Review: Oum Kalthoum - Enta Elhob

Oum Kalthoum is the most famous Egyptian singer, probably of all time. (I have this on good authority.) Not having any special familiarity with Egypt, i can't tell you too much about her social or even particularly her musical importance, after all, i'm amerikkkan, but it's not hard to find many sources of information about her on the internet that can fill in the gaps. Just keep in mind that there are about a thousand different ways to spell her name.

Suffice to say that during her heyday (she was preforming from the 1920's to the early 70's,) she would command the attention of all of Cairo when her Sunday night concerts were aired, supposedly causing cabbies to pull to the side of the road to listen until the concert was over. She also had political significance as an ambassador of Egypt to an international audience. There probably is no western artist that we can compare her to, although you can sorta see some similarities with Bob Marley. Bear in mind, she might not have appreciated that.

This CD is a recording of a concert, and begins with the band (featuring mostly familiar-sounding string insturments) playing a short overture. That seems like a good way to start a show with a big mega-star, like how Morrissey had this whole wierd recorded voice saying a bunch of instults before he came out on stage during the You are the Quarry tour. It really builds up your expectations; it's kinda like God announcing his presence with a bunch of thunder and lightning. But Henry Rollins, he just has his whole band march out single-file, cause he's on an efficiency trip.

Anyway, the crowd pretty much loses it when Kalthoum comes out and she launches right into a song. The style of the music probably won't be too surprising, it's pretty close to what you think of when you hear about "Arabic music." Kalthoum's voice is really fluid and melancholy, and she's masterful with trills and nuanced runs. But she doesn't sound like she's showing off, it's more that she's just mastered singing and doesn't particularly need to impress anyone or hide her abilities.

This CD has a fairly long program, including a break halfway through. It's an interesting way to listen to music that is historically removed, because it gives you a better sense of context than a studio recording or a compilation. Of course, some liner notes wouldn't hurt either, but there aren't any here.

So just dig the music. Most of us won't be able to understand the Arabic lyrics, but Kalthoum has an enormous presence that easily communicates on a different level. I'm sure there are plenty of different recordings available, but they may not be particularly easy to find, so don't get too hung up on looking for this exact one. Recommended!