Search - Keti Garbi :: Emmones Idees

Keti remains at the top of her game

Thomas Tosh | Marietta, GA USA | 10/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Emmones Idees is sure to delight Keti's fans and newcomers alike to the Greek music known as "laika." On the timeline of Garbi's major recording efforts, Emmones Idees falls between the very ambitious "Apla ta Pragmata" and her latest release, "Eho Sta Matia Ourano." While Pragmata has many examples of Keti's greatness, there were too many bland, throwaway tunes -- enough to make me wonder if this artist's greatest days were behind her. My worries couldn't have been more misplaced.



Emmones Idees is a terrific CD. The thing that mystifies me is that what many might consider the best song on it is not even credited or mentioned. The CD comes with 16 songs, but only 15 are mentioned in the liner notes. Song 16 -- Zilia (Jealousy) -- isn't mentioned at all! This is a song that any artist would be happy to kick off a great album such as this, but Keti's people literally bury it. If you buy the CD, by all means try this song first.



Here's a listing of the tracks on the music CD, with an attempt to describe the song. (Ever gracious and generous to her fans, Keti has added a DVD with videos for a few songs which she released on her EP "Mia Kardia.")



Track 1: Na Pernas -- Keti opts for a medium to slow ballad to start off this album. The melancholy main verses are sad and made more evocative by the sound of bazoukis, but the choruses reveal the human spirit to overcome hardships and move on.



Track 2: Poso tha 'Thela -- A wonderful duet with Keti and Giannis Vardis. That's one thing I love about the Greek record producers: they don't seem to hesitate to team up two top-rank artists when they sense the song is perfect for it. And here it does. The song is enchanting and winsome.



Track 3: Antres -- This song has a Latin tempo infused with Arabic influences, and Keti and her background singers handle it to perfection. This is one of those songs where it's just impossible to sit still while it's on.



Track 4: Emmones Idees -- (Persistent thoughts) -- A sad, slow laika ballad.



Track 5: Esena mono -- (You only) -- An absolutely beautiful and evocative song that could never be done as well by anyone but Keti. This one track is well worth the price of the CD.



Track 6: Ilios 'i vrohi -- (Sun and rain) -- A great song. The credits indicate the writers as Khaled Taj and Amr Moustafa, but the Arabic undercurrent to this song is subtly converted to modern Greek pop.



Track 7: Ta Ripsokindina -- (Daring) -- Just when you think that you can't be moved any more by these slow, plaintive laika ballads, Keti comes along and knocks you for another total loop. It's all gravy from here.



Track 8: Den S'agapaei -- Time to pick yourself up and get happy again (for the moment at least) with a fairly standard up-tempo laika number. This speaks to the pacing and arrangement of songs on this CD.



Track 9: Apsiha pragmata -- On most CDs, this would be a standout ballad; on Emmones Idees, it seems ordinary.



Track 10: Ola tha ta gremiso -- Gremiso means "precipice" and so I like to imagine that the song has something to do with letting it all go. It's a great upbeat song.



Track 11: Parata me loipon -- ("End of the parade?") Another very nice laika ballad.



Track 12: Stenahoriemai -- Like the first track, the main verses are slow but lead to a chorus which is faster and quite danceable.



Track 13: Apopse thee mou anapse t'asteria -- Another very nice ballad on a CD with some great ones. It can start to get hard to listen to them, especially when you can't appreciate much more than the sounds and meanings of a few Greek words.



Track 14: Kanonika -- If this CD has a failure, it's that they didn't continue the expert alternating and mixing of songs of different tempos and moods. Kanonika is a very good slow laika song, just as Track 13 is. But variety is the spice of life, and they seem to have run out towards the end here.



Track 15: Mia nyxta akoma -- ("One more night") And one more slow ballad.



Track 16: Zilia -- Just as you're starting to drift into a nice nap, Keti comes in and lights a fire to the place. Zilia is one of Garbi's greatest hits, and a song I never get tired of hearing. The synthesizers at the intro give a hint of Donna Summer's hit from many years ago, "I Feel Love." But from there it's all the wonders of what Garbi can do with a song. This would be a hit anywhere on the planet.



The additional DVD contains videos of Garbi's hits "M'exeis arrostisei" and "Tha meinei metaksi mas," as well as an audio track of both with "Mia kardia tin eho." Lots of pictures and supplemental information for Garbi's fans."