Track Listing

1. Paris
2. Too Long
3. New Soul
4. Levater
5. Shelcha
6. Lonely
7. Far Far
8. Yashanti
9. 7 Baboker
10. Lachlom
11. Toxic
12. Pachad
13. Endless Song Of Happiness

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #831 in Music
• Released on: 2008-03-18
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
To begin with, this album was meant to focus solely on guitar and vocals. But little by little Yael and David Donatien, who encouraged her to sing in Hebrew, padded out the architecture and formed a team. Xavier Tribolet (drums), Laurent David (bass), Voed Nir (cello) and Julien Feltin (electric guitar) joined them as well as S.Husky Huskolds for the mix (Tom Waits, Fiona Apple, Me’Shell Ndegeocello). The instrumentation is pretty minimalist here yet incredibly colourful with the participation of the brass section, the Mellotron, the cello and some programming. Recorded in the young woman’s flat in Paris the 13 songs contain a part of Yael happy (Endless Song of Happiness) and a melancholic (Paris, Lonely) existence. Some of them, like Yashanti or Lachlom dive into dreams, others like Baboker bathe in the serenity found at the break of day. Shelcha looks at a love with no future. The most outrageous is of course the cover of Britney Spears’ Toxic. Listening to these little marvels could possibly remind us of old friends like Tori Amos or Fiona Apple. Yet the ensemble isn’t witness to excessive borrowing or exaggerated marking, but quite the contrary revealing a sincerity and absolute musical clarity. In fact it is quite astonishing how something that sounds so familiar could seduce our ears with such a nude and original beauty. Perhaps it is due to the dominance of Hebrew, a language so rarely sung in this context, that comes across as universal as Cesaria Evora’s Portuguese Creole? Or is it the simply the very freshness exhaled by the personality of this young woman who discovers in New Soul - sung in English with a contagious optimism – that she is "a new soul, in this foreign world, hoping to learn a little"? "It was when I was really young that I sincerely believed to be an old soul reincarnated and I could even say it gave me a sense of superiority over others. But then as I subsequently did everything the wrong way round I concluded that it was actually my first time on earth and that I should learn to be a more humble." On Far Far, she herself delivers this other perspective, that of a little girl who chases her dreams but who can only achieve them by accepting the "beautiful mess inside". In short both her own personal history and that of this simply magical record.

Customer Reviews

It Wears on You
The novelty factor in this album (she sings in several different languages) wears off quick. If you want world music I'd recommend the Putumayo CDs. This album here is dull and repetitious (though exciting at first because you have no idea what she's on about).

Yael Naim - Yael Naim
Yael Naim (2008, Warner) Yael Naim's first studio album. **1/2

Several female artists have had their breakthroughs due to their single being featured on a commercial (Sara Bareilles and Feist are just a few). Yael Naim is one of them. Her song "New Soul" is a catchy and bouncy simple piano ballad that grows to full orchestration as it reaches its peak, all the way assisted by Naim's accented lyrics. The song is not bad; it's not incredibly infectious and doesn't have the staying power of songs like "Love Song" and "1234," but then again, that may not have been the point. The album itself is a definitive hit-and-miss affair, with the misses being more notable than the hits. Naim sings in Hebrew (at least I think it is) occassionally, it doesn't sound pretty and doesn't fit the album. French has proven the only other language worthy on a label release. Not a terrible start, but not a great one, either.

-Stephen
www.politicianrock.blogspot.com

New Soul, New Voice
This is the first album I've listened to in over a year where I've been able to just put it on and listen to it all the way through without so much as a wincing effort. The track "New Soul" is definitely a highlight, but far from the best. Yael has the smoothest voice I've heard since Corrine Bailey Rae, and her styles are varied and complex. She sings in three different languages, all with such beauty and control. Though some songs are happy and bright, such as "New Soul" and "Far Far", many more are cheery the way a rainy spring day is. A few songs ( Lonely, Levater)are definitely melancholic, but still hypnotic in such a way that you'll have to pry yourself away from the music. This isn't something you'd want to play at a party, but is a must for when you're out for a stroll with your iPod.