Dalida by Ibrahim Maalouf
I should preface this short review by saying that I know nearly nothing about the music of Dalida, besides a few tunes that have become so famous as to be unavoidable to a Frenchman. But a good cover, as I often say, goes to the heart of a song and has to stand on its own, even if you've never heard the original. I'm sorry to say that to my ears, few songs in this new Maalouf CD meet that standard. The arrangements are lush, but extremely uninventive. I was hoping for a bit of madness and a bit more orientalism, but apart from an occasional burst of Maalouf's trumpet there's precious little of the sort. I suppose the flip side of this is that people who like Dalida's music or French pop in general will probably enjoy this, it's very friendly on the ears. But it lacks the touch of jazz I was expecting from Maalouf.
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