? Far from me.

This was a fun find. Engaging and fun to listen to.

😴

So culturally diverse! Did not expect an imagine cover

I gotta give the generator credit, this is an artist I NEVER would of touched if not for this experience. I think this is the first time I've ever voluntarily listened to Algerian music. There is some cool stuff here. Its cool to see how Khaled fuses traditional Algerian sounds with pop instrumentals that were popular at the time. My two major gripes are the length, it does seem to drag, and the cover of Imagine. Maybe as a bonus track at the end of the album but not shoehorned in the middle. 3.5 rounded down to a 3/5

This is good (except for the bland Imagine Cover”. Maybe I liked it more as I’m playing on a hot day and it reminds me of foreign bar music.

Not my bag.

++: Imagine, E'dir E'sseba, Ya Aâchkou, El Bab, Gouloulha-Dji, Derwiche Tourneur +: Aâlach Tloumouni, El Harba Wine, C'est la nuit, Trigue Lycee, Mele H'bibti +-: Melha, Raba-Raba, El Aâdyene -: Leïli (C'est la nuit) 5,5/10

No es mi estilo, tampoco me parece gran cosa. La versión de Imagine prescindible y olvidable.

Cool

Celkom pocúvateľný album z arabského sveta. Akurát tá lennonovka sa mi nepáčila.

This album challenge is a neat way to hear tons of music I would never be exposed to, like this album. El Bab is kind of a fun song and so is El Aadyene. Overall an ok 3 star album for sure.

The second half is great

Well it's not unpleasant, the mix of genre is fresh but the album is way too long. Favorite Songs: Mele H'Bibti ; Derwiche Tourneur ; C'est la nuit

El Harba Wine with Amar guesting was an enjoyable pop song. C’est La Nuit - dull ballad like one of those quieter shit Eurovision songs. Dreadful Imagine cover - though hard to envisage a good cover of that song. Rest mostly fairly bland polished Middle Eastern with some European influence. Too long. 2.6

Different. No-one needs an Imagine cover version though. Melha and Elbab will remain in my library.

Not too into the production

Hard to judge in the context of the broader Rai genre a so have no basis whatsoever, however it was generally fun and enjoyable borrowing from lots of different influences. That said, “Imagine” was bloody awful!

90s arabic pop. Sounds unmodern and I don’t have much to compare to. 3/10

a fun sounding album that’s poppy production makes it a difficult to listen to after a while, opener is a terrific first impression.

It's just shtty radio pop from a different culture. Makes sense there's a cover of the most over-glazed song in existence.

Lowkey went hard

Kept me interested enough for this one listen but that’s about it.

Just ok.

4/10 My commute in is a good guide to how long an album should be, as a standard. 38mins. If there are a couple of tracks left for the return journey, fine. Especially if it is a great album. This album lasted the duration of my journey in AND the whole of my journey home. And now I am listening to it on my headphones to try and finish the bugger off. What the hell are they doing? Generally, it is fine with decent tunes and annoying Algerian vocals that do not do anything for me. Lyrically, I'm a philistine, so I have no idea, but I assume they are mainly love songs. So, in conclusion a 3 star album that is punished down to 2 stars for 1. Being ridiculously too long, and 2. An absolutely pants cover of Imagine.

Sounds good, but the cover of Imagine wasn’t the best! Favourite track: El Bab

Ganz nett

quite fun album tbh very diffent from others

I appreciate having some non-western music on this list, but I struggled to see the point in this particular album.

First álbum that I can’t finished. Listen one song is good, two are the limit…..

151. nice

Removed a star because of the shitty J*hn L*nn*n cover

How come every time there is an album that I am not really excited for it ends up being an hour and 20 minutes... This is fine... It made fine background music... Would I ever listen to this again? No. Was it bad? No. Low 3.

A fair amount of this album sounded lame and cheesy. It just sounded lame and cheesy in Arabic rather than in English. “Ya Aachku” and “Melha” are alright. Generally, when it avoided schmaltzy sounding pablum it was okay.

No idea how to rate this because I have no frame of reference, doesn’t seem bad tho some are kinda groovy.

Has a handful of outstanding tracks but is way too long.

goes to some awesome places. ultimately kind of too much of a task for me to be rapturous about it as a whole. "Mele H'Bibti", this is good stuff.

the instruments on el harba wine was amazing, ruined by both voices

I really liked all of the different styles of music on this album and it not being in English was a plus....but it was sooooo friggen long.

Sure! Why not. Best Song: C'eset La Nuit Rating: 6.0/10 Stars: 3

Kenza has a few bright moments, but most of the album drifts into overpolished, overlong territory that dulls its impact. It’s ambitious, sure, but it ends up feeling more like a scattered experiment than a cohesive musical statement. Kenza still feels uneven and overextended, but “C’est la nuit” manages to break through as one of the few tracks with real atmosphere and charm. Most of the album leans too heavily on glossy production that smothers its raï roots. It’s listenable, but only in flashes does it remind you what Khaled can actually do.

3.5. Cosas buenas, me gusta el influjo arábico. Medio falopa por lo demás, no podría escucharlo seguido.

Thank god, a break from all the crap British pop and rock of the late 1900s. I don't think I can handle another song from Lennon's solo career. Oh god

Les ethnocentristes s'ouvrent sur le monde? Bizarre.

Ahhh c'est ça du raï!! Me voilà maintenant un cruciverbiste plus éclairé. J'aime vraiment la vibe, et les mélismes c'est quelque chose que j'aime beaucoup de la musique orientale (oui oui c'est une technique commune à la musique indienne et arabe, c'est pas si fou se demander est-ce que c'est plus Aladin ou Bollywood, comme Alice se demandait candidement ce matin). Je me demande ce qu'il dit à part sur ses tounes anglo et franco... est-ce qu'on est plus dans les banalités boy meets girl? Ou bien on parle d'Allah et du grand amour fraternel? Si je lisais un peu plus sur Khaled, j'imagine que je pourrais répondre à ma propre question.

Ça fait du bien d'écouter autre chose que de la musique eurocentrique, je suis d'accord avec JeanJean. Ça fittait bien avec ma popotte de poulet au beurre. Je réalise que c'est boomer de mélanger musique arabe et bouffe indienne. Je m'assume.

Not my bag at all and the cover of Imagine is truly excruciating

Treasure.

2.5 really bc this was a good album except for the inclusion of Imagine (puke) and even worse, lyrics in English still

Not for me, but wasn't anything bad. Interesting cover of imagine

The John Lennon cover is a wildly arrogant thing to do, but the album itself is fairly listenable, if a bit repetitive, especially on vocals. Guy has one flow, and he stays there. The music itself is fairly varied- everything from reggae to mariachi, to polka and to more soft rock kind of sounds. “El Aadyene” is probably the best song on the album. It’s also oddly backloaded, the flow gets a lot better about halfway through. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This will sound like damning with faint praise but this album had an inherent listenablity that I really enjoyed. I didn't know any of the words that Khaled was singing but I enjoyed how they were sung. I probably won't revisit too often but I appreciated it. Could have been trimmed down though some. At 80 minutes it's a bit long.

The great thing about Music is it can transcend language. A song, or an album, can be enjoyed without understanding the lyrics, but by getting lost in the rhythms and melodies and the moods the music creates. Khaled manages to capture your attention and take you on a journey, without knowing where you’ve been, or where you’re going. Chuck it on in the background and see where it takes you.

Ебать зачем мне поющий ленона араб

Surprisingly fun album with a lot of unique and diverse songs. Even then, wouldn’t likely go out of my way to listen to this again but good to know about

I think, generally, this isn't an album or style for me. Mostly because there's a lot of boring music aspects to it that just don't keep me interested or intrigued. The flip side of that, though, is that the bass rips. Without having any other decent comparisons, I also think that his singing is really high quality. Even with all the sliding, his tones are really sharp and clear. I don't like the fake drums, though. This album would take a big jump up in rating for me with something more human played, than just generated. There's only so much of this that I can listen to without getting pretty tired of hearing it, though. Even with the good parts. I kind of wish I liked it more, honestly. It ends up being really poppy, which is a genre that gets really old pretty quickly. If you cut a few songs from the album (starting with Imagine) and got the run time down to 45 minutes or so, I would probably have enjoyed the whole album more. Favorite Song(s): Trigue Lycee

I don't know if this just wasn't the vibe or something, but I wasn't into this at all. It feels like such a slog to get through it, and even though there are some highlights they are few and very far between. I also just think this style isn't really for me, it feels like pretty unimaginative pop music to me, but I can't really prove that cause I can't understand the lyrics at all. It just felt like a marathon to get through, I don't really get how people would get through this in one sitting. Favorites: Ya Aachkou, Raba-Raba, Mele H'Bibti

I listened out of curiosity to the most streamed song "C'est la vie" and couldn't believe that thats the same person. This man knows how to cook.

279/1089 oooh this is right up my alley, i loveee discovering new world music, the strings and overall sound of this music is so satisfying for me and the way his voice works with it is great El Harba Wine is a BOP, loved that one C’est La Nuit then sucks all the energy and momentum out of the project, and there’s an Imagine cover next… (i do think CLN could have worked as a track close to the end of the album perhaps) the imagine cover is lowkey maybe my fave interpretation of the song?? (still an overdone song though) kinda forgot to write more as i listened bc i was absorbed in it. there were a few tracks around the middle/end that were a bit less interesting but as a whole i really enjoyed this. This is an album that i would definitely add to my chill playlists and is a good example of why i started this project faves: El Harba Wine, Derwiche Tourneur, Raba-Raba, Mele H’Bibti 83/100

Very unique, I've never listened to anything like this. I don't know if I'll listen to it again, bit I'm glad I did at least once.

Interesting listen. Some good sounds. Solid 3.5

the imagine cover was so fun

Interesting modern sound with Arab prominent influences - good beats, I enjoyed

Has its moments, but not super cohesive and this feels like a very western choice for a world music album 6 / 10

Why is this in the book. Honestly. This is pretty terrible and everywhere I look the reception for this isn't positive. Every explanation for Dimery's construction of the book is contradicted by this album and its placement. I saw someone say the instrumentation on this sounds like it's straight out of the 80s and I agree with that. Rarely do I ever have an actual problem with that, but here it sounds garish and tacky. Also it's 74 minutes. Nearly insufferable.

bonne découverte trop drole la version rebeu de imagine un peu répétitif cependant

ciezko ovenic jak nic sie praktycznie nie rozumie, pod wrazeniem jestesm ze on tes w kilku jezykach spiewq vo nie zmienia faktu ze arabski czy jakis brzmi dla mnie smiesznie i chuj wie o czym on spiewa, yak pozatym to "imagine" krotym ozzy ewidentnie sie inspirowal mi sie calkiem podobalo Boze ciezko sie to slucha, ten jezyk chyba jesy srednio melodyjy a moze taki typ spierwania idk 😭😭😭 przesluchalam ponad polowe sle juz mi sie nie chce, niektore piosenki dla mnie na 1 niektore na 3 wiec ciezko

This was very refreshing and interesting to listen to. The instruments and the musicality were really interesting, and the album was a lot of fun, too. It's great to be able to hear music from all over the world that I wouldn't have thought to check out myself, and that's the beauty of this project.

This album is very enjoyable, an easy-listening one. Although I'm not much a fan of this sound, it's a funny record. So, I've liked it, but I don't find it much interesting or something I will be wanting to listen to again.

Probably a decent introduction to Algerian music. I liked it but I’ve heard rawer stuff. Yep, should be here.

Torn. I like the traditional vocal forms.. And music overall but can't call this album a 5. And yet there is so little world music on this often limp list. More north Africa. And Arabic. Algerian. Persian. Desert sounds. This was just ok.

I started playing this and thought his voice sounded vaguely familiar, and I certainly recognized the style -- maybe I was just confusing Khaled with some other North African music that I had previously heard. I confess I am not very familiar with the genre -- this is another good reminder that there are whole music scenes that we barely hear in the West. But, digging through my record collection, I rediscovered 'Rai Rebels' (https://www.discogs.com/master/397625-Various-Rai-Rebels), a 1988 Earthworks compilation of Algerian Rai that I picked up along the way. And, yes, there he is, Cheb Khaled! I think that might even be him on the cover, sporting a very dapper tuxedo. Our man Khaled has sold over 80 million albums, which is a substantial success by any measure and explains the high production quality of this album. This was recorded in some expensive studios in France, UK and US with A-list studio talent (Tony Allen! Gail Ann Dorsey!) and it sounds like a million bucks. Clearly pitched at cross-over appeal, the dance/funk pop backing is generally enjoyable, and his voice sits well over it. Khaled is a charismatic singer. I like it best when he leans into his Algerian style. I preferred Raba-Raba or Mele H'Bibti or Darwiche Tourneur to the syrupy ballad C'est La Nuit or the misbegotten cover of Imagine (which I always thought was an over-rated song in the first place). This album does suffer from the 90s problem of being over-long -- trimmed down to 40 minutes, this would be a really excellent pop album that I will happily listen to.

It's a very diverse album but it feels a little too pop-esque and a little too watered down to be actually cool. Not bad at all, I liked it.

WTF?

Muy buen album algo a lo que cero estoy acostumbrada pero me gusti

This is another one that is hard to rate, as, to me, it mostly felt like dated music that fans of the artist or those in Algeria would appreciate more than in a place like the US where things were in a different place, even in 1999. That being said, I was impressed by some of the hooks and the production and the modern sound, which I didn't expect based on the album cover. Overall, though, I don't feel it really does anything new. It's just a fine album that certain people will appreciate, especially those in his home country.

This didn't do much for me. I thought the cover of "Imagine" was a bit over the top.

I mean, it was ok. Nice to hear something new even though Imagine did not fit in. Doesn't seem to be an album with much impact. There seem to be elements of new age and disco in there too? Pretty messy. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

this would've hit different if i knew arabic, or liked the way the words came out of his mouth. very interesting how something in another language was big in the anglosphere. dnf

Nicht mein Genre!

Vaikea sanoa koska vieraskielinen, niin ei ymmärrä sanoista mitään. Mutta hyvä viba ja tunnelma. Plussaa Imaginesta.

Like others have said, I’m not really sure I have the cultural context to enjoy this. I give it credit for making me want to dance. Otherwise it felt meandering and way too long. Also the Imagine cover is that bad.

While this is dubbed as not the most essential Khaled since it sounds the most west-like, I must agree that this is a fantastic change of pace from the albums shown in this list. 7/10 [KEEP]

Over an HOUR of world music PLUS a cover of Imagine (one of the most insufferable songs in the world)? Absolutely not. No thanks.

Nice vibes but got a little samey

Production sound tacky. 2/5.

anything with a sitar is just MMMMMMMMM so good even tho he only used it on a few tracks. very very mixed but SO MUCH FUN what a vibe

I appreciate that there is an Algerian album on this list, and I'm glad there are some traditional elements. However, it is too long, and there are too many Western influences that diminish the quality. The cover of Imagine is by far the worst example of Western influences being a negative influence, but it is evident throughout.

Makes me curious to hear some Algerian music that ISN’T permeated by schlocky western pop influences. At least lose the crappy drum machines, dude!

Does exactly what it says on the can. Chest la nuit and Imagine were a bit of a surprise, with the former having a definite Sting vibe. But the rest is just not my scene man. But done well so better give it a 3.

Never a fan of pop music, and I think this was pop? ‘Imagine’ was an unexpected curve ball! Pleasant enough and good energy but just not my thing.

I didn't know what to expect from this 'Raï' genre from Algeria. It turns out it was very 'Westernised' in many places, but I'm pleased it wasnt anything as bad as BTS. In fact I thoroughly enjoyed it. I need more of this crap in my life and ditch other sorts of crap.

4/10

What!? Hm. Well, I guess this is somewhat fitting, I just had an Arabic presentation. It was on how to make shakshuka. It was incredible and I did very well (for like one of the first times ever I actually understood what I was reading, which was really nice). But this is 78 minutes so why should I listen to it??? Well I do this every day. I’ll listen to some of it. Well I listened to a couple of songs and it’s really boring. I love this style of singing, but I much prefer it when it’s chanted, say, in the Qur’an or something similar. Not bad but not really my thing. However there are some good songs! “C’est la nuit” is quite nice, and there’s a lovely cover of Lennon’s “Imagine,” but like really at the end of the day it’s a 78-minute album with not much structure or complex artistic intent. It’s just not very interesting. 6.1/10

The random Imagine cover kinda threw me off otherwise kinda cool

This genius has written a timeless karaoke classic in its centrepiece track, 'Imagine'. I can just hear this one being covered by a former Beatle, hopefully before they all die. Or possibly Gal Gadot and a selection of confused, unshaven celebrities in an attempt to create some kind of viral moment in a global pandemic lockdown. What a time to be alive.

Too long and lacked cohesion for me after an interesting start.

Great to hear something different, even if I’m unlikely to go back

So many styles of music on offer here, all well performed. Never a dull moment but zero coherence.

If you ignore the couple of ballads and the harebrained John Lennon cover, you’re left with an hour of very peppy, convincing pop music from a band who are perfectly in sync, led by Khaled, the ultimate hype man. It's a fresh fusion of sounds and they do well to keep the energy up over its 78 minutes. The length is an issue though with Khaled covering the same ground more than once across the tracklist - surely an hour would have been sufficient!

Today’s album gets a low 3 from me, didnt all grab and was too long but i had a great time with about half the tracks and found them v joyous

ну у меня уже бошка не варит, расплакалась от имеджин.

original and surprisingly good and listenable

I wasn’t familiar with Khaled, and his album “Kenza” was a nice change of pace from the other albums on this list. I didn’t delve too deeply into the cultural context because it didn’t seem necessary to me—to me, it’s just pop with a few North African influences. A well-produced pop album with a few unusual elements—after the rather disappointing past few weeks, that’s enough to earn it 3 stars.

p840. 1999. 3 stars. Schizophrenic Algerian pop. Veers between the brilliant and the mediocre - are those really 70s disco beats and string I hear? And the cover of "Imagine" is an abomination. He's got a decent voice, but he's let down by substandard material.

I was excited to see a non-English language as that seems to be what the list is. But the cover of imagine was enough to put anyone off

I have never heard of this person or heard Rai music before but I really liked it, the mix of Arabic and what feels like Cuban music with lovely sax sounds really goes down well. I actually liked the cover of Imagine. I took a star off as, exciting as it started off, it continued very much in the same vein towards the end and lost its innovation.

Not really my cup of tea

Not my vibe at all

Not a bad listen, Steve Hillage having production credits provoked my interest to listen to it all. The imagine cover was truly terrible

This is another album where I wish I had more context. I am completely lost on what this type of music is and if this really is the best of the best, or just an album that sold well. I liked the sound of it as a whole, but it went on for way too long. I also think trying to cover Imagine was certainly a blunder. I’d consider listening to some of it again, but definitely not the whole thing.

Interesting album. Lots of feeling and a really bad cover.

This is probably my first listen to contemporary Indian music. Heard heard plenty of Bollywood hits over the years, which I felt like I was getting at the start of this album, especially with that “Imagine” cover, which was…something. But then he started playing around with different musical styles on the back half of the album starting from “El Bab” and ending with the gorgeous ending song, “Leili” and then I was hooked.

The beats were sick, but it was a rollercoaster of bop to meh songs. Still good overall.

Perfect to vibe to

Very interesting to hear Arabic (and a little Indian?) music in a Western context like this. I'm into it! The reprise of 'C'est la Vie' in Arabic of was the perfect way to outro the album.

Honestly, not bad!! This was a very interesting blend of western styles of r&b, funk and jazz with Algerian Raï music. Lots of danceable grooves and Khaled's voice is pretty great. The cover of "Imagine" was pretty hoky though ngl. Still, I can see myself coming back to this. :)

just straight boppin (if we ignore imagine)

Not for me, and I generally like French lyrics.

Not bad music but in arabic so can't really follow much