V.A. - The Rough Guide to the Music of Israel (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Listening to the collection, you have to wonder if Israel's music scene is as moribund as it's portrayed. Many of the best cuts, such as those by the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra or Yair Dalal, owe a huge debt to Arab music, showing how broad Semitic culture is, but not giving a real clue to Israel's own identity. Granted, Israel is a very young country, but its heritage is ancient. And that history helps two of the best tracks, Chava Alberstein's Yiddish "Margaritkalach" and Yasmin Levy's Sehpardic "Locura," which show two of the major strains of the Jewish Diaspora. Past there, it's difficult to find anything absorbing. Even the late Ofra Haza, arguably the biggest international star to emerge from Israel, isn't shown in her best light. It does pick up the energy level a little toward the end with Zehava Ben, and closes with Hadag Nahash's hip-hop lite "Kamti," but not enough to redeem the compilation. One only hopes that there's much better material out there. by Chris Nickson
Tracklist:
1 –Tea Packs : Yesh Li Havera 3:02
2 –Ofra Haza : Ode Le-Eli 3:29
Arranged By [Arr] – Benny Nagari
Written-By – Rabbi Shalom Shabazi
3 –Kol Oud Tof Trio : Dezile Al Mi Amor 3:07
Arranged By [Arr] – Armand Sabach, Esti Kenan-Ofri, Oren Fried
Traditional
4 –Idan Raichel's Project : Blessings For The New Year 3:33
Arranged By [Arr] – Idan Raichel
Music By – Idan Raichel
5 –Bustan Abraham : Abadai 3:24
Arranged By [Arr] – Bustan Abraham
Written-By – Amir Milstein
6 –Shlomo Bar & David D'Or : Atlzano Kafar Todrah 5:42
Music By [Music] – Shlomo Bar
Words By [Words] – Yehoshoo'a Sobol
7 –Chava Alberstein : Margarikalach 5:19
Arranged By [Arr] – Chava Alberstein
Written-By – Zalman Shnior
8 –Arik Einstein : Rooti 3:04
Words By [Words] – H. Hefer
Traditional
9 –Yasmin Levy : Locura (Madness) 5:39
Music By [Music] – Kostas Pavlidis
Words By [Words] – Yasmin Levy
10 –Israeli Andalusian Orchestra : Sika Rondo 5:37
Arranged By [Arr] – Dr Avi Eilam Amzallag
Written-By – Maurice El Medioni
11 –Yair Dalal & The Alol Ensemble : Silan 9:21
Written-By – Y. Dalal
12 –Emil Zrihan : Habibi Dyali 7:22
Arranged By [Arr] – Emil Zrihan, Yossi Fine
Traditional
13 –Zehava Ben : Melech Amiti 3:27
Written-By – David Zigman, Shmuel Albaz
14 –Hadag Nahash : Kamti 3:35