Israeli Music

[KROVETZ%coins <KROVETZ%coins...>]

Thanks for the comments about Machina.  I'm not very familiar with
Israeli music (the only stuff I had heard until recently was Poogy,
and Brothers Pavarim).  The sale that was mentioned a few weeks
ago at Leopold's is still going on, and they will send discs via
mail order.  The price is $16.99 until the sale ends (in the next
week or two), and I'm trying to decide what to get.  I've been
listening to a group of Israeli CD's that a friend loaned me,
and I'd like to share my impressions and get recommendations for
other groups.

The ones I didn't care for were: Aric Sinai (Evergreen), Matti Caspi
(One to One), Yoni Rechter (Romance is what counts), and Arik Einstein
(Good Old Eretz Yisroel Vol. III).

I liked Nurit Galron (Within the Storm), Ehud Banai (Nearby), Meir Banai
(In Between), Etti Ankri (Esther), and Shlomo Artzi (Yareach).  I also
listened to Ehud Banai (Shlosha), and I thought it was ok, but not as
good as Nearby.  There was also another Arik Einstein disc (Slow Down)
that was fair.

I'm planning to get: Machina (Givrotai v'rabotai), Tammuz, David Broza
(haisha), and Shlomo Artzi (Ham Yuli August, and Luna Park).  There
are a number of artists that I've heard mentioned, but I don't know
much about their music or which albums to get: Yehuda Poliker, Chaverim
Shel Natasha, Yehudit Ravitz, Avi Toledano (one person said Marocker is
good), Shem-Tov Levi, Mazi Cohen, EthniX, and Shalom Hanoch (Roman Amiti,
and Al Pnei HaAdama were mentioned as being good) .  I was disappointed
by the Arik Einstein discs, but I was told his music is very varied, and
I thought Slow Down was better than Good Old Eretz Yisroel.  Shablul and
Plastilina were mentioned on this list a long time ago, and the person at
Leopold's said that Shablul is considered a classic.  She also made the
same comment about David Broza's "HaIsha". The two Shlomo Artzi discs have
been previously mentioned on this list, and they also seemed like good bets
(especially after hearing Yareach).

So, what else would you recommend?  I might get either the Nurit Galron,
or Ehud Banai (Nearby).  I would be grateful for a description of
what the other artists I mentioned are like and which albums to get,
or which other artists you would suggest.

If you want to order any discs from Leopold's, the person to contact
is "nee-lee", and the phone number is: 510-848-2015.

Thanks!
Bob

krovetz (at) cs(dot)umass(dot)edu

P.S. I also like Ofra Haza, although some of her stuff is too disco-ish
for my taste.

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