Rachid Taha rules the rai music scene with a hip sound that gathers up both the desert rhythms of North African traditional music and the unbridled energy of rock and electronic dance music. A genuine global star, Taha ... more »plays to the masses in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and some Americans have been lucky enough to see this galvanizing performer in midsize clubs. In either setting there is a heady atmosphere of a wild Algerian frat party that is barely under control. Recorded during a single show in Brussels while touring behind the excellent Made in Medina (five of the set's 11 songs are from this album), Live features great tunes performed by Taha's working band and a few special guests. Live also captures the essence of the Taha performance. Sometimes bantering good-naturedly with the crowd in French, sometimes whipping them into a cheering frenzy, Taha proves that he is the consummate entertainer. This album is what live music is all about--great music, good times, and hanging out with people. --Tad Hendrickson« less
Rachid Taha rules the rai music scene with a hip sound that gathers up both the desert rhythms of North African traditional music and the unbridled energy of rock and electronic dance music. A genuine global star, Taha plays to the masses in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and some Americans have been lucky enough to see this galvanizing performer in midsize clubs. In either setting there is a heady atmosphere of a wild Algerian frat party that is barely under control. Recorded during a single show in Brussels while touring behind the excellent Made in Medina (five of the set's 11 songs are from this album), Live features great tunes performed by Taha's working band and a few special guests. Live also captures the essence of the Taha performance. Sometimes bantering good-naturedly with the crowd in French, sometimes whipping them into a cheering frenzy, Taha proves that he is the consummate entertainer. This album is what live music is all about--great music, good times, and hanging out with people. --Tad Hendrickson
CD Reviews
Led Zep meets Rai in a dark Brussels club
m_noland | Washington, DC United States | 03/07/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Postcard from Rachid Taha's recent world tour. The Led Zep reference is not a joke - he gives them a shout out in "Foqt Foqt" and indeed this music is closer to rock than to rai. Aurally, the sound, featuring Taha's declamatory baritone and the Francois Delfin's hard edged lead guitar, reminds me as nothing so much as late 1970s/early 1980s John Cale, but with derbouka (percussion), lute, and keyboard synths providing the Arabic orchestral string parts. Steve Hillage adds a second guitar on six cuts, and on some cuts ("Medina," "Voila Voila") the band, in effect, plays techno live. Quite a disk."
Try it -- you'll like it
david favrot | Oakland, CA USA | 04/05/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rachid Taha's studio CDs have only hinted at the relentless intensity of his live shows. Even the excellent DVD of his "1, 2, 3 Soleils" concert in Paris with fellow rai stars Khaled and Faudel falls short of what Taha can do with his own band doing his own material (I saw most of last year's big tours -- U2, Tom Petty, Prince, Madonna -- and Taha could have held his own with any of them). "Rachid Taha Live" fills the void with a selection of tunes from his last four CDs (including "Barra Barra," familiar to some from the soundtrack to "Black Hawk Down"), and it rocks the house. Record stores file his releases in the "World Music" ghetto, but this isn't yuppie background music: Taha is a loud, crazy roughneck with great stage moves and a tight band. You need this CD in your life. After you've heard it, you'll also need to email Taha's Mondo Melodia label and say: "Why isn't this guy touring the States?""
Rachid Taha Live
Nirmal Ghosh | 01/28/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a truly amazing adrenaline packed surge of raw power in a style way above every day "music". Get it if you like the truly unique.
It is dynamite!!!"
A High-Octane Nightclub In The Desert
Nirmal Ghosh | 05/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I, too, saw Rachid Taha's show in San Francisco last year and I agree that after seeing U2 and Madonna that same year in much larger venues, Rachid really held his own. The Live disc captures the essence of the amazing energy that was present at his show that somehow isn't there in his (albeit excellent) studio albums. I'm a little depressed that a few gems he sang at his concert ("Kelma", "Habina" and "Qalantiqa" for example) were omitted on the live disc but I guess you can't win 'em all. I rank Rachid Taha's show at Bimbo's 365 in San Francisco as one of my best concert experiences ever (and I've been to MANY) and this CD helps keep that incredible memory intact."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1