My Review of Yosef Karduner: Breslever Melave Malka

It was definitely worth the wait!

Yosef Karduner's latest release "Breslever Melave Malka" is fantastic. After "Simonim Baderech - Road Marks & Kol Haolam - The Whole World", this is my favorite CD from him. This latest CD did not require any time to grow on me, I liked it from the first time I listened to it. While my favorite song is the first track entitled, "B'motzoei", I also really liked "Agil V'esmach", "Adir Ayom", and "Elokim Yisadenu".

I liked every song on "Brelever Melave Malka", however, the musical accompaniment to song "Machrozet Shirim Breslev" is out of place with the primarily acoustic feel of the CD. The amateurish use of synthesizers, electric guitar, and a drum machine on this song brings out all that is wrong with many Jewish music releases. Also, although I really like the song "Chodosh Sassoni", something sits wrong with me when listening to it, and I believe it would be much tighter if the only instrument used was the guitar [the other instrument sounds a bit cartoonish].

That aside, the songs on this CD are gorgeous and everyone in my family, from my wife to my seven month-old daughter, enjoys listening to it. My four year-old daughter even started singing along to it after only a few listens in the mini-van and makes sure to scream out "Eliyahu HaNavi" whenever it turns up in the lyrics.

"Breslever Melave Malka", more so than his 2005 release "Bakesh Avdecha", is a return to the roots of what makes Yosef Karduner so great; an amazingly beautiful voice and an acoustic guitar. If this CD is bad, then I don't have any taste in music, and I would advise you never to read any of my reviews in the future.

Overall Rating = A