Search - Alla :: La Fonda

A beautiful record . . .

David 108 | New York | 06/12/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In general I don't write reviews, but as no one else has for this record, I feel the need to say something. Mind you I know nothing about Arabic music, so this is an amateur in spades talking . . .and given that. . . I fell in love with this record the moment I first heard it. It is extremely mellow and soulfull, and feels very authentic. It definitely hits a mystical strand. Alla is from southern Algeria, but clearly he has been influenced by the sounds of the black African side of the Sahara as well. I really like that the record consists of three long improvisational pieces, instead of the choppy "songs" one often hears in world music. One has the feeling that these stretched out moods are the way this music is supposed to be heard. The middle piece, where Alla is accompanied by a drummer, is quite magically captivating. I would give it five stars, except that I have to sit with a record a long time before I would do that. I know this is one record I'm going to keep coming back to for many years to come."