Rough Guide to the Music of the Sahara

What I liked about this album was that there is a good mixture of vocal tracks and instrumental tracks. Sometimes the singing is out front, and sometimes it's the instruments. Occasionally they are both in sync to an equal degree, and you get something that sounds great and can really move you. But I found moments like this to be rare on the album as a whole, which is why I gave it three stars. This album is competent and interesting, but it doesn't really grab you. Some of the tracks take some risks, but overall the music plays it safe. It's not passionate music or experimental music but middle-of-the-road Middle Eastern tracks. For a more enjoyable album of Middle Eastern music, try Rough Guide to the Music of Morocco, which is a passionate album, or Moroccan Spirit, which is electronic music inspired by Morocco. Both of these albums have more kick than this album. Buy this one to round out a collection, or if you're really into music of the Middle East or Africa.

It seems the musics of the Sahara have become very popular on the 'world music' scene of late. One of the World Music Network's most brilliant and spirited releases, this album aims to cover the vast open deserts stretching from Africa's Atlantic coast all the way to the Sudan, from the Arab cities of the Maghreb down to the nomadic Fulani of the Sahel... an immense, culturally (and linguistically) diverse land. And they succeeded in this effort beyond your wildest imagination.The 'desert blues' of the nomadic Tuareg people, made world famous by the band Tinariwen, feature very prominently on this compilation. Tartit, Kel Tin Lokiene, Group Oyiwane, Chet Fewet of Libya and of course Tinariwen themselves all appear on this CD. Theres also Berber poetry from Sahraoui Bachir at the end of the album. Representing the Arab world are selections as diverse as a track from Malouma's most recent release, the formal Andalous sound of Compagine Jellouli & Gdih, gnawa music from Hasna el Becharia, and the vibrant Sahraoui traditions of Nayim Alal, Mariem Hassan and Aziza Brahim. Further into the African continent, the CD includes a track from Songhai pop singer Seckou Maiga of Timbuktu. With tracks from both well-known artists and rising stars from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Sahra al-Gharibya (Western Sahara), Mali and Niger, this album spans much of the Sahara desert!With the pulsing guitar riffs, strong rhythms, hand claps and stirring poetry, this CD will definitely appeal to fans of the 'desert blues' and North African Arab/Berber roots music alike. Fans of the blues and Flamenco will no doubt notice catch parallels between those styles and the musics of Toureg rock and traditional Sahraoui music as well. This is a great musical introduction to the diverse styles and cultures of the Sahara, with a very strong emphasis on the Tuareg and the cultures of the North. Well worth buying. For further forays into the Sahel, I'd recommend checking out compilations like 'Rough Guide to the African Blues,' 'Putumayo Presents: Mali,' and/or 'The Festival in the Desert.' Or, if your really adventurous, check out the deluxe two disc 'Ambiances du Sahara' boxed set!

Saharan music is obscure on the world stage, but it deserves to be famous. There's some beautiful and fascinating music here. This rough guide focuses on the music of western north Africa, (rather than Egypt and Sudan) and usually on music just below the north Afrian coast - right in the heart of the deaert. The liner notes are quite excellent and informative, and place the music in geographical context, describing the exact location of the artists (musicians from this oasis in southern Libya, or this place around Timbuktu) showing that it truly is Saharan music (not, for example, some Tunisian born, Paris based DJ who creates "Saharan" techno or something). The music is from Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Algeria and Libya.You might expect alot of Arabic music, as I did, but don't. It's really more complicated than that, with the dozens of tribal, liguistic and ethnic groups, and the nomadic nature and history of Saharan peoples. That seems to have affected the music. There's Berber, African, and Arabic music (with, or course, many varieties of each) often crossing over and influencing eachother. I might have preferred more Arabic music, like the first track, a rousing and awesome Moroccan song. But the compilation ranges from such Arabic music to sub-Saharan African music, and Berber music in a haunting, almost spoken word song of poetry (the last track) with just voice and flute (and which sounds like the style of Cheika Remitti, the precursor style to rai music.) There's also the interesting music of Western Sahara in three tracks: a soft melodic song, an electric guitar song with traditional percussion and handclaps, and a track that sounds like the blues with the words "la illaha ilallah." Hasna el Becharia sings a joyful gnawa song, preceded by a melancholy, very compelling and mesmerising song from the well-known group Tinariwen.There are a number of what sounds like field recordings, which are not always easy to appreciate or understand (some would say they were harsh on "western" ears) but they are interesting, and very real, and an important part of a compilation of all the facets of Saharan music.It's supposed to be compiled by a Saharan music expert, and that's not suprising. If you like Arabic or African music, this is especially recomended. It's only about 63 minutes long, which is too bad, they could have fit more music on here, but it's still very good.

I have listened to many many different "Rough Guides" to "world" music, and this is easily the best. Most are dominated by overproduced local pop, undoubtedly representative of local tastes, but rather uninteresting to outsiders. Perhaps the music of the Sahara is less heavily produced in general, or the compiler of this cd has particularly good taste, but the songs on this cd are fascinating and beautiful. The written introduction is also much more thoughtful and interesting than is typical of this series.

No bad