Record Reviews

NURIT GALRON ~ NURIT GALRON HELICON 94101 (Barcode: 7293627410120) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 1978 Released: 1990 1st album by Nurit GalronFind albums by this artist, one of the top Israeli singers with most of her artistic activity dedicated to performing songs written to lyrics by contemporary Israeli poets like Lea GoldbergFind albums by this artist and Natan ZachFind albums by this artist. This debut album is very much in the Prog vain, due to the intricate compositions and the cream of Israeli musicians who accompanied her on this recording. Strong Jazzy feel and great instrumental work are also present on this album and Galron´s vocals are exceptionally beautiful.

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

SHEM TOV LEVY ~ IN THE MOOD (EXPANDED EDITION) PHONOKOL 4257 (Barcode: 7296134425724) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 1976 Released: 2008 1st album by Israeli flautist / pianist / composer Shem Tov LevyFind albums by this artist – finally released on CD 32 years after it was originally recorded. Levy was of course one of Israel’s best and most talented musicians at the time and a bold innovator, pushing the boundaries of early Israeli Rock, mostly in the Prog direction. After this brilliant debut album, Levy was to join forces with Shlomo GronichFind albums by this artist and Shlomo YdovFind albums by this artist to form the legendary No NamesFind albums by this artist, and soon after another legendary ensemble SheshetFind albums by this artist. Levy composed and arranged all the music on this album, which includes 4 vocal tracks and 5 instrumentals. He also wrote the lyrics for two of the vocal tracks. On the two other vocal tracks Levy used poems written by famous Israeli poets Lea GoldbergFind albums by this artist and Dalia RabikovitchFind albums by this artist, as was quite customary in Israeli Prog on the 1970s. The brilliant melodies, which Levy composed, are perhaps the only truly “Israeli” music written at the time, full of Jazzy chord changes, polyrhythmic pulsation and clever incorporation of Middle Eastern motifs. The instrumental performances are brilliant, as he used the best players on the local scene at the time, like guitarist Yitzhak KlepterFind albums by this artist (ChurchillsFind albums by this artist, KaveretFind albums by this artist), bassist Ehud IngerFind albums by this artist, drummer / guitarist Haim RomanoFind albums by this artist, drummer Meir IsraelFind albums by this artist and many others. His flute playing is absolutely mind-blowing of course. He also arranged the music for the string ensemble, used on some of the tracks. In retrospect, this is an extraordinary debut album, full of exquisite music and endless timeless gems and definitely on of the best albums recorded in Israel in the 1970s. This new editions adds four bonus tracks, all great examples of Levy’s superb talent as composer and arranger, including an extra-rare live recording of a live No Names performance, singing a medley of Beatles songs with a typical humorous twist. An absolute classic!

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

NATURAL GATHERING ~ BEYOND THE WALLS HED ARZI 15328 (Barcode: 7293372532825) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 1985 - 1987 Released: 1993 5th album by Israeli ensemble Natural GatheringFind albums by this artist formed and led by Shlomo BarFind albums by this artist. Bar presents here another set of his original compositions (except for one song), three of which accompany texts by Rabi David HassinFind albums by this artist, one by the great Israeli poet Lea GoldbergFind albums by this artist (who seems to be his favorite as he returns to her texts time after time) and one by old collaborator playwright / poet Yehoshua SobolFind albums by this artist. One of the tracks is an instrumental. Bar expands his input and in addition to his vocals and percussion, he also plays flute. Violinist Samson KhamkarFind albums by this artist adds his usual wonderful ornaments and the four other members of the ensemble: Ellen DanFind albums by this artist – oboe, Menashe SassonFind albums by this artist – santoor, Yechiel HassonFind albums by this artist – guitar and Emanuel MannFind albums by this artist – bass (his fretless bass is quite extraordinary) create a superb fabric of sounds which take the listener on a magic carpet ride between North Africa, India, Persia and the Middle East. Overall this album is darker and more contemplative than the previous output by the band, perhaps reflecting the leader´s state of mind at the time. Nevertheless this album is surely another stone in Bar´s temple dedicated to preservation of the rich traditions of World Music, invigorating them with his own unique interpretation and blending. This magnificent music has little competition anywhere else in the world and hopefully more people will discover it with the passing of time.

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NATURAL GATHERING ~ IN A SECRET OF SOLITARY PRAYER HED ARZI 64971 (Barcode: 7293372497193) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2008 - 2009 Released: 2010 Moroccan-born singer / songwriter / percussionist Shlomo BarFind albums by this artist, the founder and leader of Natural GatheringFind albums by this artist, is an iconic figure on the multi-faced Israeli music scene. Since the late 1970s Bar and his ensemble consistently propagate an ambitious version of Middle-Eastern, folklore based but modernistic musical universe, completely unique and wonderfully rich both in traditional and contemporary musical ideas of amalgamation and transcendence of physical, psychological and cultural border lines. Initially scored, ridiculed and rejected by the Israeli Ashkenazi music establishment, which was completely Western-oriented and hold little (if any) esteem towards the treasures of Sephardic tradition, Bar persisted and refused to compromise his artistic vision. Three decades later, Natural Gathering and its music stands out as one of Israel´s most significant contributions to World culture, but remain somewhat estranged on the local scene. Each new album by this ensemble is a true feast to the ears and this one is no different. Recorded over a period of two years in Bar´s home studio, the album is deeply moving and presents a spectacular vista of sounds and colors. The lyrics include a wide variety of sources, from modern Israeli poetry (Lea GoldbergFind albums by this artist, Natan AltermanFind albums by this artist) to rabbinical texts. This time Bar uses also several songs, which were not written by him but are now part of the Pantheon of Israeli songwriting, in addition to his own compositions. The current version of the group features all-acoustic instrumentation (except for bass guitar), including guitar, woodwinds, violin and Middle-Eastern / Indian instruments like santoor and percussion instruments like tabla. Bar´s vocals lost some of its dramatic effect of anger and frustration, but are beautifully refined and expressive. This is a great album, any way one may wish to look at it (read: listen to it) and I can only recommend it wholeheartedly, hoping that more people will discover this treasure!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend