Product Description
Personnel includes: Rachid Taha, Khaled, Faudel, Gail-Ann Dorsey, Zachary Alford, Steve Hillage.
Recorded at Bercy Arena in Paris, France in September 1998.
Personnel: Mohamed Bendjebour, Matthieu Chédid, Randy Jacobs (guitar); Nabil Khalidi (banjo, oud, background vocals); Ihab Tutu, Farhat Bouallagui, Abdel Wahab Mansy, Tamer Yassin, Medhat Abdel Samie, Adel Eskander, Elsa Benabdallah, Hazem Ibrahim, Guillaume Fontanarosa, Karen Brunon (violin); Christophe Briquet, Marylene Vinciguerra, Geoffrey Richardson (viola); Yasser Taha, Taha Taha, Khaled Dagher, Christophe Morin (cello); Tim Sanders (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Allen Hoist (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Simon Clarke (baritone saxophone); Djaffar Bensetti, Roddy Lorimer (trumpet); Mark London Sims (trombone); Jean-Max Mery (keyboards); Sylvain Le Provost (double bass); Gail Ann Dorsey (bass guitar, background vocals); Zachary Alford (drums); Mohsein Chentouf (bendir, background vocals); Hossam Ramzy (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Pete Hoffmann; Emmanuel Pothier; Steve Hillage; Yann Arnaud.
Recording information: POPB, Paris, France (09/26/1998); Studio Plus XXX (09/26/1998).
Director: Hossam Ramzy.
Photographer: Don Kent.
Arrangers: Farhat Bouallagui; Steve Hillage.
It was the biggest Algerian concert ever in France, with Khaled, the King of Rai, Faudel, the music's young prince, and Rachid Taha, the French-raised Algerian roots rocker. While there are plenty of greatest hits -- Faudel's groundbreaking "Tellement N'Brick" and Khaled's "N'Ssi N'Ssi," for example -- this live recording is just as much about sharing the stage, combining styles and generations. And so you have all three combining forces on the classic songs "Ya Rayah" and "Comme d'Habitude," Khaled and Faudel teaming up for a version of Khaled's 1996 hit "Aicha," and so on. They all get their individual times in the spotlights, but cooperation is the key, backed by a crack band of Western and North African musicians. As a document of a landmark event, it's important. But taken on purely musical terms, it's a thrilling performance, with each of the stars right at the top of his form, and a vital disc to anyone interested in world music. ~ Chris Nickson
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