A rousing, exuberant expression of passion...

This is from the Observer Magazine review: In the past two years, each of the major world artists of the 1980s has chosen to turn around and look backwards, to make semi-acoustic, reflective albums in celebration of the music of their formative years. Salif Keita led the way with his wonderful Moffou in 2002, and already this year we've had milestone albums from the Gipsy Kings ( Roots ) and Youssou N'Dour ( Egypt ), with Mory Kante's Sabou due in September.

Ya-Rayi, the latest album by Algerian maestro Khaled, does not immediately sound as if it belongs alongside them. The accompaniment is mostly loud and upfront, Khaled's exultant roar is undiminished, and on the surface sounds similar to his four million-selling albums since his international breakthrough in 1992. But in several respects Ya-Rayi is a return to the singer's early inspirations.

Born in Oran in Algeria in 1960, Khaled burst into popularity as a teenager in the late 1970s, when his cassettes were street-market bestsellers throughout the north African diaspora. As well as being a unique singer, Khaled was also a superb accordion player, and accordion is featured on several tracks here, sometimes played by Khaled himself, more often by co-producer Philip Eidel.

Khaled gave one of the best live concerts I ever attended, in 1994. It was the first and still the only time I have witnessed the entire audience at the Royal Festival Hall leap to its feet the moment the singer walked on stage, and keep dancing until he left it. As Khaled filled that big room with his voice, I was sure there could not be a better singer anywhere. He had everything: a rich, thick tone, infinite vocal flexibility and that indefinable, heartbreaking quality which no words can convey. He can hold a note for ever, or leap from one to another, his voice flying across the beats like an acrobat.



There are perils in having such a good voice, that so often trap pop singers like Mary J Blige and Mariah Carey, who convince themselves they do not need inherently good songs but can disguise half-baked ideas in pyrotechnics. Without understanding the literal meaning of Khaled's songs, we can hear that he always starts with meaning, melody and structure. On this album, most of the songs are credited to his wife, Sam Debbie, but they have the same virtues as those written by Khaled himself in the past.

French co-producer Eidel started collaborating with Khaled in 1992, and the two seem to draw the best out of each other, and Eidel's broad brushstroke arrangements fill the canvasses with drama or subtlety as the occasion demands. This is a rare album in which each track feels like the best so far until it is replaced by the next.

The mood shifts from elegiac to intense, Khaled swoops from a shout to a sigh, the accompaniment is a fiery horn section one moment, a swirling string section the next. The first song, 'Mani Hani', starts with piano. Not an electronic keyboard, but real piano - fluent, easy going, like the musician has all the time in the world. A hint of classical, a touch of jazz. Checking the credits, the player is Jewish pianist Maurice El Medioni, famous in Algeria before Khaled was born. One-by-one, acoustic guitar, percussion and accordion fill out the sound, and 90 seconds have passed before the voice enters, softer and more gentle than we are used to hearing it. It's a brave way to start, and gives fair warning that we should expect the unexpected.

The album's title track 'Ya-Rayi', is co-produced by Don Was, the American who produced the international hit single 'Didi' on Khaled's self-titled album in 1992. 'Ya-Rayi' is much less intense than 'Didi' was, offering Khaled the luxury of stretching out on a double-bed of voices and horns. Meanwhile, 'Zine Zina' marks the first time Khaled has worked with Jacob Desvarieux, one-time leader of the zouk group, Kassav, and it's fascinating to hear Khaled's typical phrasing work so well with the Antilles-tinged horns and backing vocalists. This irresistible call-to-dance is surely going to blast out in nightclubs throughout the world for the next year or so.

Khaled's first studio album since 1999 is a rousing, exuberant expression of passion by one of the great singers in the world today, at the height of his powers.

A true masterpiece!

Khaled, once again, has managed to maintain his ownership of the throne of Rai. I, like many others, have wondered what happened to khaled. It's been a while since I've heard from him. I thought that his last "1, 2, 3 Solies" concert would be his last best. But I guess that it was worth the wait. Khaled, as usual, is very innovative and is able to introduce a certain theme in every album he records. On this latest album, the theme is back-to-roots. Unlike many of his other albums where he included many modern and western music themes ranging from Jazz, Reggae, and Pop, Khaled this time is introducing a modern-classic Arabic-Rai music. He puts more Egyptian strings emphasis on many of the tracks (like El Ghira, Ya Galbi, El Hamam, Ensa El Ham) to offer a feeling of the his early music. However, in couple of tracks (like Lemen, Ya-Rayi), he offers the listener a great picture of the early days of how rai was transitioning to more modernized music. Also, Khaled's lyrics are more meaningful and understood in this album. He's using more common Algerian Arabic dialect than Algerian slang. I think it's due to the fact that most of them were written with a big support from his wife this time.



While many people believe that Khaled's best asset is his voice, but I would like to add that there are only few singers out there that can convey emotions and passions in their voice like him. When you hear Khaled's voice blending perfectly with his unique music, special mystic feelings overcome you. Only a few artists like Khaled have the ability to touch you with their singing. In other words, it's not only Khaled's voice that haunts the listener, but also his ability to convey a genuine message of love, sadness, happiness, or neutrality. He could sing with Chinese music and you would still be impressed by his ability to blend genuinely with that music and produce an outstanding song. This guy was simply born to sing!



I think that this is one of Khaled's best albums. It's a one album that you must own and I'm sure that you'll love it like I did. Believe it or not, I had to order this album from the UK because I could not wait for it to be available in the USA. If you get the special edition, the DVD may help you to know more about Khaled's background and how he made his latest album. It has video clips for Aicha, Didi, and Abdel Kader live.

One of the best albums of the year

This album is simply beautiful, and stylistically is all over the map. It opens with the cabaret-esque "Mani Hani" and from there each track seems to get better and better. My favorites include the unstoppable dance floor cut "Yema Yema" and the album's true highlight, the masterpiece that is "H'Mama," which starts as a traditional Middle Eastern piece and ends as a driving, relentless multi-layered extravaganza. Bravo, Cheb Khaled! Thanks for the remix of "El-H'mam," which is included in some versions of the album.