KTK51: AN EVENING WITH ABDEL HALIM HAFEZ

Ladies & gentlemen, after a few busy weeks leaving you with some CD compilations, your captain is back on duty!

Though the next flight plans will lead us to some Asian tapes we'll first celebrate the end of this year's Ramadan with a serie of high class oriental LP's featuring one of the most renowned Egyptian crooners of the sixties and seventies...

We'll start this homage serie with AN EVENING WITH ABDEL HALIM HAFEZ (Cairophon, LPCXG139 from 1973). Though the name and cover picture would let us think about a live recording this brilliant Lp is made of studio sessions. Don't worry, the next 2 weeks will focus on some of Abdel Halim Hafez (عبد الحليم حافظ) live performances.

Better than telling you about his successful career, let's read the notes from the cover and some online informations (note that Abdel Halim Hafez died only a few years after this recording).

We'll get a bunch of luxurious songs featuring wide orchestrations including occidental and oriental influences. As usual Abdel Halim Hafez combine his voice and instruments with talent, mixing modernism and tradition, incorporating various kinds of instruments: Mandolin, saxophone, electric guitar, organ, accordion, both arabian and occidental strings, piano... (not especially in today's recording but in the whole serie of recordings).

This record flirts with some "hollywoodian" (yet bollywoodian) feelings, bold Arabian style, deep love songs and a hint of sadness... It's interesting to note that Abdel Halim Hafez has been featured in many blockbuster musical movies (including the big hit Abi Foq al-Shagara) and that he was known as the "Egyptian Frank Sinatra"...

TRACKLIST:

01: BETLOUMOUNI LEH

02: ANA LAK ALA TOUL

03: ESBAKNI YA KALBI

04: NAR...HOBBAK NAR

05: AWEL MARRA TEHEB

06: EL-LAYALI

Grab a cup of tea, some dried fruits and start to whistle along with "el-Andaleeb el-Asmar" (The Black Nightingale) as his fans in all the arabian world would call him.

Aïd mabrouk!

عبد الحليم حافظ

 

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