The Idan Raichel Project (1) - International version

I'll get straight into the topic and compare the tracks between 'CD1' which is the original Israeli release version of The Idan Raichel Project, and 'CD2' the international one.

Yehuda Poliker (9) - Eich Korim La'Ahava Sheli ?

Yehuda Poliker's 9th solo album is probably my favorite. It was released in 2001 and contains 10 songs, lasting 45:43.

They are all pop-rock songs, and in Hebrew. 

Poliker mixes personal experience-based lyrics, as well as sociopolitical commentary, and uses many allegories and poetic wordings.

The Idan Raichel Project (1)

Idan Raichel Project's 1st album was first released in 2002,  with an eponymous album-title. 

Domestic Violence in songs

***trigger warning***

It's domestic violence awareness month, so I thought to share songs (and a few external lists) about this serious topic that we must address. Indeed, there are so many couples who direct violence towards one another, in most cases men who abuse their girlfriends and wives, either verbally or physically, and quite often both. 

Rita (Yahan- Farouz) - 5B : Open the window (2)

To CD1's review

As my entry for this album grew, it quickly became clear that I needed to split it to have one per CD, so now I continue with the 10, or rather 11 songs this second cd has.

Here are the translated titles

1 On independance day’s eve

2 How ironic

3 It’s either yes or it isn’t*

4 Rain song

5 Close your eyes my brother

6 Sing for me, Autumn

7 A kind of love

8 Only you

9 Mahawal

10 You don’t know what goes on your mind

Bonus 

If you want to listen, the entire album's on this playlist, songs 11-20 

Rita (Yahan- Farouz) - 5A : Open the window (1)

Rita 'tiftah halon'' is my favorite Rita album, and was released in 1999.  It's her 5th album and its title means 'open the window'. 

Excluding a best-off released in 2015, Tiftah halon is the only 2CD release, proposing 10 songs on each disc. 

This blog entry is only about the first cd, and immediately after that, I'll post an entry for the second cd. 

Rita ( Yahan-Farouz) (part 0)

You would think that having a simple, one word name a simple matter to find everything about a celebrity... It might be true, sometimes, but not so when the simple name is Rita - a very common first name for so many actresses and singers that search engines on online merchants yield massive thousands of results. 

Yehuda Poliker (album 5) - For your blue eyes

In 1992, Yehuda Poliker released his 5th solo album, and which is mostly instrumental. Indeed, only tracks 2  15 are songs with lyrics, and all the other 13 tracks are instrumental - though not devoid of background vocals. 

Yehuda who was working on another album, shelved it to compose what would become this fifth album ; it is a requiem to his nephew, Kobi Poliker, who was killed during an argument with a member of his military unit. 

Yehuda Poliker (album 4) - Less but hurts (part 2)

After sharing my personal experience (in part 1) with the 3 most influential songs from this album, I now share its 

Track listing : (excerts )

1. Less but hurts
2. Good night, go to sleep
3. The shadow and me
4. Trans Orient (instrumental)
5. Things I wanted to say 
6. A story of times past (instrumental)
7. Today you are laughing
8. Flower
9. Yoram

(the links are only for you to discover - once again, I do not promote piracy)

Yehuda Poliker (album 4) - Less but hurts (part 1)

Yehuda Poliker's 4th record was released in 1990 and is my first encounter with this singer. 
I was a teen, living in difficult conditions, and three of this album's songs spoke to me as if they were written about my own case : 

The first of these is the third on the CD. It's called hazel ve'ani, which means the shadow and me. It tells mostly of him living in the closet (from which he'd come out publicly many years later) ; to me it was about the double life I was leading, and the massive difficulties that lead to this choice... I wasn't allowed to listen to music, mind you, so I had bought a small portable radio that was also a foldable headphone on which I'd listen to this song every time it'd air. 
It was my mantra, right from the first notes - drums rolling in, and a dancy pop song ensuing. 

Yehuda Poliker (album 2- update) - Day dreamer

After many many years waiting for this, I have finally bought, received and listened to Yehuda Poliker's second solo album. 

It was released in 1986, like I mentioned, and was very difficult to find.

I was a bit surprised to hear that the album was actually recorded live - which wasn't announced anywhere on his website, nor wikipedia. The liner notes, however, do specify this detail. 

All 12 songs have Greek melodies, several instrumental pieces and Lyrics are either in Greek or translated from it in. 

Yehuda Poliker (album 3) - Ashes & dust

Yehuda Poliker's third solo album, Afar VeAvak, or, Ashes and Dust, was released in 1988, and deals once more with the heavy topic of WW2 and being second generation to Holocaust survivors. Poliker continues here his collaborative work with Yaakov Gilaad.

Yehuda Poliker (album 2) - Day dreamer

I don't yet own Yehuda Poliker's second solo album. It was released in 1986 and is one of the rarest to find, and its price hasn't been affordable when I did find it... I'll probably have to search for it more actively to complete my collection before it disappears.

Yehuda Poliker (album 1) - These eyes of mine

 Yehuda Poliker's first solo album was released in 1985. Yaakov Gilaad whom he met during his Benzene days translated Greek Folk songs into Hebrew, and Poliker composed some of the melodies.

It's labeled ''these eyes of mine'' in English, but the actual translation of the Hebrew title is simply ''My eyes'', referencing a cute, pet-name one can give to one's lover : my eyes, to whom the narrator pleads his lover not to be angry at him as he leaves her, and, heading to another country, another city,  from which he (just) might come back one day on a birds' wings, he asks her not to wait for him for many years...

Yehuda Poliker (part 0)

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 4^th 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.