I’d like to
introduce you to my favorite singer of all times: Yehuda Poliker. I believe the
first song I heard was ‘’the shadow and me’’ from his 4th album ‘’less
but hurts’’ from 1990. As far as I know, that song was written about a
homosexual’s wish to live in a better world where he wouldn’t have to hide in
the closet – to cast light on the shadow so to speak. Although not concerning
my personal case, I had to lead a double life and thus had my very own shadow. The
hope expressed in the bridge ‘’let’s soar high above, you’ll be my wings’’
spoke to me greatly as I, too, wished for freedom – and that’s how my love for
Poliker’s music and songs was born and never waned.
His
compositions have always been meticulously written, and can be interpreted to
one’s own life circumstances. I know that his perfectionism can delay an album’s
release, as he wants to move and stir all kinds of emotions, and that worked on
me immensely. His songs deal with personal tragedies, second generation Shoa survvivors, politics...
His narrators oscillate between desperation and hope.
Yehuda
Poliker was born as Leonidas Polikari on Christmas 1950 in Kiryat Haim, in
Israel, to Sarah and Jaco, survivors of the Shoa in Salonika, Greece.
At the age of 13,
he was sent to a military boarding school, but as soon as he found a guitar at
one of his friend’s home, he knew the path he was going to take ; he left the
boarding school, and started working at a hair salon on mornings, to free his
evenings for his new passion: playing music.
Although he
suffered from a stutter, it didn’t stop him from joining various bands, and as
he sang, his stutter slowly went away…
The most successful
one was called Benzene, a rock band formed in 1981. During this period,
Leonidas Polikari changed his name to Yehuda Poliker.
Benzene
released two acclaimed albums, before they disbanded in 1985 and from here,
Poliker concentrated on his solo career, accompanied by Yaakov Gilad whom he
had met during Benzene days. Yehuda and Yaakov, whose parents were also
survivors, co-wrote most of the songs for several years, before Poliker took
over the entire writing.
Here’s his
discography, which is bound to change as Yehuda has been very active touring
and producing other singers, on a creative height of his career. I list them chronologically and include best-offs and live performances together, for a change, because it's more convient in this particular case.
- EnayimSheli (my eyes) (1985), the title comes from the Hebrew pet-name to one’s lover ‘’my eyes’’
- Day dreamer (1986) seems to be rarest Poliker albums. Took me many years to find this rare album!
- Afar ve’avak ( ashes and dust) (1988) – regards second generation Shoa survivors, the tunes are definitely darker than his first record and was released in a special 2cd edition a few years ago.
- Pahot aval koev (Hurts but less) (1990) his 4th album and my first introduction to his music with powerful songs such as ‘’the shadow and me’’ or ‘’flower’’, a song about the war and how children die in wars… any kind of war. >>that link was actually part 2, whilst I discuss my own personal experience, in part 1 of my entries about this album.
- For your blue eyes (1992), renewing with his first, and the ‘’my eyes’’ I mentioned above, this is a mostly instrumental disc, containing only 2 songs and 13 instrumental pieces.
- The child in you (1995) is his longest album as its 22 songs (one of which is over 9 minutes long) needed 2 cds and several years of work…
- Live at Caesaria (1997), one of the most prestigious live halls in Israel, had to receive this big name that is Poliker, for another double cd, 31 songs, some of which upgraded from Benzene’s day, and some instrumentals.
- Early, maybe late (1998) is a fully instrumental album with 14 tracks with many greek overtones, just like in most albums, except this one doesn’t have the rock part…
- How is my love called (2001) isn’t only about love, but also about the atmosphere during the second intifada. It’s more pop than rock, and retains greek tonality only in the background.
- His only best off compilation was released in 2003, and included 34 songs, 8 of which were brand new and not available anywhere else, spread over 2 cds once more.
- Hummus Sapniens (2007) stands out in Poliker’s discography, in that it is 100% in Greek, and co-written with Manolis Rasoulis, a greek poet and lyricist. I haven’t heard it yet. The title is sure a clever pun, isn’t?
- Ahava al tnai (conditional love) (2010) blends beautifully greek and pop music
- Kol davar mazkir li (everything reminds me) from 2011 features the title song both in Greek with Haris Alexious, and in Hebrew, as well as 14 other songs, one of which I would’ve deleted puma puma, one of the rare Poliker songs I dislike. This album is a lot more rock and greek blend, with more or less success in the creation. I’ll commend his creativity, though I do find a couple songs a bit too loud for my taste.
- Jaco and Yehuda Poliker (2012) was recorded in 2000 with his parents and wasn’t initially intended for release. These 10 songs are in Ladino, Hebrew and Greek as far as I can tell (I don’t have the cd yet)
- Mouseon ha-chalomot (the dreams museum) (2014) is a bit of a mix, pop, rock, greek folk music, 12+1 bonus song which can be seen a bit like a parody, or an homage, or whatever else…
- Together on stage (2015) is a double cd live concert with Shlomi Shabbat. I heard parts of it on a special radio show presented by the two singers. Yehuda had to re-compose his music to match Shlomi’s voice, and the result of their blend is just amazing. Kudos guys!
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