Assembled by EMI Arabia, this collection represents some of the greatest names in Arabic song, most now deceased. Since some of the best Arabic recordings are of just one hour-long song in which the singer wrings every possible nuance from each phrase, the challenge was to find selections by major artists that would fit into a single CD. Remarkably, there are nine tracks here-the shortest, by Om Kalthoum, clocking in at just over three minutes. The liner notes give a few brief lines about each performer, but they are cryptic and frustratingly inadequate. If Mohamed Abdou is "considered a major modernizing force in Arabic music," what did he modernize? If Layla Murad was "enormously popular," why did she abandon her career in 1955 "due to political and media pressures"? The answers may be familiar to aficionados of Arabic music, but the rest of us will be left in the dark.

Product Details:
Audio CD (7 Feb. 2000)
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: Hemisphere

Track Listing:
1. Ayouh - Mohamed Abdou
2. Ala Balad El Mahboub - Oum Kolsoum
3. Khayef Aqool Elli Fi Albi - Fairuz
4. Kunt Fein - Abdel Halim Hafez
5. Hebeena Hebeena - Farid El Atrache
6. Sanatein Wa Anna Ahayel Feek - Layla Murad
7. Alla Allah Ta'Oud - Wadih El Safi
8. Yalli Naweit Tishghilni - Mohamed Abdel Wahab
9. Maza Aqool Wa Qad Himt - Talal El Madaah