Sabra Sounds

It's no surprise that NMC recently released an anthology of Shalom Hanoch's work as part of its "Best Of" series, both because of Hanoch's legendary output in the Israeli rock scene and because of his latest joint concert tour with Shlomo Artzi.

By VIVA SARAH PRESS
hanoch disk 88 298 (photo credit: )
hanoch disk 88 298
(photo credit: )
SHALOM HANOCH The Best Of (NMC) It's no surprise that NMC recently released an anthology of Shalom Hanoch's work as part of its "Best Of" series, both because of Hanoch's legendary output in the Israeli rock scene and because of his latest joint concert tour with Shlomo Artzi. Giving Hanoch the credit he deserves, the record label swayed from its usual two-disc "Best Of" standard and offers fans three discs of Hanoch's songs. "Maya," "Layla," "Shir Derech," "Deja vu," and "Neged Haruach," among many others, are included in this lineup. It can be argued that Hanoch has influenced the Israeli sound more than any other artist in his 30-plus year career. This anthology, starting from Disc One, follows Hanoch's prolific career from the late 1960s through to today. The collection opens with "Lama Li Lakachat Lalev" (from his album Shablul) and ends with "Ahavat Neori" (from his last studio album, Or Yisraeli). Hanoch's sensitive lyrics invite one to sing along. The album suitably honors this originator of Israeli rock. As Gal Uchovsky points out in Time Out magazine, this might not be the most opportune time to wrap up Hanoch's career in a "Best Of" anthology as this dynamic artist hasn't stopped influencing the local music scene. Hanoch continues to produce successful original material, as well rejuvenating old classics. ADERET Tenth Floor (Aderet & Hit Records) Five years ago, The Jerusalem Post profiled Aderet shortly after her song, "Le'at Uvatuah" ("Slowly and Surely"), off her debut album The Answer, entered radio rotation. Now the singer-songwriter is back with a second release, Tenth Floor. Her new songs continue with her signature mix of ethnic tunes meshed with electro pop. Her music is satisfactory but lacks the oomph needed to stick out. Though she'd rather not be identified with Dana International, Israel's first transsexual to make it big as a singer both here and abroad, Aderet's name is often lumped into a shared sentence. After all, Aderet also had a sex change and also is a singer. "I can't deny my past," Aderet told the Post in an earlier interview. "I don't want to go to my audience and say I'm a regular singer without any story. My songs are about my truth." Her latest press material also highlights her sex change. The catchiest song on the album is "Take Me Higher," with its solid percussion rhythm. The title track, lyrically, is worth mentioning - it was written in light of a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Rather than striking a depressing note, it offers a ray of optimism. The English version of "Tenth Floor" is called "Survival Nation". Aderet self-produced the album, and wrote lyrics and composed the music to all 11 tracks. Overall it is reasonable, but nothing more than that.