Oh, Come to Alexandria!
Posted on Nov 27, 2007 in preambulatory | Permalink
Some friends who have been to Egypt (studied abroad in Cairo and visited Alexandria) lent me this curious Egyptian pop cassette tape. They actually received it while living in Boston via a mysterious transaction that landed the tape in the record shop of another friend. The cover art (and sound) seems to date the recording from the early 70s perhaps. The tunes are peppy love songs sung in mostly English and occasionally Arabic. Musically, they have lounge-pop feel but are distinctly near-eastern in the instrumentation, melody, and rhythm. The song included here is about Alexandria and might well be titled “Come to Alexandria” after the chorus lyric.