Yemenite Songs

Yemenite Songs
Studio album by Ofra Haza
Released	December 12, 1984
Recorded	August - September 1984
Genre	Traditional music, Folk music, Ethno-Electronica, Jewish music
Length	38:12
Label	Hed Arzi Globe Style Records Ausfahrt Shanachie Records
Producer	Bezalel Aloni, Benny Nagari
Ofra Haza chronology
Yemenite Songs (1984) Shaday (1988) Alternative Cover Fifty Gates of Wisdom

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Allmusic	[1]

Yemenite Songs a.k.a. Shirey Teyman (Hebrew: שירי תימן) is a 1984 album by Ofra Haza, in which the Israeli pop star returned to her roots interpreting traditional Yemeni Jewish songs with lyrics coming from the poetry of 16th century Rabbi Shalom Shabazi. The album was recorded with both traditional and modern musical instruments; wooden and metal percussion, Yemenite tin and tambala, strings, brass and woodwind as well as drum machines and synthesizers. The songs are sung in Hebrew with a Yemenite dialect and in Arabic.

The opening song "Im Nin' Alu"'s a cappella intro would eventually become the starting point of Haza's international career as it was sampled by a number of European and American rap and dance acts like Eric B. & Rakim on their "Paid In Full" and M|A|R|R|S on "Pump Up the Volume" which led to Haza releasing a dance remix of her own recording in 1988 (subtitled Played In Full) which became a pop chart hit in many parts of the world. Remixes of both "Im Nin' Alu" and "Galbi" were included on the first international album Shaday.

The Yemenite Songs album has also been released under the title Fifty Gates of Wisdom.

Track listing

Side A:

1. "Im Nin 'Alu" (Shabazi) - 5:18
2. "Yachilvi Veyachali" (Shabazi) - 3:27
3. "A 'Salk" (Shabazi, Traditional) - 4:45
4. "Tzur Mentati"/"Se'i Yona"/"Sapri Tama" (Ben-Amram, Shabazi, Traditional) - 5:44

Side B:

1. "Galbi" (Amram, Shabazi) 4:14
2. "Ode Le-Eli" (Shabazi, Traditional) - 3:31
3. "Lefelach Harimon" (Shabazi, Traditional) 5:08
4. "Ayelet Chen" (Shabazi) - 6:30

Personnel

• Ofra Haza - lead vocals
• Benny Nagari Arranger, conductor, music producer
• Lesli Lishinski - bassoon
• Marvin Feinshmit - bassoon tracks A3, B1
• Ilan School - clarinet, bass clarinet
• Eli Magen - double bass
• Iki Levy - drums, congas, metal and wooden percussion, timbales
• Abel Mankewitz - acoustic guitar
• Abigail Erenheim - flute, piccolo tracks A1, A2, A4, B2 to B4
• Benny Nagari - flute, piccolo tracks A3, B1
• Shlomo Shochat - french horn
• Meril Grinberg - oboe, english horn
• Herman Openstein - oboe, English horn tracks A3, B1
• Chaim Gispan - percussion (Yemenite tin & tambala)
• Avraham Rosenblatt - strings
• Elchanan Bregman - strings
• Israel Berkowitch - strings
• Israela Wisser - strings
• Rima Kaminkowski - strings
• Yigal Tuneh - strings
• Yitzchak Markowetzki - strings
• Yuval Kaminkowski - strings

Production

• Bezalel Aloni - record producer
• Benny Nagari - music producer/arranger
• Yoav Gera - audio mixing
• Recorded at Triton Studios, Tel Aviv between August and September 1984.
• Aharon Amram - artistic advisor

References