From the Kasbah/Tunis to Tahrir Square/Cairo & Back

It was, so they say, a very musical revolution. How could it have been anything else? Even under the most patriarchal and oppressive regimes, music has always been the most effective tool of mass resistance in the Arab world. In the spring of 2011 however, the lid came off, the gloves came on, and for the first time in decades Egyptians, Tunisians, Moroccans, Algerians, even Libyans and Syrians could tell it like it was. Tell it, rap it, croon it, chant it – warts and all.

What a wonderful premise for a compilation! And congratulations to Network for being the first label off the mark. The selection only really hits its stride by track three, however, with ‘Rais LeBled’ by Tunisian MC El General – a piece of music that really put the mongoose among the cobras and helped to precipitate the departure of ex-president Ben Ali. Joy and hope may have been almost ubiquitous in those heady days of February and March but unfortunately musical talent evidently wasn’t. Some of these tracks are either awful, or just plain bizarre. The very martial ‘Hymn to the Revolution’ by Rabii Zammouri and Ali Louati is a good example of the latter.

But the compilation does include other heartfelt and inspiring pop hymns to freedom, including the hugely popular ‘Sout El Horeya’ by the Egyptians Hany Adel & Amir Eid or the rockier ‘Ezzay?’ by Mohammed Mounir. What really lets the album down, however, are the clumsy title, the boring generic CD design and the general lack of imaginative presentation. A great opportunity carelessly wasted.