Bari Weber's Ben Melech Review

Yachad has a fabulous arrangement, that’s caries this song further. It masks the fact that the song is actually weak - just another Hebrew kumbaya JM song about Achdut, which is the latest must have song in every album. And like Shiru Lamelech-style, which was also being recycled in every album in the early 2000’s, this will pass too. ***

Vashen has Lipa’s blueprint all over, both in the vocal style and in the song theme. I’m guessing Lipa gave one his weaker songs to Weber - not really a home run, and to put it as a second song it makes me feel like Weber is too busy trying to emulate others rather than breaking his own new ground. **

Veshomri - passable and I don’t see a connection between the song and the words at all. In other words, a sound I’ve heard so often, with words that don’t add anything to the song. Towards the end (3:20) it does get more connected to Shabbos, but it’s just a bridge and it’s too little to late. **

Lemikdosheich is clearly intended to be a Zemiros style song, and although Weber’s vocals are great, this song doesn’t stand out in any way. I’m negatively surprised about this one, I wouldn’t imagine he would go for such a weak song. The previous songs had flaws too, but this one is a nadir. *

Shehakol is a great song! Weber, the composer, takes a risk, because the lyrics are so simple and everyday-ish - Shehakol Neye Bedvoroi, but the risk pays off. The song’s opening is amazing - a folksy accordion intro - and shortly the actual song. It’s simple, out of the box and fun. What else can I ask for? However this song should’t cross the 3:50/4:00 mark and it does, becoming too long. If not for that, it would be a perfect song. ****

Tuisse - a very powerful, Selichot-style, song. It didn’t click with me, probably because it’s too mellow but I loved the improv t 2:50, when Bari tells us a story right in the middle of the song, and also the falsetto at 4:30. Without a doubt, Bari has one of the best vocals out there today ****

As the album gets towards this points, it’s clearly gaining momentum as Bari shifts more towards his style - Both Tuisse and V’atu are composed by Bari. V’atu is a simple yet modern song, reminding me of Yoely Greenfield because of the Heimish feel. At 1:55 Bari’s vocals shine again, with interesting dissonant notes that are rare in JM. But the song gets too long, it should’ve been under 3mins. ****

Next is a kumzits song, Nigun Lev. Traditionally these kind of songs are forgettable and this is no exception (Benny Friedman’s niggun in his 1st album IS one of the exceptions). This nigun is tasteful though, just not original enough. And 5:29 minutes length is just insanely long for this song, it’s unjustifiable. **

Heiliger’s arrangement, like most in this album, is great and contemporary. In fact, what stands out in this album, more than the songs, are the arrangements. So I need to give credit where credit is due. But like many of the previous songs, the song is weak however this is Bari’s comfort zone and that’s what he likes to sing. ***

Ben Melech is the album’s title song, and it’s a trademark Bari song - heartfelt, heimish and lots of niggunim. Not really singable for most of us, but I thought it was ok as a niggun - better than Niggun Lev. There also words but they are just fillers for the niggun. This will never be a hit song, but it’s a nice experiment. But no experiment can be 7 minutes long - again too long. ****

V’afili - brings nothing new to the album - in the same level of the other heimish songs. ***

This is not really my style of album. I love Yoely Greenfeld and I was hoping this would be as good, but although Bari’s vocals are excellent and the production value here is way above average, overall I think the songs of this album are average at best. 

Wishlist

I wish I was there? Helgot + Motzen was certainly a chazzanus extravaganza

Lipa's Purim Video from Last Year

In case you missed it last year.

I was not an early fan of Lipa, but it's impossible to deny how developed to be a true ground breaker and showman. 

Eli Shwebel's Hearts Mind

I've stopped reviewing mainstream JM albums but I open an exception for Eli's latest solo album. I've bought every piece of music from Lev Tahor and their collaborations - I'm an early fan from the days of Camp Ma Na Vu, where Eli and Gadi Fuchs were always standing out.

Lev Tahor was perhaps the freshest music coming from mainstream Jewish Music and although they had noticeable success, they were certainly in the way down in the past 5 years. 

I guess that's what pushed Eli to go solo, aside from the clear new direction this album takes. Be it as it may, Hearts Mind is not a mainstream Jm album; it's alternative Jewish Music. And more than anything, it's a risk taking album, with many experiments. 

The lyrics resemble Journeys but the music is modern and fresh, and not folkish. It's the new age Journeys, and I really appreciate the innovative lyrics which interchange sayings from Chazal and Eli's own. Matisyahu has done this better than anyone in his early days and I think this is a growing niche, which focuses not only in repetitive lyrics and unoriginal tunes. 

I will not get into each and every song but I will delve into the album's best song - Ani Yosef. This song is perhaps the best Jewish song of the past year or two. Not a wedding hit, not a kumzits hit but a big hit that somewhat resembles Lev Tahor's Shabbos song (משה מתנה טובה), but more original. 

We all know the story of Yosef but few times we look at it from a psychological point of view - what he must has felt and what was in his mind. Ani Yosef does just that, in a way only music can, describing how lost Yosef was and how he managed to thrive. This is something we rarely see in JM, and this alone was worth paying 10 bucks for. 

Everything in this song is done perfectly, I wouldn't change anything. Vocals, dreamy arrangement and the three part tune plus bridge. And at 4 minutes it's not too long - it tells the story and it stops. This shows how powerful music can be and also it pioneers a rarely explored theme. I hope others follow. 

Amar Amar - new version

Meir Goldberg just released this new version of Moishe Oysher's classic Amar Rabbi Elazar, with a modern twist. It was a cool idea, I give him credit for that, but inevitably he will be compared to Oysher and he will obviosuly dissapoint in terms of vocals. Oysher is one of best cantors of all time and even in the original's classical setting, he brings more energy and excitement than Goldberg in a fresh and modern arrangement.

Micha Gammerman - Excellent new video

My good friend Micha just released a new video, featuring a song he adapted from Andrea Bocelli.
For those who don't know, he released his debut album last year, Kesher Shel K'yomo, and with this video he goes a step further in solidifying his musical career. This is a very demanding, unusual and powerful song and Micha carries it superbly. Also the actual video is nice and authentic - it's a footage from a wedding he made in Safra's iconic synagogue in Sao Paulo. All is real, not staged, and this enhances the song in a way we rarely see in Jewish Music videos.

Is Chazzanut boring? Enter Moshe Oysher

Often times I hear this question. You might get the impression from my last post that all Chazzanut songs are slow and serious, and this is a popular misconception. There are many really exciting and fast Chazzanus pieces, and chief among them are the songs of Moishe Oysher.

Aside from singing, a chazzan also needs to have some showmanship, as he needs to inspire and unite the congregation at the same time. A chazzan that is distant is not a good chazzan. A good chazzan will engage and touch the hearts of the congregation, and that's probably one of the things that are most difficult to teach to an aspiring chazzan. 

Moishe Oysher was showmanship at its extreme. His extravagant personality and desire to become a movie actor were bothersome to some of his congregants but this was just an extension of his musical style and taste. He knew how to be dramatic, how to be serious but also how to be exciting and energetic. He is widely regarded as the most entertaining chazzan to ever live. 

His fast songs, Ki Lo Noe, Chad Gadio and Omar are classics and prime examples of how chazzanut is not boring. The difficulty level of these songs is very high, and only a very confident and technical chazzan can perform them with the same intensity of moshe oysher. Below his famous Chad Gadio and also a great compilation sung by Alberto Mizrahi, who is today the best at singing Oysher's songs.



This one starts slow but it's a fast song:

Oysher was also a master of drama and his Hineni, sung in Yom Kippur is moving and another classic. In this movie (this is not real life stuff, its only part of one of his acting roles in a movie) you can see and hear it. It is striking how he looks so young and has such a big voice, and also how easy he could sing even the most extended notes.


He was able to sing playfully, sometimes even carelessly (i.e. In his sheibone, which is sang in short in almost every Chabad shul) and he was able to give each of his songs a character and feel of its own. For him, being a chazzan was very much alike being an actor - interpreting every moment in the right way and impersonating his songs. He aspired to be as popular as Yossele Rosenblatt, who was known in non-Jewish music circles as well, however Moishe Oysher never took off in the music and video industry at the time. However his Chazzanut style was truly unique and a much more upbeat than what the world had seen until then, and until today his songs are studied and performed in many Chazzanut concerts.