Rai Rebels

The cream of Algerian pop-rai's boy Chebs and girl Chabas appear on this remarkable 1988 anthology of hits produced by the late Rachid Baba Ahmed, who adds guitars, drums, lots of keyboards, and the occasional accordion to vocals declaimed spontaneously over a click track. Despite the musical retrofitting, international hits like Chaba Fadela and Cheb Sabroui's "N'Sel Fik (You Are Mine)" maintain an utterly rocking presence through which rai's Bedouin roots, Moroccan melodies, and North African rhythms may be clearly discerned. Rai means "opinion," and the rebellious subject matter touches on universal teenage angst, unadulterated sexual desire, and late-night drinking parties. Rai "king" Cheb Khaled proves the exception to the decadent rule with his boisterous, echoey tribute to Sidi Boumedienne, a scientist, holy man, and politico of the Middle Ages. --Richard Gehr