Search - Sahraoui :: Homme Libre

A solo winner

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 10/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No longer the gritty, wild sounding Cheb Sahraoui, of the days when he sang with his then wife and singing partner Cheba Fadela, and they had the great 1983 hit "N'Sel Fik", after living many years in France, this is a smoothed-out Sahraoui, his smoky voice tamed to include many styles in his repertoire, like Cuban salsa, hip-hop, "pop-balade", and flamenco...but his voice is still thrilling, with enough of the sensual fire in his sound to make this a very special CD.Though it took me several hearings to get used to the new, sleek Sahraoui, this is now a big favorite at Chez Vernon. The musicianship is excellent, and the production top-notch.
It's a great selection of songs, with "Ya M'Ba", "Pas de Chance", and "Yallah" the choice picks.
"Aini" is a rousing flamenco flavored number, where he's joined by Chico and the Gypsies (Chico was an original member of the Gypsy Kings), and the more I hear the slow, jazzy "Aimes Moi", the more I love it...the arrangement is gorgeous, by Habib Norbert, who also does the lovely piano and guitar work.Sahraoui was born in Oran in 1961, and was a pioneer of rai music, after being classically trained at the Oran Conservatory, and this is his first solo CD.
Total time is 45'12, and the foldout insert has recording info, an abreviated version of the lyrics in French, and photos of this wonderful star, looking radiantly handsome, and so youthful."