For me, The Art of Bellydance was definitely an impulse buy: I know little about actual bellydancing and less about the music, but I thought I'd give it a try. It turned out pretty well.The Art of Bellydance collects thirteen songs by artists I never heard of (no Shakira here). While some of the songs could be considered "typical" Middle Eastern-style songs, there's a good deal of variety here. The songs are divided fairly evenly between instrumentals and songs with vocals, and the latter include Arabic, English, and Spanish. Further, while some songs are traditional others have the influence of techno ("No Gravity"), rap ("Chicky") and Latin music ("Abdel Khader").
The Art of Bellydance is a good intro to this style of music. I may not go out seeking more music to bellycance to after this album, but I'll give this a listen when I feel like shakin' a little.
Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch
