V.A. - The Rough Guide To North African Café (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For café music, the idea seems to be nothing too extreme. Certainly, this is a fairly gentle excursion through North African sounds -- the compilation even soft pedals the cut from a rock band like Les Boukakes, whose "Dorbiha Zina" barely displays it muscle. Things start out well, with a couple of Algerian cuts from the melodic youngster Akli D then the wonderful veteran Maurice El Medioni, whose "Rai Rock Rumba" offers a seamless, and surprisingly natural blend of Maghrebi and Latin sounds. While the rest is quite mellifluous and easygoing, it all seems a little lightweight; even the normally adventurous Smadj doesn't challenge the ears, and Akim El Sikameya seems closer to French chanson than anything North African. There's nothing wrong with this disc at all -- the choices are fine, and there's quality to the music -- and it does exactly what it says on the tin: it works as café music. But since the very nature of "café" is background, this can never be really satisfying. by Chris Nickson
Tracklist:
1 Akli D – Barman 4:36
2 Maurice El Médioni & Roberto Rodriguez – Rai Rock Rumba 3:37
3 Barrio Chino – El Salam 4:41
4 Madioko & Rafika – Ellelli 4:01
5 Smadj Presents S.O.S. Project – Hat 6:02
6 Sabahat Akkiraz & Orient Expressions – Ben Melamet Hirkasini Guydim 3:20
7 Les Orientales – Wayak 6:25
8 Cheb Balowski – El Dia 4:58
9 El Tanbura – Sar A Lay 3:57
10 Abdel Gadir Salim – Lemon Bara 5:02
11 Akim El Sikameya – A Chaque Instant, Oran 3:15
12 Les Boukakes – Dorbiha Zina 4:21
13 Mahmoud Fadl – Halawa Ya 2:53
14 Tarik – La Foule 3:19

V.A. - The Rough Guide To The Music Of Morocco (2004) Mp3

Given the diversity and relative success of Moroccan music in recent years, it's something of a surprise that it took the folks at Rough Guide this long to put together a compilation. That said, this one was probably worth the wait. The single-disc compilation makes a run through the majority of the major forms of Moroccan music in vogue currently, with some omissions and some extra attention here and there as needed. It opens up with a contemporary version of the classic Gnawa forms that will play a prominent role in the album (as they do in Moroccan music in general). Quickly following is a track from the classic Jil Jilala troupe, fusing Gnawa with the poetic melhoun tradition and some contemporary chaabi pop from Najm el Fara Essafi. The girls of Bnet Marrakech contribute a heavy-duty thumping Berber groove, followed immediately by the more relaxed (and far more sophisticated) melhoun singing of Mohamed Amenzou. After a lengthy spoken word introduction, the "Rolling Stones of North Africa" Nass el Ghiwane provide one of their classic 1970s politically infused Gnawa tracks to center the album between the old and new rather symbolically. Expatriate Emil Zrihan follows with a moving song from the Andalusian traditions prior to the reconquista of Spain and the much later return of Jews to the Middle East after WWII, and Dar Gnawa show off the latest and greatest in their own looping style of Moroccan rap, a fusionary, multilingual form of the youth that's been gaining ground very quickly in recent years. Fatna Bent el Houcine is added in here as a display of the powerful female al aita singers, and the contemporary Gnawa fusionist Hassan Hakmoun makes the most obvious bridge between old and new, with a use of minors that almost makes the track sound like rai for short periods. Finally, the album completes with another chaabi star in Mustapha Bourgogne, who combines his violin with his somewhat thin vocals to create a sturdy dance beat for the masses. Given the diversity of Moroccan music, this compilation does an admirable job of including all of the major forms, and perhaps even more importantly, the interweaving of the various traditional forms, as al aita and chaabi intermingle a bit, and Gnawa ideas infuse seemingly everything else. Moroccan music deserves the acclaim it's been receiving in the past few decades, and this album pays a fine tribute to its power and emotion. by Adam Greenberg  
Tracklist:
1 Nass Marrakech – Zeye Meyel 6:03
2 Jil Jilala – Baba Aadi 6:56
3 Najm El Farah Essafi – Bay-Bay 6:18
4 BNet Marrakech – Leilaa Lill 6:56
5 Mohamed Amenzou – Touria 6:45
6 Nass El Ghiwane – Mahmouna 8:49
7 Emil Zrihan – Yedidim Hiou Zehirim 5:43
8 U-Cef feat. Dar Gnawa – Hijra (Trad. Mix) 5:29
9 Fatna Bent El Houcine with Ouled Ben Aguida – Taala Fine Ghadi 4:45
10 Hassan Hakmoun – Lela Aisha 6:05
11 Mustapha Bourgogne – Khaliou Loudid Lamimtou 6:59

V.A. - The Rough Guide To The Music Of Morocco (2012) 2xCD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist 1 :
1 Fnaïre Feat. Salah Edin – Sah Raoui 4:17
2 Compagnies Musicales Du Tafilalet – Compagnie El Hamri/Ya Rijal L'bled 8:26
3 Amira Saqati – El Aloua 5:19
4 Les Imazighen – Iberdane 6:48
5 U-Cef – Boolandrix 5:17
6 Lemchaheb – Moulana (Notre Chant) 5:21
7 Maalem Said Damir & Gnawa Allstars – Bania Bambara 7:20
8 H-Kayne – Jil Jdid 4:34
9 Samy Elmaghribi – Mal Hbibi Malou 6:06
10 Mazagan – Ya Labess 3:55
11 Master Musicians Of Joujouka – Mali Mal Hal M'Halmaz 5:47
Tracklist 2 :
Bonus CD: Tajine Electrik    
1 Groupe Mazagan– Abdelillah 3:55
Written-By – Mazagan
2 Groupe Mazagan Feat. Outlandish – Ayli Ayli 4:24
Traditional
Arranged By – Mazagan, Outlandish
3 Groupe Mazagan – La Vignette 4:19
Written-By – Mazagan
4 Groupe Mazagan – Atay 3:48
Written-By – Mazagan
5 Groupe Mazagan And Hamid El Kasri – Yah Sidi Chafi (Duo) 4:08
Written-By – Mazagan, Hamid El Kasri
6 Groupe Mazagan – Allah Allah 3:07
Written-By – Mazagan
7 Groupe Mazagan – Sogui Belati 4:12
Written-By – Talbi One
8 Groupe Mazagan – Salamo Salam 3:36
Written-By – Mazagan
9 Groupe Mazagan – Asmae Allah 2:15
Written-By – Mazagan
10 Groupe Mazagan – Instrumental 3:06
Written-By – Mazagan
11 Groupe Mazagan – Ayli Ayli (Solo) 4:14
Traditional
Arranged By – Mazagan