CD Review: Saad - Prince of Sha'abi

Title: Prince of Sha’abi

Artist: Saad (aka, Saad el Saghir)

Available from: Amazon, eMusic, lots of other places. This album was formally released in the US, it’s not an import.

I’m sure plenty of you reading already have this album, but if you don’t, you should!

Sha’abi, as I understand it, is Egyptian urban working-class music. The most famous sha’abi artist that you’ll hear at American haflas is Hakim, but well, you’ll hear him a *lot*, and it’s nice to hear someone else for a change.

One thing to note, though. The liner notes for this CD do not include translations, and sha’abi can often be political, bawdy or both. So it’s worthwhile to look for translations or run these songs by an Arabic speaker before you use them in a performance, just so you know what you’re dancing to. (That’s a good idea anyway, of course – but in this case, it’s worth a reminder)

This album is fun and bouncy, and very easy to dance to. Lots of synthesizers and stuff, but also some appearances by traditional instruments. Every track is danceable, and most are less than 5 minutes long, so would work for hafla and showcase situations where you have a limited time slot. The songs all have great repeating structures to them, making them good to choreograph for student group dances, etc.

• Sabah el Sa'awah - 5:08 – Lots of synthesizer.
• Bel Arabi - 4:27 – Lots of traditional instruments! Including a little mizmar used as an accent a couple of times in the song. And you all know how much I love mizmar.
• El Kalam ala - 4:14 – The lyrics are kind of call-and-response-ish, would be cute to dance with two groups of dancers, alternating with the two voices.
• Shokran Aal Akher - 4:10 – Starts with a little fast chiftitelli (I guess wahad e noss, since this is an Egyptian song) then settles into a more saiidi-ish rhythm.
• Ya Tayeba Yamma - 5:12 - This song is slower and more emotional-sounding. The first minute is slow and sad-sounding, including a prominent ney. Then the drum starts to come in, but the tempo is still slow.
• Ya Ma' Alem - 3:59 – *Very* silly song. Starts with a phone ringing, and a sung play on a phone conversation (I think) The whole thing has funny voices and and a very lighthearted sound.
• Sallo Aal Nabi - 4:17 – A little less bouncy than a lot of the other songs on the album. Still great to dance to, but a little more restrained than the rest of the all-out party music.
• Howa Tale'et Menhom - 3:20 – Another song that seems to be pretty emotional, but not nearly as much as “Ya Tayeba Yamma”
• Ya Hawel Allah Ya Rab - 3:34 – very easy to clap to, and has these kind of cute synthesizer bits.
• Al Laila Dy - 4:32 – This song has a really different sound from the rest of the album, almost a little African influence, but still very Egyptian. It’s hard to describe. Also, it has grunting. Like I said, a different sound.
• Ya Elly Enta Ba'et Anny - 4:43 – Kind of old-school sounding compared to other Egyptian music. Little in the way of electronic instruments, and very grounded-sounding.
• Bat Bat - 4:37 – Literally starts with “3,2,1 Hit it!” a very clap your hands, tap your toes, chest drops for 5 minutes song.