Let Me Rai Review

07/13/2005 4:30 AM, AMG


In the 1980s and '90s, much of Algeria's rai music made extensive use of electronic instrumentation and Western elements. Cheb Mami's Let Me Rai is especially pop influenced. This inviting CD was recorded in Los Angeles, not Algeria, and the singer's music has an even stronger pop orientation than that of other Algerian rai stars. While "Maandi" has an overtly Middle Eastern groove, cuts like "Douha Alia," "Yo Yo," and the reggae-influenced "Let Me Cry" are essentially pop music sung mostly or entirely in Arabic. Quite often, Mami's harmonic sense recalls American pop and pop/rock of the early '60s. The John Coltrane-influenced jazzman Ben Clatworthy is employed on sax, though he doesn't stretch out or improvise. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide