Search - Faudel :: Baida

Absolutely groundbreaking

Natacha | Los Angeles, CA | 09/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Baida is excellent album from Faudel that spotlights this young singer's exceptional talent. The CD is fused with Arabic rhythms, North African beats, French lyrics, R&B, pop, and a host of other musical stylings. This has got to be one of the best CDs that represent rai music."Anti" opens the album with an upbeat tempo and is followed by the uplifting "Eray." "Tellement n'Brick" is Faudel's breakthrough French single that best highlights his talent. "Dis-moi" is a political outpouring expressing the frustrations of the beur generation in France. "Omri" is yet another great song with Spanish influence sung entirely in Arabic. "La valse" is not a high-point and "Baida" is another generally good song. "Miskin" is an up-tempo song that is almost reminiscent of Culture Club beat fused with Indian rhythms. "Abadou" is a slow yet soothing piece and "N'Sel Fik" is a fast beat duo with a girl. "Ma vie" is yet another take on frustrations of the beurs. The remix for "Tellement n'Brick" was really unnecessary and very inferior to the original track. Yet the remix for Baida is better orchestrated on the final track remix.The fusion of the all the different sounds is very innovative and it is what makes the opus truly groundbreaking. This is a must have for anyone who needs a little flavor in his music collection."

A pop-rai mix

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 05/31/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Faudel is one of rai's brightest stars, but in this first CD, he only partially succeeds; a partial success from Faudel however is probably better than the best from many singers. He has an excellent voice, and in these songs sounds youthful and sweet, and not what one usually associates with rai music. He tends to sing in a higher register than he does in his subsequent albums, and his voice does not have the colorations and mature musicality that it has on his 2nd effort, "Samra".Favorite tracks: "Omri": A flamenco flavored number with terrific guitar work.
"Abadou": Faudel sings in a throatier voice on this track and sounds great, and the song has the feel of a more traditional Arabic melody.
"N'Sel Fik": Here Faudel is joined by Samira Cherraj for a rousing version of the song made a hit by the duo of Fadela and Sahraoui; this track is terrific and "real rai", with no "pop" sugarcoating.
Faudel fans will also like his hit "Tellement n'Brick", which is given a second "hip hop" version on track 12, and the title song is given an "oriental" version on track 13.
If you're looking for an authentic sounding rai CD, you will only like "N'Sel Fik", if you're a devoted Faudel fan, you'll enjoy it.
Sung in a mix of Arabic and French, the sound is good, and total time is 57'58."

Off the wall!

Me | New York | 01/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Faudel's album BAIDA is fantastic! These melodies rock and are such ear-candy. Mmmm... He's so talented and the language is so beautiful. I love the tone of all his songs, how they're so catchy (granted i don't know what he's saying so it's a bit difficult to sing along). I especially love track 3 and 4, tellement n'brick and dis moi (it also helps that i understand the french songs). He sang this at the 1,2,3 soleil concert with Khaled and Rachid Taha, and they're a great trio but solo, he's really moving as well. I've sampled his newest album Samra, but i'm still an all-time supporter of Baida, which pushes me off the edge into complete euphoria."