"60 Minutes Life" might go down as the most interesting album title in the Arab World. We have Syrian diva Assala to thank for this album. She released two weeks what in my opinion is the greatest pop album this year. Literary, this album has something for every taste and age demographic. I can imagine all the other artists sitting home with this album trying to deconstruct it with the hopes of replicating its success.
It's not easy to release an album with ten tracks where greatness is written on each of these tracks. And none of the songs is like the other, they are new material and a new direction form a diva who defined the old direction. So Assala thew out the playbook and wrote hers and this album attests to that. The new album is totally new and is packs so many musical surprises form names that we have not grown tired of. Assala did not go for the A list artists, she sought the good ones-even the ones who are working for the first time.
The album is here01 - Molhemto El Wa7eda as dreamy as they come. A love song every girl wishes she wrote. Assalah delivers if with such raw emotions.
02 - El Ward El Balady, so happy I met this song, a sweet love song for all things from home. Assala makes a fantastic case for why people should marry from their local community. I love the beat, energy and mood that Assala creates and keeps.
03 - So2al Baset, a sweet love song as romantic as it gets. A song that Elissa might wish she have snagged. Assala channels the sweetest version she could muster and entertainers us with it throughout the song. Well-played.
04 - 3aysha 3aly Fat, a grown up song about those people who are not ready to give up on the past. Assala has been around the block few times so sure thing she has few regrets. I guess we will always have those memories to power through life.
05 - Mawa2ef Mo2lema, a song about the painful things we endure for love. dark song with beautiful music that adds flavor to this song. The rich lyrics and imagery allows this song to linger, reminds me of the 90s Assala. This is one of the most surprising songs in this album making it one of those songs that you will discover again once they get bored with your favorites.
06 - 60 De2e2a Hayah, the freshest song and title of the album was for this song. Assala finds another way to say something wonderful about love. It's the voice you should hear in your head once you feel the butterflies in stomach. The song would have been a great song by any other artist, but Assala makes it exceptional.
07 - Bo3dak 3any, a song that sounds like Amr 'Diab would have liked to sing, love the Spanish guitar and the feel you develop even before the song kicks in. Those who are living in a long-distance relation know the feeling when their souls are almost getting crushed. Assalah puts words on those conflicting feelings. Again, this sounds like the older Assala songs that we have loved and memorized.
08 - 3ala Eh, a song where someone is being wronged but they cannot see it. This is the voice of advise telling the one in love not to take the abuses and not to stick by the cheaters. Assala gets deep in for this song. It's like sitting in that therapy chair and letting the words and memories out. Don't settle for less. Aside from that the words sync well together and I think to many this song would be the nail on the head, for others, they may not understand yet.
09 - Khanat El-Zekrayat, we have hard this song last year when Assala released it on radio as a single. The song starts slow, but then it gets its exciting pace. A song about moving on and forgetting those wrong people. I like the bit of revenge this song has where she takes it on the cheater. Cut it out she tells him and that she cut her losses with him. For the first song you might feel when this will end, then the song changes gears and we are in for a speedy ride. I like the strong female voice that Assala sets here.
10 - Manazel, Is this an Egyptian wedding song? I cannot tell. But I like the lyrics, the music feels like out of place. I adore the
Mawal from Assala. It's new territory for Assala, which is interesting she has been in the music biz for 30 years or more. But this feels like I first hear her do this song. I like how she references Egypt and Syria.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this album
The album is hereAssala - El Ward El Balady | آصالة - الورد البلدي [LYRICS]
