Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Not soooo bad, he's got some good songs.
not my styleeeee but probably a good 3, can appreciate but dont like it
I’ve never heard (or heard of) Raï music before, so this was interesting, I like it.
I appreciate the diversity of representation here, but top 1001 records of all time? Even in all of Africa? All of Algeria? Top 1001?
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
Interesting, I don't think I'll be listening again, but it was cool the first time
It was an interesting album, sure, and the variety of styles was impressive, but the production wasn't quite there for me.
Is everyone named Khaled a bad singer?
Some rad tunes interspersed with not so good tunes interspersed with bad tunes.
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
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.
No thank you
gewöhnungsbedürtig.
A couple standouts but overall pretty unenjoyable. I laughed at the cover of Imagine
i don't even understand the lyrics but it still sounds corny
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.
This didn’t hit for me but the Imagine cover was pretty cool.
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.
Lähi-idästä tulevaa poppia. Intialaisillekin vaikutteilla. Raikas tuulahdushan tällainen on, ei kuuntele näitä muuten kuin 1 000 ja yksi albumia kautta
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
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.
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.
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.
Arabic pop? Far from me.
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
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
90s arabic pop. Sounds unmodern and I don’t have much to compare to. 3/10
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
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
I appreciate having some non-western music on this list, but I struggled to see the point in this particular album.
Removed a star because of the shitty J*hn L*nn*n cover
Has a handful of outstanding tracks but is way too long.
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.
Not my bag at all and the cover of Imagine is truly excruciating
2.5 really bc this was a good album except for the inclusion of Imagine (puke) and even worse, lyrics in English still
Ебать зачем мне поющий ленона араб
the imagine cover was so fun
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 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
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.
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!
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.
4/10
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.
So many styles of music on offer here, all well performed. Never a dull moment but zero coherence.
ну у меня уже бошка не варит, расплакалась от имеджин.
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
Not really my cup of tea
Not my vibe at all
Not bad music but in arabic so can't really follow much
Goofy ass music
It wasn't my thing and the imagine cover really ruined it
I found this one somewhat interesting, but not really a fan. Too long. First song sounded promising. And yes, the Imagine cover was not really needed.
Not my style but still interesting
This was nice. He has a lovely voice.
Interesting, but not for me. 3 or 4 songs are more than enough.
not for me
Feels like the label made a mess of this
Had to double check I hadn’t changed album when I got to track 4. I quite like the coffee shop acoustic sound of Arabic style music and was hoping it’d be that, but this feels too over produced
I tried to be fair but I quickly got a bit bored. Turned it off after Imagine
I like that we have non-American/British albums making the list. I wish that it was a different album on the list though. This doesn't justify the run time and I think this style of music isn't for me. 4/10
Alright I suppose. Didn't really do it for me.
Not my thing but there sure was a lot of it. Top track: “El Harba Wine”
Decent background music, though could not understand the Arabic and French mix ups. Album also felt too long.
it started out as an interesting listen, but mostly as background. then the cover of Imagine came on....ugh. and over an hour is too long for an album (unless you're a huge fan). 2.5 stars
The firsts songs were more interesting, then become more pop over time and I cannot stand a lot Arabic pop.Yet have some enjoyability.
No. 2/5
Not sure why this is essential.
he has a good voice and I think the production on this is fairly solid. That being said, the Imagine cover is god awful and I'm not really sure if I get the vibe of this album? to be fair, I do not speak Arabic so the song's meanings are lost on me a little. It almost feels more like an 80's record than a 90's one. I'm not offended by it but it's a little generic.
hm
Sorry Khaled, dit was m gewoon even niet voor mij
Marcouz Borsatem
Thought i would hate this after the first song, but it's actually pretty fun and creative. Not sure I'll listen again but there were some catchy tunes in there! There's also a cover of Lennon's Imagine which was unexpected haha. Overall not really my style of music and ive not got similar albums to compare it to but get a feeling that it's pretty good if youre into raï
Not as Arabic/African as I'd expected.
It’s okkk - like I don’t think I would ever have gotten a chance to listen to this if it wasn’t for this - will I listen to this again? No probably not but is the best Algerian album I ever listen too
Besides the 2-3 songs that feel like from a different album (the covers), it’s quite terrible - hardly pushed through.
I usually like World music, but his was way too westernized, I would much rather hear traditional instruments, compositions, and sounds. Their version of "Imagine" was cringey
Interesting to hear but nothing much to make me want to hear it again.
Love 1001 albums for exposing me to random music from different countries. Not always love the music, but that's another story. I do enjoy the first 2 songs here because they showcase a pretty interesting style of arabic music with some fun instrumentation. After that we get boring french millennial pop, a pretty mediocre cover of Imagine and a whole lot of watered down versions of those first 2 songs. Not much that grabbed my interest later on the album.
Strong start and I thought it had a chance. Then it just repeated itself and dragged on much too long. Nah.
Too long and too boring.
Well.. Arabic.. don't get it much
This really did have some moments that held my attention around the middle third. The parts which were more outwardly and deliberately intended as dance tracks and used horns effectively were enjoyable enough. I do just really struggle with guttural vocals being used outside of music that isn’t intended to be abrasive. I also do feel that large parts of it were just flat out boring. The cover of “Imagine” caught me completely off guard and was a bit of an eye roll moment if I’m being honest. Certainly not without merit but it is bloated in length and I was relieved when it ended.
Album Review 056 Kenza by Khaled (1999) Rating 2/5 On day #56 of my adventure, the 1001 Album Generator deals me not just an album I’ve never heard of, but an album by an artist I’ve never heard of from a genre that I’ve never heard of. It’s just a shame that I didn’t particularly like it. Trying to describe Kenza is difficult without a frame of reference. It sounds like a fusion of Arabic tunings and scales, flamenco, bhangra, salsa and ‘western’ pop, and I haven’t a clue what the lyrics are about - aside from Imagine, which is godawful. I tried to be open minded and give Kenza a chance, however whilst some of it sounded pleasant enough, my untrained ears didn’t find enough familiarity or understanding to make it an enjoyable experience and getting though the full 79 minutes was a challenge. Best I can say is that it’s the finest Algerian Rai album I’ve heard (but the worst at the same time).
World / Arab Music. I've nothing I can really frame this with, this is very much out of my zone. Musically there are some good catchy beats, lyrically I had to look things up and can identify with some of the themes. It's just different, but nice. 2.5
Ihan hyvää soitantaa ja itämaisia rytmejä.
Oh man ... what did they do to Imagine? This album is a good example, where the blend of music cultures goes horribly wrong. The songs in which he stays in his tradition are awesome. Some songs get worse and "Imagine" is the climax of cringe.
4/10 Best songs: El Harba Wire, Derwiche Tourneur My first non-English album during this project! My thoughts? Uh, it's fine. It gets very samey at some points (most points), and a lot of the songs drag a little too long for my liking. The cover of Imagine was a choice. I appreciate the mixture of traditional and western instrumentation and styles.
Feels like a great example of the style. I didn't care for the cover of Imagine.
It’s fine but not something I would ever put on. I would enjoy it in the right situation though. His cover of Imagine should never have happened, and the album is just way too long
- The music felt like the album cover showed it would, unfortunately - uncool. It felt really dated - like it would have even felt dated when it came out in the 90s. - Some nice base lines and drum beats (especially at the start of Mele H’Bibti). - I dislike his voice for most of it - the higher registers felt strained and thin, and not in a unique kind of way that makes you think “oh, that’s his fingerprint” or “he’s so refreshingly vulnerable!". It just sounded like a voice without much personality straining. His lower, more gravelly range was so much better, but he mostly sang in the shouty higher register. I liked the high register of the woman on El Harba Wine, though, which was easily my favourite song on the album along with C’est la Nuit. - I will never reach for this. - That Imagine cover was… bad. - So long… way too long. - Not a fan of what I read in the Wikipedia page... Probable DV, abandoning an illegitimate child... so, another creep?
I was not familiar with the music and do not know the language so my vote should not count for much.
Difficult for me to judge as I stopped listening half way through the "Imagine" cover version.
I recognise the last song and I have no idea from when or why. It’s fine overall but Jesus Christ is this long.
TIL Imagine is just as terrible a song with the lyrics in Arabic. Started out strong then fell off a cliff with this terrible cover then bounced back a bit. Three stars but for the Lennonization. Probably still going to get shawarma for lunch tomorrow, though.
Not for me.
Sorry, I just don't like it. I can tell there is a lot of talent on this album, but it never caught my attention. I occasionally found myself grooving but it would quickly become background noise again and the length quickly wore me out.
Not for me, but I also wish they stuck to the more traditional sounding stuff and less 90s pop cheese.
Interesting, not really in my wheelhouse, however.
Liking the more traditional sounding songs, the covers are God awful, and the more poppy stuff is gobb shite, probably a 2.5 to 3⭐⭐
Not listened to any Rai before. A couple of the more traditional sounding tunes sounded quite good, the pop stuff was too cheesy. Tellingly, the tunes that Spotify played from other similar artists after the album ended, sounded much better.
I feel like he really needs to clear his throat though I think that’s the singing style. The imagine cover was a fun surprise.
I liked his version of "Imagine"
A new genre to listen to. Surprises for each song, but not my usual listening style
25/11/2025 As much as I have no issues with cultural differences in music, this really wasn't for me. Spotify listeners: 2.9 million
Interesting but I couldn’t quite get into it. Maybe too poppy and inaccessible for me with language.
Good beats, I’m a dumb American who only likes English music though.
Boring mainstream pop with some oriental influences. Not special.
Light 2,5
Khaled!!! I’m sure no one has made that joke. Great voice, but the production is like the equivalent of a late period Elton John album. Very safe, sentimental, kinda corny.
You have to hear this style before to really appreciate it.
I didn’t have the time or patience to listen to this yesterday. I skipped through the songs after hearing about a minute of each so I can’t give this a fair review other than to say I didn’t like it. And it was confusing why this was on the list. Even Wikipedia had nothing.
well the recording quality is good, singing and instrumentals are masterful. but it's so not my vibe that i can't listen through this withous skips.
Não consegui nem terminar, mas também compreendo que não é meu nicho
I would have never heard of this album but for this list. This is very melodic and varied in as far as i can tell.
The male vocal is irritating when it does that warbling sound. If not for that, I'd place this as 3 star.
Wasn’t a lover off this but listened to
Way too long. It was OK but I'll never listen to it again. 2.5/5
Nice pop album. Imagine cover unnecessary. Too long.
Not my cup of tea.
I will say that an Arabic cover of Imagine was not what I expected. The album itself is fine, it's very different from everything I've had before here and not quite to my taste, but it was enjoyable enough. Ultimately I have to let my inability to understand the language pull it down.
Reminds me of sitting in the back of a cab in NYC. I mean I respect it but I can't imagine listening to this regularly as it's not really part of my culture. Sounds like classic North African music with some minor disco/pop mixed it. 4/10.
Second half better than the first. Sounded overproduced to me.
I skimmed through this one. Sorry, not sorry. I get the overall vibe, but I don't think I have the patience to sit through all hour and 20 minutes of this album. The man seems massively popular and good for him. There seemed like a couple of fun tracks in there as well as a random cover of Imagine, which is a little ick, IMO. Not bad, but outside my frame of reference. 2.5/5
Not bad but man Khaled, make this two albums or edit this, it's so long.
Nah
I know bugger all about Algerian music, and although I enjoyed Khaled's voice on some tracks, it was a bit long and the poppies stuff didn't really appeal to me.
It's difficult to have a reference point to judge this from. I can't tell if it's innovative or important for the genre as a whole, so this is based purely on vibes. I will say that the "Imagine" cover is ill-conceived. The album started to lose its charm as it went on. 1 hour and 18 minutes is just too long. Had this been 40 minutes then I'd probably have enjoyed it a touch more.
This was pretty boring. I’d never heard of Khaled so was curious. The result was a bland and lifeless album. The cover of Imagine didn’t do it any favours either. Not essential to hear before death.
Necessary but not for me
Not my usual but exactly why I’m doing this project. Well produced but seemed pretty generic, although grew on me marginally as it went on. Point deducted for the Imagine cover..
Glad to be exposed to something different, perhaps with more experience, I would appreciate it more. But, too many pop elements that don't work for me
Day629 - take out that awful imagine cover and it gets an extra star
Not for me
no, don't hurt me like this again, generator.
I wrote a whole review and then it didn't save because it was already past time and I was writing it as I was going and that is honestly the cherry on top for this album because I wanted to be done. I respect it, but no, sorry.
One of the issues is its attempt to throw all sorts of 'cool' or 'urban' styles into the mix and the results very varied. That opening track for instance has a reggae beat. But later on it takes in drum n bass (in 'Melha'), salsa (Gouloulha-Dji'), or even Reggaeton ('Raba-Raba'). The album cover is intriguing - I'd love to know what's grabbed his attention from the Datsun Cherry (note the door-mounted ashtray). In fact this album sounds like someone's taken the spiritual Qawallies of Nusrat Fateh Khan and tried to prepare it for Eurovision. The production is dated and it often descends into 'subar markit' music. The most successful track is the one that closest resembles Khan 'Derwiche Tourneur' which is not trying to crowbar in 90s pop, sounds more traditional yet still with energy, and benefits as a result. And so it goes on, trying to introduce different production styles but always remaining very kitsch and very dated (Ed. I've just found out this guy's sold 80m fucking albums!!). A couple of jaunty numbers in there give it some merit.
it's ok. Not particularly great with some enjoyable parts but largely uninteresting to me.
I appreciate the voice, but I didn't translate the lyrics, so there's an important piece I'm not connecting to (though I suspect it would only help a little). That said, it's clearly pop music — an almost universal vibe. Unfortunately for Khaled's Kenza, that artistic direction, heading into the generic, risks turning away listeners like me. Tracks like "Melha" and "Raba-Raba" feel more culturally specific (even if updated into a pop context) and are among the more engaging moments. Ultimately, the cover of Lennon's "Imagine" and some of the slower tunes drag down an album that, while I was open to it, rapidly became tedious.
Top track: Ya Aachkou
DNF- will have to try again, not in the mood for this type today.
The cover really doesn't contribute to the storyline here.
Algerian singer-songwriter. Quite poppy and upbeat.
Better than dj khaled but this isn’t for me
I mean what is there to say really? Such a hard album to rate. Stopped listening after 2 songs and won't again but I'm sure it's great. 4/10 (2/5)
Like wading through cheese.
MOR, but the the R is for Rai
I had some of the same problems with this as I did with the Ananda Shankar release recently. I didn't like the versions of Western songs (Imagine was pretty bad), or the Algerian songs with more Western production and would have just preferred Algerian music. Khaled has a listenable voice, though.
Hmmm. This was better than I feared it was gonna be, it was an interesting listen, a lot of rhythms I don't hear in a lot of my usual music, but (and I am aware this is my fault) I can't connect with songs where I don't know what they're singing about. Perhaps if it was nonsense (I am the walrus style) it's be ok, but I have to assume they are trying to put across a message and I've no idea what it is. There fore I can't mark this particularly high, but I didn't dislike it, so 2 seems harsh. I might go low 3, but I also can't see me ever looking to listen to it again, it was fairly backgrounds, and in fact I kept getting distracted and listening to other things over the top. I dunno. High 2?
Again hard to rate when I don't get the language, which is hardly his fault. At multiple languages at that! +1 for a take on imagine that is more fun than the original. Bold move.
Didn't quite dislike enough to give a 1. It's better than some other eastern-style pop music I've heard playing at restaurants before, but overall it's still just glitzy sugarcoated pop. I appreciate the blend of influences on the album, and the nice voice of the singer, but it just kinda sucks to have to listen to this whole long album.
Better than rap I guess
Nice
Decent album.
Arabic pop songs, including a cover of Lennon's Imagine. Not my cup of tea.
I am sure this is great when you understand the language, but without it I am lost and dont fully appreciate it
I've never been in this type of middle eastern sound, so this album is lower for me. I do think it's interesting that he mixes in some different sounds: one track (El Habra Wine) sounds pretty Indian to me, and another track (Imagine) is a collab with a singer named Noa where she sings in Hebrew.
Never heard of this artist before, glad ti expand my listening, but not sure this is one I’d consider essential listening.
Curious. Did nothing for me. I wonder if I'd understood the lyrics whether it would have made more of an impression.
I don’t know what I was expecting with this but it certainly wasn’t this sound. It’s well made and has that classic sound I would describe as Bollywood because of my ignorance to the music. I definitely wasn’t in the mood for this, which isn’t the albums fault. Really didn’t exepect Imagine to be there in the middle out of nowhere. Overall, enjoyable but not really for me, especially without subtitles.
words cannot describe how jarring that imagine cover was in the middle of this album
i forgot to finish this but it was ok? LMAO
Nice eclectic mix of styles and languages, but there are better examples of each isolated and focused on in different albums by different artists.
Only able to listen to a few tracks that are available in the US. Chill
Did my best to locate the album
Enjoyed this is as something new and totally unexpected, triggered a bit of a history lesson into Algerian culture which was fun. However not a ton of genuine enjoyability for the actual music outside of the novelty factor.
Reading up on the history of rai music has been incredibly interesting, but I’m genuinely curious if this is the best example of rai music out there? The samples and drums sound like bog standard stock sounds out of a shitty Casio keyboard. I’d be much more interested in hearing some earlier rai music rather than this more modern pop rai sound.
Both Dimery and apparently every other reviewer on this website hear this and are like, "what is this?? Bollywood?? I saw an Arab once, when I got kebab. Or when I took a taxi." Then deliver either five or one stars depending on how much mint was in the kebab. All I have to say is: why isn't Fairouz on this list. This "treasure" is more pop than anything else, kinda wild that he put a 90's western pop guitar and beats over some absolute ripping dabke. But Khaled definitely has pipes and is creative with the violin. Did you know Arabs have been making better music for literally thousands of years?
Hard to enjoy without knowing the words. Works as background music maybe.
? what 2/5
Cheesy pop music, but at least I can say I've listened to an Algerian album, even though I can't say I enjoyed it much. I did hear some "Jungle Hijinx" in there, and some more "Donkey Kong" style beats. It had its moments, but is a prime example of a bloated, slog of an album. Favorite Track: "Trigue Lycee"
Um disco confuso pela abundância de estilos que se serve da base árabe. Uma tentativa de fazer música Pop multicultural que não funciona, apesar dos momentos agradáveis proporcionados por metais, piano e outros elementos ocidentais. Funk, Flamenco, Caribe, Jazz, DJ, eletrônica, música francesa soam como uma colcha de retalhos, sem sentido. Fraco!
Find this impossible to judge fairly as it’s not bad but I can’t tell if it’s good either It’s probably a 3 but loses a star for imagine
Well after finally finding a place to listen to this album (thanks YouTube), this just isn't for me.
Alright, world music detour, let’s go. Except… eh. I appreciate the culture behind it, but this didn’t hit the sweet spot for me. Took a bit of effort to track this one down too (not on Spotify), and the payoff wasn’t quite worth the hunt. Props for the spirit though. Spins: 1 No Spotify, No Playlist Additions
2.5 stars, enjoyed some parts of the music that was really jazz influenced.
Algerian pop music is as bad as you would think it is, extra star for the cover version of Imagine
Fun but gets a little repetitive
The music was nice. Can't comment on the lyrics. Generally ok.
Yeah not really my thing
Listened to in a YouTube playlist with incessant ads, so I have no idea if I actually liked it, but I think I did
niet per se mijn smaak 😭😭
Ik kan me heel goed voorstellen dat als je je in deze cultuur bevindt, het echt een BANGER album is. Ik vind het zelf erg leuk om te luisteren naar muziek uit landen waar ik de taal niet ken. Dat gezegd is dit niet iets wat ik de hele dag zou luisteren of op zou zetten bij een feestje (ondanks de feestelijke vibe)
I dont understand the lyrics i wouldn't listen to it for myself. Would be okay i guess If heard out and about (1 or 2 Songs, the whole Album is a bit too much for me)
This was the first album I’ve pulled that wasn’t streaming on Spotify and it was such a bummer. I don’t know Arabic or have ad free YouTube, so I had to constantly be consulting the track listing, making sure I found the video with the correct version and then watch three ads before I got to a song. For an hour+ album I wanted to make sure I was in the right mood to put forth that effort which made me get behind on this list by a week. I finally did it today, and while there were some songs I enjoyed (Trigue Lycee and Ya Aâchkou probably stood out the most), there were others I couldn’t find and it was an overall degraded experience by needing to listen to it on YouTube. Happy to revisit if you decide to put the album on Spotify, Khaled!
Didn't see this one coming. Not bad. Totally different from anything else I've heard on here so far. Again, I am glad I listened, but I wouldn't even choose to listen again.
Imagine… if it was way worse.
Cool brass and a big blend of all of the world's music.
I feel like I've heard this absolutely shit faced in the back of an Uber at 3 in the morning.
This isn't BAD bad, but it was so far out of my comfort zone, as someone who mainly listens to western music. Definitely not 1 star, but 2 star just because it's not really my type of music. Arabic John Lennon made me laugh tho
# Album Name: Kenza # Artist: Khaled # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Kind of reminds me of being in an indian restaurant. i know i know, this is not from india. But thats what it reminds me of. Music was OK. something different for sure. But the length was too much. It just went on and on. It would be doable if it was 30-40 mins. But an hour 20 is way too much. Plus a butchered version of imagine gives this one a 2. # Top Tunes: Aalach T / Cest la nuit # Would I listen to it again? No
Didn’t really listen through as had a busy day and Algerian music wasn’t quite going to make the day go much better unfortunately. 4/10.
always psyched to see something outside of the anglosphere on this list. this was fun, but unfortunately the late-90s-ass production really holds this back. it's introduced me to raï music though, and i'm looking forward to digging into the genre.
4/10 This album not being made available anywhere online except for low quality fan uploads on YouTube despite Khaled having millions of listeners on streaming was sort of a bad sign already. Also it’s over an hour long, already pushing it, was just kind of hoping the catchiest stuff on here would drown out the filler but nah. This list has a bad tendency of the authors picking non-western records based off name alone without really looking into these artists, I have no clue if this was because of recency bias or if they just spun a wheel and picked a random record from this dude’s catalog, because I can see he literally has much more acclaimed and popular records than this. I know acclaim and popularity also resorts to it being appealing to western audiences but I still don’t think that’s an excuse when there’s more essential records from Algerian artists (including from Khaled) than this, this can’t be a record you must listen to before you die if Khaled didn’t care enough about it to even post on streaming lol Thank you 480p uploads from over a decade ago.
OK.
Not sure why this made the list, the album isn't bad, but just as with some other albums from different cultures, my stance is that you either put at least one album from every culture in the world, or just don't include any if they aren't musically relevant. This sounds similar to folk music from my country, interesting little melodies, predictable song structure and chord progressions, and emotional lyrics talking about the struggles of the common man, sung with much vibrato. Songs sound pretty similar and nothing stands out of the mold, except Imagine perhaps. All in all, I'm still glad I listened to the album, it's something new and I appreciate new experiences, but just not sure if it's worth a spot on the list. But then again, it's a matter of do you want diversity or pure quality on the list, which is a subjective decision in the end.
Quite a groove. Moved along nicely but keeps going and starts to overstay its welcome. Ideal for dipping.
Hard to review the on merit because of how unused to the genre I am.
This kinda sounded like Indian music to me at times. Not my jam.
I enjoy listening to more music from around the world. I wish this project wasn't so heavily focused Western artists. That being said, this was a good album - but didn't stand out as fantastic. The songs I enjoyed the most were the more traditional sounds of Rai/Middle Eastern/Arabic music - less 90's pop. Some good beats and melodies in there, but also a lot of filler.
I have no frame of reference for this. Sounded a bit too bland-pop-ish at times.
Very repetitive, especially with regard to melody. The lead singer's range feels like it should be pretty versatile, but the guy still only commits to about four different notes (with ornaments/flourishes here and there). This makes most tracks sound vocally similar, and the only way to distinguish most of them is through the non-voice instruments. Which, to be fair, are pretty darn good. But the bloated album length, combined with a lack of album flow (i.e. a bunch of the tracks blend together into a sonically homogeneous mush) bring this down a lot. 5-6 minutes is also definitely too much for track length, given how each song is essentially one melodic idea with not much deviation from verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure. Not cool. The best songs were ones that had the most interesting/bearable melodies or instrumental hooks despite all of these flaws. The two singers interacting with each other in El Harba Wine makes for a pretty fun listen. The trumpets and acoustic guitars in Ya Aachkou are memorable and played well, as are the exotic strings of Raba-Raba. The latter sounds like something my high school big band would've covered. I have a soft spot for that kind of tune. I'm not a huge fan of the disco imitation in some of these songs. My experience with disco is is that it's a genre that easily overstays its welcome. As a side note: man, I didn't know Imagine was such a hated song. It's one of Lennon's best solo compositions, and one of the most beloved peace anthems in all of music. Do you guys really feel the need to hate the song because of the (admittedly terrible and tone-deaf) celebrity cover? Yes, the cover on this album isn't much better, but the original is well-regarded for a reason. 2/5 Key tracks: El Harba Wine, Ya Aachkou, Raba-Raba
A unique sound I suppose for what it was. But this one is not for me.
As potentially the least informed and reputable brain on middle eastern music in the entire world, I feel as though I cannot accurately rate this album without offence to someone. That being said - 3/10 haha
5.5/10. I think there is probably a bit of language/cultural barrier for me to appreciate this album fully, I suppose it is natural that not all of these are in english. That being said I did find myself vibing along to a few of these, the more familiar sounding pop style tunes (C'est La Nuit comes to mind) since they have a pleasant, happy vibe to them So yeah again I think, context of the list, I probably have to rate it on the lower side of things.
ehh, not for me.
uhhhhhh ooooookay?
Some groovy beats here. Album can be pieced together from YouTube.
Some good beats and rhythms. Good stretch album but I won't be revisiting it
Largely unremarkable pop music that, because they wanted to fill an entire CD, lasts 80 minutes.
Look, there’s some solid music here, but unfortunately this is a victim of the “let’s fill the cd with music” era. Everything runs together and nothing really gets to stand out. There’s no flow or shift in dynamics in the album, and it leaves me less curious to know the background of the songs. It’s a 2/5 for me; I recognize the skill but there’s just not a lot to love.
um yeah it exists! don't feel strongly enough to slap it with a 1 but i would really like that hour back
It seems alright but I can't get into it Will I listen to again: 0%
Ah this ain't for me at all.
Not my style
This kind of music is tough for me. Like a lot of folk styles, Raï sometimes leans into a disco vibe, and when it does, I just can’t get into it. There were a few songs on the album that really clicked with me, but there was also a lot of that disco stuff I didn’t like. And that cover of ‘Imagine’? It just didn’t work for me. The two stars I gave are just for the few ‘original’ songs I actually enjoyed.
I think the album is nice enough, alot of the songs sound fairly generic to me, a lot of Indian cinema music sounds like this too. The imagine cover being a part of the album rubs me the wrong way. Like ok theres a million mediocre British alt-rock albums on the list and you needed something ethnic for diversity so u throw this in. Bffr it has imagine on it and seems fairly influenced by western music. Lucas u were talking ab how u give points for things being like creative or genre defining-- I feel like there are just better things that could be put on the list, and if ur not gonna put something novel and exciting, omit it altogether. Like imo an arabic album on here it should be representative of Arab music in the same way Heaven or Las Vegas is of shoegaze yk, and I highly doubt this album is like that. Especially considering how blank the wikipedia page is.
I'm not sure that this belongs on this list. It has its highs (El Harba Wine) and lows (Imagine) but overall leaves no impression.
Not fir me
I can definitely appreciate this kind of music in small doses, but a full album of this is too much for me.
weird flex but ok nnn
This is pretty interesting, especially when it’s more based in what sounds like the authentic, traditional styles of Khaled’s home region. The first track rules, then the tracklist is pretty up and down with more generic pop bits and more fiery pieces taking turns. Can’t say I’d consider it a must-listen.
Fine for about 30 minutes but then gets a little grating. Considering the album is around 1 hour 15 it just drags soooo long. 4/10
2.5/5
nu e disponibil
It stupidly triggers me when the albums given are not on the main streaming devices because it selfishly takes me longer blah blah boohoo…. But anyways this wasn’t bad. I thought it was extremely different from what I ever listen to but it was diverse within itself. Some songs I was pushed away from just because of simple preference and lack thereof, but others I was intrigued. I can definitely recognize why this album would be on this list at all…
(struggled through a YouTube playlist, not on Apple Music) While the vocals take some adjustment for these limited Western ears... I have to say the music on the first cut ("Aâlach Tloumouni") surprised me with a great groove utilizing those middle eastern quarter tones that I don't usually appreciate or even enjoy. But after that ....whooo....that Imagine cover is like being in a dentist chair in an endless elevator..and it got cheesier from there....what are we doing here?? idk, there were a few bits of coolness in hear but overall it's so far from anything I enjoy.... I'd take track 1 and then chalk the rest up to the equivalent of a layover in Budapest. 3/10 2 stars
Never heard this before. Not sure why this album is on this list. Has never received better than average ratings, has poor record sales, and is not influential or groundbreaking. It doesn't seem to be anything more than Arabic-flavored pop at mid quality. At least there's a really bad version of Imagine on the list.
Was really enjoying this up until about the 45 minute mark then it started to drag big style. Some really catchy songs but it massively outstays its welcome.
Categorie wereldmuziek, uit de 90s. De eerste tonen brengen ons gelijk naar de Arabische wereld. Het doet me ook wel denken aan filmmuziek, als Lara Croft naar een schat op zoek gaat in een verloren stad in de Sahara ofzo. Aan de andere kant is dit typisch van die muziek die op zondagochtend om 10.00 uur wordt uitgezonden bij de VPRO vanuit het muziekgebouw aan t IJ, van die artiesten waar normale mensen nog nooit van gehoord hebben. Ik vind het gebruik van de instrumenten keurig gedaan, wat ik zeg het zet een sfeer neer en dat is fijn. Het blijft altijd wennen aan de jengelige en klagerige zang. Dat zal best bij de stijl of het genre horen, ben benieuwd of het met een cleane zang ineens heel anders zou klinken. Sommige nummers klinken heel ouderwets, andere nummers juist weer lekker modern en hip. De soort van afwisseling houdt het album interessant, al is het uiteraard aan de veel te lange kant. En dan heb ik het zelfs al opgeknipt in 2 luistersessies. Leuk dat de snobs dit opnemen in de lijst, maar het is wel weer ultiem snobberig om dan niet het album met megahit Aicha te pakken. Door de lengte van dit album heb ik geen zin om dat album ook nog eens te luisteren en te kijken of de keuze gerechtvaardigd is. Nee, ik ben lekker selectief verontwaardigd om de snobkeuze en dat kost onze Khaled een puntje.
Album 600 of 1001 Khaled -Kenza (1999) Rating : 2 / 5 Another where the language barrier (Arabic) keeps me from getting the full experience. There was a nice cover of 'Imagine'. Glad I listened but not one I'll go back to.
Couldn’t finish soz
njae du. det är inte bara kasst och man får väl vara lite positiv för att det inte bara är västerländsk musik
Albumi #106, 11.11.2024 Khaledia luonnehditaan raï-musiikin kuninkaaksi. Raï-musiikki on algerialaista perinnemusiikkia, johon on otettu vaikutteita länsimaisesta pop-musiikista. Kenza on vuonna 1999 julkaistu albumi, joka on nimetty Khaledin tyttären mukaan. Albumin kappaleet on kahta lukuunottamatta laulettu arabiaksi. Levyltä löytyy myös raï-sovitus John Lennonin Imagine-kappaleesta.
A bit to annoying for 3 starts but I'm sure people somewhere love it
This was very mixed. I enjoyed the funkier tracks, but the cheesy, wet pop tracks were just awful. Hand the album was a solid⭐⭐⭐, half the album was ⭐, so it gets ⭐⭐ overall.
Not my vibe but had some funk
I'm not one for lyrics, but at times I would've liked to know what he's saying. I feel like I should be at some swanky hookah bar wearing a lot of gold chains in a very dry, arid climate while listening to this. Also, I'm pretty sure I heard a track from Disney's Aladdin movie on it.
I enjoy the Middle Eastern music at the root of this, but this album feels too poppy and hybridized. Khaled apparently has a long and storied career… I wonder if some of it is more traditional. I think I would enjoy that more.
but here's the yawner
Orientalische geprägtes endlos langes Album. Es ist definitiv nicht meine Musik. Einzige Lichtblicke sind die wenigen französischen Songs sowie die interessante Fassung von “Imagine”.
I´m not used to this kind of music but it´s a nice change from the recent albums. Musically O.K. But the album is way too long. 2,5
Interesting sound. Not my wavelength.
i feel like im watching the drama shows my mom and aunt used to watch when i was a baby. then my dad comes in to have a little dance break with imagine by john lennon and then we go back to watching more arab drama shows
Track 1: Aalach Tloumouni (5/10) I have no frame of reference for this type of music, and I'm not entirely sure if I like it. Dude's got a pretty good voice though. Track 2: El Harba Wine (6/10) I like the female vocals, goes well with the male vocals. Track 3: C'est la Nuit (7/10) French! I understand this kind of! Very cool, I like this one. Track 4: Imagine (2/10) Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahahahahahahaha Track 5: Trigue Lycee (4/10) I truly don't know how to feel about this album at this point lol it's okay I guess but not really my thing Track 6: E'Dir E'Sseba (4/10) I can't even review this lol Track 7: Ya Aachkou (2/10) No thank you, I hated this one lol way too poppy Track 8: Melha (3/10) I just find this really comical honestly Track 9: Raba-Raba (?????) Overall: 3/10 So I listened to the whole thing but I had to abandon my usual track by track format cause I have nothing to say about this. It's not that it was bad but I have no idea how to rate something like this so I'm just gonna leave it at that. Fav Song: C'est la Nuit Least Fav Song: Imagine
Hmm, not for me.
Algerisk popmusik, et par covers, og et par gode melodier indimellem
May be culturally enjoyed by some. Not for me.
Holy shit that Imagine cover was dreadful lmfao. This album was okay, a lot of dreadful songs on here, but some were okay in my books, I even liked E'Dir E'Sseba and El Bab. An almost 80 minute runtime fucking killed me though. I can't in good conscious give this more than a 2, because I was so fucking over this by about the 9th song. An absolute slog, I could bare differentiate one song from another, apart from Imagine, obviously. Cut this album in half and remove the filler and you'd probably have a pretty solid album. Unfortunate it didn't pan out that way. The absolute lowlight of this album for me was that screeching woman's voice which sounded exactly like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWO5J_DIK84
I was prepared to give this a 3 for being something I could appreciate but wouldn't be sure if I would regularly listen to. However holy shit this felt so long. Not just in terms of the total runtime but each track individually felt like it went longer than it needed to. That being said, very thoughtful of him to name this album after his 2nd daughter. You can tell this guy must really love his family
I enjoyed this album when it stuck to it its less poppy side. But honestly I was just waiting for this one to end. My idea of purgatory is being stuck in an infinite Uber ride and this is what is playing in the background. This can never hope to achieve anything higher than a 2/5 because of the Imagine cover. Highlight for me was Ya Aachkou, I would definitely try my best to hold my vomit in if this came on in an uber.
All over the place.
……
I struggled with this one a bit - rai music is new to me, and to be honest it isn’t to my taste. Also, this felt like it had a lot of 80’s and 90’s production values with big power ballad feels. I wasn’t a big fan. But I’m glad I’ve been introduced and can try other artists to see if they feel more with me.
This album was hard to find and then went on and on and on, but I listened. I would not let it defeat me. The director songs were cool and then it was just same ol same ol. Bright spot: great horns.
This is a seriously odd inclusion by all accounts. Not doubting Khaled’s influence (simply because I’ve never heard of him before), but this album has very little critical acclaim from western music press and even less immediately identifiable innovation. I suppose you could say the fusion of Algerian Rai with everything from Rhumba rhythms to John Lennon’s “Imagine” (an atrocious rendition btw) is the album’s main gimmick. And at points it pays off - but very rarely. What you get instead is a record which is completely half-baked, and only the most lickspittle of western do-gooder would rave about this record to soothe their white man’s burden. In truth, it sounds absolutely gash for the most part, and would have been an anachronism even if it had been produced 30 years before it was actually released. I’ll give it props for its ambition but it’s time to stop this fetishistic approval of all music from outside our Anglo-centric cultural sphere. There is some seriously great, pioneering music from the Arab world, and this is categorically not one such example.
Obviously very different. This really isn’t my genre but it was nice being exposed to it; I wouldn’t have listened had it not been for this list.
Mostly annoying
I couldn’t like this album less without hating it. 2 stars.
I am usually open to discovering new music from different parts of the world, but I could never get behind this particular type of vocal delivery; it just sounds annoying to me. I tried to be open-minded while listening to this, but the vocals were so dominant that they took over everything else. There were a couple of passable tracks, like 'Cest la nuit', but generally speaking, I did not enjoy listening to this album. There's a nice message hidden in 'Imagine' considering who's singing it, but the cover itself is... bad. I'll leave it at that. 1.5 stars
This was way funkier than I imagined it would be going on, but 15 tracks at 5 minutes each is a lot to get through
À la première chanson je m'attendais à quelque chose qui allait complètement me surprendre et dépasser mes attentes. Mais malheureusement plus l'album avançait et plus les idées commençaient à se fatiguer. L'instrumentation midi devenait de plus en plus cheap et répétitive. 5/10
..
If I cannot get a link to listen to this, I cannot rate it. Sorry Khaled. I'll give you +1 so I feel I am not being a dick
A pretty funky album. As with a few previous comments I had nothing to reference this against. Iver all not too bad
I lived to experience it. Box checked. Next please.
When you’re 15 minutes into a mediocre Algerian pop album and you get hit with an Imagine cover :S Probably in the album’s favour that I don’t understand the lyrics.
WTF is Imagine doing here, stop letting John Lennon win he doesn't deserve it. Otherwise it was *fine* I guess, I don't have much to compare it to.
Felt like I was journeying across the desert while trying to track down all the songs to this album. Ended up having to listen to terrible quality CD rips on YouTube that negatively affected my enjoyment. Album was fine. Suffers from the CD era issue of making albums a little too long. Also did not need the cover of Imagine. The strings and diversity of sounds included were good.
I liked the French songs somewhat more than the Arabic songs.
This is 💩. It's dull and super long The first 4 songs almost ruin it as a listening experience, but after that it gets upbeat and comes to life. I almost wonder what the potential would be if you took away the first 20 mins. But they are there and they absolutely suck
It's not terrible, but hard to believe this is the creative peak of the genre. It was a big commercial succes, of course. I think they wanted to include something arab-ish and didn't know anything else. Favorite song: Derwiche tourneur
In principe is die muziek natuurlijk nog wel geinig. Je hoort het niet vaak, het klinkt exotisch enzovoort. Dat de zanger zingt in een taal die je niet verstaat is in principe ook nog niet zo'n ramp, maar de manier van zingen is wel heftig. En dat is meteen de reden dat ik dit nooit uit mezelf zou aanzetten. En dan op track 2 bijvoorbeeld al die nasale Minnie Mouse erbij. Of op track 4 die armzalige Imagine cover. Het lastige is ook dat ik geen referentiekader heb, dus ik kan niet zeggen of deze gast beter of slechter is dan z'n collega's. Voor mij zit dit ook een beetje in een soort Berk Music Productions hoek vreemd genoeg. 'Bij ons op het kamp' Arabië editie. Enorm commercieel volgens mij. Ik geef een strenge 2. Er gebeuren wel leuke dingen zoals de sitar(?) solo in 'Ya Aachkou' en ik heb toch nog steeds liever dit dan Astrud, maar ik heb hem niet helemaal uitgezeten. Een uur en 18 minuten wordt mij te gortig en ik ben bang dat de buurvrouw de AIVD belt als ik hem integraal luister.
En god håndfuld earworms men også bare sådan lidt… idk kliché mellemøstlig musik med pop elementer? Top 3 værste imagine covers jeg har hørt, men for at være fair tror jeg aldrig, at jeg har hørt et godt cover af imagine
Meget svært at dømme når man ikke har megen kendskab til mellemøstlig musik. Virkede ufatteligt lang. Bedste imagine cover siden de kendte gjorde det under Covid..
While it has a good beat, I don't understand a single word.
One of those that is discovered by this process that would never have otherwise be found. It jollied along, albeit at a bit too long. Nobody should hear Imagine again in any form though.
There’s a Bollywood influence to the music that I appreciate. There’s some great horn playing throughout the record. I don’t like this version of “Imagine” and by the halfway point I was over the initial sense of wonder and became bored. There are some standout musical moments that are drowned in an album that’s too long. 2.5/5
I honestly wasnt paying attention. Yeah im pretty neutral about this
Already hate that I need to listen to a Youtube created playlist of this song by song. This just isn't for me. Not bad or anything, just not for me. Some of the instrumentals are solid. High 2.
Pop music is boring in any language.
I am not a fan of the oriental singing style and instruments. So this album is not for me subjectively, and I have too little contact with this kind of music to be able to judge it objectively. So subjectivity it is!
I'm unsure if I actually listened to everything from this album, as the playlist on YouTube said a song was unavailable, but song titles seem to be slightly different between language barriers, so I couldn't tell completely. That being said, I think I got the general picture just fine, and my main takeaway is that I just don't like this vocal style. I know it seems to be the main vocal delivery of a lot of middle eastern (is that insensitive? I'm ill-informed on what's correct there, so I'm sorry) singers, but it just feels stereotypical and annoying. Perhaps that comes from Hollywood using songs that sound like this album whenever characters are in the desert, and those settings annoy me, so maybe it's an association thing? Who knows, I just know this album isn't saved no matter what for me, as the instrumentation is so aggressively western that it sounds ripped straight out of the 80s. Issue is that it is from 1999, and lacks any decent hooks to actually get me grooving along. Not to mention the terrible runtime of seventy-five minutes, and you've got yourself a release that could only ever be known by me, a guy sitting in the middle of the USA listening to this, because some British guy thought it was an album I had to listen to before I died. It is not, and wasting my time on it made me annoyed. However, the album is actually better than I expected still, with enough interesting moments to at least keep it entertaining at points. An Imagine cover that is same-y but not bad, some genre switch ups such as a French ballad or a Spanish guitar inspired dance track, it definitely is unique in the fact that it is trying to be something. That something may be appealing to as many people as possible, which means it appeals to no one because I'd rather listen to ANYTHING else, but I have to give it a little credit. However, you will understand the gist of this album via a couple of the first tracks and maybe a song here or there. In no world should you sit through all of this, and considering the album ends with that same French ballad AGAIN with very little noticeable change (it's in Arabic now, but it seems the chorus is still in French?) makes it so sticking around until the end is just a waste. This album was destined to be some niche thing never known across the world, and it still isn't, but Robert Dimery tried, and failed, to make it something known in 2005. But he was wrong, and I can't look past that when it is the only reason I spent my Wednesday morning listening to it. It just isn't worth the time of day.
Seven years before *Kenza*, Khaled hit the charts with the catchy and animated single "Didi", at least in the Arabic world, but also in the French mainstream billboard. Before that--that is to say before he decided to "westernize" his sound, recording in Europe and the States--he was already a living legend in the Algerian "raï" genre. And his crossover success in 1992 was quite memorable in France, where many immigrant communities originally hailing from North Africa live. Four years later, he found commercial sucess again with ballad "Aïcha", another crossover hit in the French pop charts written by the cheesy-yet-proficient novelty pop singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman. I feel extremely weird writing the latter's name on this app, by the way, since Goldman is a figure I guess my English-speaking colleagues in here have never heard about, and yet he is someone who has been famous nationwide in France since the early eighties. To return to Khaled, he kept trying to "modernize" the *raï* genre after those two hits, but never to the point where he would forget the commercial potential of his music. Raï has its purists, or so I hear. But it's a first and foremost a "popular" genre. So I guess you can't blame the Algerian singer because of that. All of this is to provide a bit of context for the people who have never heard of Khaled before. To be fair, and as objectively as I can try to be, selecting this 1999 album for such a list feels like being a latecomer to one of those North African community parties the "raï" genre is a popular ingredient of. It's always a little disappointing or laughable when Dimery and co. catch some trendy trains a little too late. It gives you the impression they're not really sincere or well-informed. Which takes the cake when most of your job is to write about music. About "Kenza": there are few standout tracks in this very "professional" record, and none of them is as memorable as "Didi" (even in a "bad" way, like "Aïcha" was). "El Harba Wine" feels nice thanks to the impressive Bollywood-inspired vocal contributions of British-Indian singer Amar. Electro-adjacent "Trigue Lycee" also has mesmerizing, UK-techno-inspired layers of synths. And, on the second half of the record, the more "traditional-oriented" tracks such as "Melha" and "Raba-Raba" have aged better than the dance music chessefest found in too many parts of the album. Interestingly, prog-rock and electronic stalwart Steve Hillage was involved in most of those more "traditional"-sounding cuts--evidence enough that Khaled's closer Algerian or French-Algerian collaborators didn't care much about "traditions" at this point. contrary to Hillage. This was for the assets of this record. Now the problem is that the album's flaws weigh heavier in the grand scheme of things. Placed in a pivotal point of the tracklist, towards the end of side one, the hackneyed, "now-that's-what-I-call-hits"- inspired danceteria of "E'dir E'sseba" and "Ya Aachkou" is borderline unlistenable today. Before that, another Jean-Jacques Goldman-penned cut named "C'est la Nuit" tries to reproduce the success of "Aïcha", to no avail. I just knew Goldman had written that song without checking the credits or even hearing Khaled's voice singing in French. Evidence enough as to how predictable and quaint that sort of Jean Jacques Goldman novelty shtick had become by 1999. Worse, the cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" found right after "C'est La Nuit" (and right before "E'dir E'sseba") reaches such high cornball levels on your cheese-o-meter that it's hard not to smirk at it with disgust. "Imagine" is already a tricky song to cover given how syrupy the original may sound to some ears (not mine, yet I can respect the feeling other listeners have about it). And here, in this particular cover, the instrumentation and production values are so bland and devoid of any true artistic flair that the whole endeavor becomes authentically sickening. I can relate to the original plan Khaled had to have verses sung by him in Arabic and others sung in Hebrew by Noa, an Israeli singer. A commendable initiative for sure. And yet here we are, 25 years later, where the disaster of terrorism and warfare, killing innocent people on a daily basis, rage on on both "sides" in the Middle East--with fanatics and crooked politicians routinely trampling human rights, murdering women and children, and fanning the worst sorts of extremist, pro-war sentiment there can be. Under that light, any benevolent feeling one can have towards this cover will soon evaporate and give way to cynicism, sadness or bitterness. This cover of "Imagine" didn't age well to say the least. Who knows? If that version had not been so quaint and corny, maybe more people would have listened to the message, at least. 🙃 Are all the bad things that have occured in this cursed area of the world since 1999 partly the result of Khaled's bad music tastes then? You tell me. Of course, I shouldn't laugh about anything even remotely related to the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's just a tragedy. But at least, I can laugh at this cover and its terrible execution. Bad music is not as terrible and tragic as war and genocide, of course. So if anyone in here disagrees with me and still manages to find hope and beauty in this particular cover, more power to them. Me, I just can't. As I can't take the inclusion of *Kenza* in this list seriously. Not that it's important compared to far more serious topics and issues. It's just that it takes far more powerful music than this to either transcend said issues, or make you forget about them altogether. If you can't do one OR the other, it's a sure sign you shouldn't be in this list of "essential albums". 1001 is a finite number after all. 2/5, which translates to a 7/10 grade for more general purposes (5+2). Number of albums left to review: 157 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 364 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 213 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 270 (including this one)
Gouloulha-Dji // 1.5/5
I like the sound, but it gets way too poppy.